Which of these recent players will ultimately rank above Kobe?

[meh]

Kobe is definitely not top 5 all time. You can debate if he is top 10.

Agree I'm a Kobe fan and don't place him top 5, but what do I know?

Alot of ppl have magic in their top 5. Kobe has a better career/resume than magic due to better longevity and higher peak I don't see how kobe is not in the top 5 other than bias/hate for the man.

There is no universe where Kobe is ahead of Magic.

[meh]

None.. Luka has a shot but he would have to win as much as Curry and that’s not likely

Those saying Jokic are buggin.. if Jokic and Kobe played together Jokic wouldn’t be the first option

Complete nonsense. I'm taking Jokic over Kobe easy.

[WentzerWuver]

None.. Luka has a shot but he would have to win as much as Curry and that’s not likely

Those saying Jokic are buggin.. if Jokic and Kobe played together Jokic wouldn’t be the first option

Complete nonsense. I'm taking Jokic over Kobe easy.

Even Jokic would pick Kobe cause he understands greatness unlike you.

[Onlytimewilltel]

None.. Luka has a shot but he would have to win as much as Curry and that’s not likely

Those saying Jokic are buggin.. if Jokic and Kobe played together Jokic wouldn’t be the first option

Complete nonsense. I'm taking Jokic over Kobe easy.

Even Jokic would pick Kobe cause he understands greatness unlike you.

Aren’t you the one who is more concerned about WNBA players comparisons in looks?

Not sure this NBA debate is your cup of tea lol

[WentzerWuver]

Complete nonsense. I'm taking Jokic over Kobe easy.

Even Jokic would pick Kobe cause he understands greatness unlike you.

Aren’t you the one who is more concerned about WNBA players comparisons in looks?

Not sure this NBA debate is your cup of tea lol

That was a question for posters here, not me and when it comes to looks, Tatum is much hotter than JB regardless on which one is the better player.

[JasonStern]

Jokić has a very reasonable shot.
Dončić has a decade to prove it. Same with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
I really don't get the other options. Especially players like Dirk and KG, that are clearly talented, but never really ascended to Kobe's level. Those just seem like troll picks.
I also feel like Anthony Edwards should at least be an option. Probably not the right answer. But at least an option.

[Chokic]

Agree I'm a Kobe fan and don't place him top 5, but what do I know?

Alot of ppl have magic in their top 5. Kobe has a better career/resume than magic due to better longevity and higher peak I don't see how kobe is not in the top 5 other than bias/hate for the man.

There is no universe where Kobe is ahead of Magic.

Magic doesn't have a better career resume than kobe.

[meh]

Alot of ppl have magic in their top 5. Kobe has a better career/resume than magic due to better longevity and higher peak I don't see how kobe is not in the top 5 other than bias/hate for the man.

There is no universe where Kobe is ahead of Magic.

Magic doesn't have a better career resume than kobe.

[One_and_Done]

Alot of ppl have magic in their top 5. Kobe has a better career/resume than magic due to better longevity and higher peak I don't see how kobe is not in the top 5 other than bias/hate for the man.

There is no universe where Kobe is ahead of Magic.

Magic doesn't have a better career resume than kobe.

He does no matter how you slice it.

[Chokic]

There is no universe where Kobe is ahead of Magic.

Magic doesn't have a better career resume than kobe.

He does no matter how you slice it.

Kobe has a higher peak and longer prime than magic. Magic also played with much better players in relation to their own era.

[One_and_Done]

Magic doesn't have a better career resume than kobe.

He does no matter how you slice it.

Kobe has a higher peak and longer prime than magic. Magic also played with much better players in relation to their own era.

I'm not sure either of those statements is true. Magic certainly peaked higher. As for prime length, most peg Kobe's prime as around 10 years. Magic had a prime that long.

[NbaAllDay]

Magic doesn't have a better career resume than kobe.

He does no matter how you slice it.

Kobe has a higher peak and longer prime than magic. Magic also played with much better players in relation to their own era.

Sorry my friend. In no world did Kobe peak higher.

Almost every data point favours Magic and some it's night and day.

There is more to it than this, but 1 example is Magic had a 9 year stretch in which he never dropped below 3rd in MVP voting while also winning 3 as well.

Kobe has the longevity but does not have a longer prime. 2001ish to 2011ish is pretty much the same. Kobe was not elite on either end of that.

A few things favour Kobe but far more favours Magic.

[LakersLegacy]

Who is going to be:

The Closer
Captain Defense - most all defense team consistency
Captain Offense - score the highest percentage of his teams points all time in the lowest scoring era of all time

And win 6 Championships
Care more about career than being a Movie Star or Media Star

It’s not happening in 2020s

[One_and_Done]

He does no matter how you slice it.

Kobe has a higher peak and longer prime than magic. Magic also played with much better players in relation to their own era.

Sorry my friend. In no world did Kobe peak higher.

Almost every data point favours Magic and some it's night and day.

There is more to it than this, but 1 example is Magic had a 9 year stretch in which he never dropped below 3rd in MVP voting while also winning 3 as well.

Kobe has the longevity but does not have a longer prime. 2001ish to 2011ish is pretty much the same. Kobe was not elite on either end of that.

A few things favour Kobe but far more favours Magic.

Agreed. Magic ranks way ahead.

[Lo Wang]

I think Jokić is above Kobe for sure.

All the other guys are below right now. SGA, Giannis maybe could rank above Kobe at the end, but I am not sure about that. Luka is probably the next guy who could actually join Jokić in this debate, but he has a long way to go.

I am not the biggest Kobe fan, maybe overall I do NOT think he is overrated, I just think his stans are definitely the most delusional bunch out of the entire sport. But that being said, at the end of the day, Kobe has five NBA championships and was top 3 player in the world for more than a decade, maybe his talent and level could be exceeded, but his actual career most likely wont, for any of these guys not named Jokić.

Above? How? They don't even play the same position. Kobe didn't just have 5 championships, he was 9x all defensive 1st team. He wasn't just the best scorer of his time, but one of the best defender as well.

Jokic only plays hard on one end.

[TravisScott55]

None

[Special_Puppy]

I think Jokić is above Kobe for sure.

All the other guys are below right now. SGA, Giannis maybe could rank above Kobe at the end, but I am not sure about that. Luka is probably the next guy who could actually join Jokić in this debate, but he has a long way to go.

I am not the biggest Kobe fan, maybe overall I do NOT think he is overrated, I just think his stans are definitely the most delusional bunch out of the entire sport. But that being said, at the end of the day, Kobe has five NBA championships and was top 3 player in the world for more than a decade, maybe his talent and level could be exceeded, but his actual career most likely wont, for any of these guys not named Jokić.

Above? How? They don't even play the same position. Kobe didn't just have 5 championships, he was 9x all defensive 1st team. He wasn't just the best scorer of his time, but one of the best defender as well.

Jokic only plays hard on one end.

Kobe's defensive proses is mostly a myth. RAPM studies have him being a net neutral defender in his prime https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/dsmok1/viz/RAPMvsMPG2001-2012/Dashboard1

[SeattleJazzFan]

giannis, jokic, luka and kd are all better than kobe.

[reddyplayerone]

Which of these more recent players would you choose to build around over Kobe if you were building a team for today’s league. For me that's the same question as who ranks higher all-time.

It is most definitely not the same question, at all.

Ah, I see we have another One_and_Done "Who's better than Kobe/Who will be better than Kobe/Who would you rather build around than Kobe/Who would you rather go antiquing with than Kobe?" thread, complete with the trademark 2 entirely separate questions for the thread title.

Must be a day that ends in a y.

[UcanUwill]

I think Jokić is above Kobe for sure.

All the other guys are below right now. SGA, Giannis maybe could rank above Kobe at the end, but I am not sure about that. Luka is probably the next guy who could actually join Jokić in this debate, but he has a long way to go.

I am not the biggest Kobe fan, maybe overall I do NOT think he is overrated, I just think his stans are definitely the most delusional bunch out of the entire sport. But that being said, at the end of the day, Kobe has five NBA championships and was top 3 player in the world for more than a decade, maybe his talent and level could be exceeded, but his actual career most likely wont, for any of these guys not named Jokić.

Above? How? They don't even play the same position. Kobe didn't just have 5 championships, he was 9x all defensive 1st team. He wasn't just the best scorer of his time, but one of the best defender as well.

Jokic only plays hard on one end.

Kobe's defensive proses is mostly a myth. RAPM studies have him being a net neutral defender in his prime https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/dsmok1/viz/RAPMvsMPG2001-2012/Dashboard1

People are probably getting too young to remember those Kobe defensive teams. We were always baffed every season. Thing with Kobe, at least the explanation we had, that when it really matters, he starts defending and its elite. People had that fear that in decisive noments, Kobe can shut down anbody, i think that rep and fear carried him cause if not mistsken, i think coaches used to vote for all defense, and coaches hated facing Kobe teams. Its just other 90% of the time Kobe was almost coasting on D. Coaches often half assed these votes, i think that is why it was taken away at the end.