3rd best player of the past generation?..

[Hoops Pimp]

The other thing about Kobe people have to realize it that playing with Shaq will lower your stats which is the reason people are even putting KG in the conversation. Kobe without Shaq may not have won the rings but he would have led the league in scoring 7 or 8 times and still been an All-Star every year. He would have hit the 20,000 point mark a long time ago. The amount of 40 point games scored would have been out of this world. If this discussion ended up being KG or the guy who has led the NBA in scoring for 7 or 8 years in a row I don't think you would really have an argument at all. Kobe without Shaq and starting his 1'st year in the League and beyond there would be no telling how many record he would have set. He would have been the youngest to do damn near everything scoring wise.

[HarlemHeat37]

scoring is only 1 aspect of the game..I'm pretty sure Kobe values his chamionships A LOT more than his scoring title(hopefully)..

[shaqfan1]

Why is Jason Kidd not being mentioned. He is the best based on leading his team to success. He made it to 2 Finals.

[a-rod]

only one basketball player better than Kobe and his name is MJ

[Buckeye-NBAFan]

only one basketball player better than Kobe and his name is MJ

Kobe might not have an MVP or Finals MVP, but he's definitely a top 20 player all-time.

[a-rod]

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Kobe might not have an MVP or Finals MVP, but he's definitely a top 20 player all-time.

1-MJ
2-Kobe
3-bird

those my top 3 players in NBA history.

[Retrolock]

-= original quote snipped =-


1-MJ
2-Kobe
3-bird

those my top 3 players in NBA history.

wow. so kobe for you is better than

Magic, Bird, Wilt, Kareem, Russell etc....

Kids...


On topic: I pick Kobe for now. But if KG wins it all this year (MVP, Ring, Finals MVP) he'd be worthy.

[SlickWilly8]

give kg shaq in his prime.....

why dont we give LeBron Ray Allen and KG

and MJ Hakeem and Clyde

those arguements never cease to amaze me Kobe was just as big a factor in those championship runs as Shaq

yes kobe has had a better team throughout his career before these past 3 seasons but thats not his fault

it's also vice versa for Shaq take Wade and kobe away and how many rings do you think he hoist up .. take Pippen away from MJ .. take McHale away from bird .. so many take and gives and what if's but in the end if it got you a championship then it shouldnt be argued ..

if they were critical and vital to the Chip it should never be argued ..

i say that because Slava has 3 but hes not better than KG obviously its whoever was Vital and they BOth were vital .. Kobe was no Scrub you could find off Free Agency

(On another note KG and shaq would have been 2 big men so there would not have been an Elite Guard to Penetrate and create, Dish and get fouls and for those big men ... so you could argue it might not have been as successful)

Couldn't agree more. Nice post my freind

[Number34]

-= original quote snipped =-


1-MJ
2-Kobe
3-bird

those my top 3 players in NBA history.

damnit man, I couldn't help but cringe at this post. Kobe is a great player and all but lets not overrate him please.

[Jules Winnfield]

Kobe easily.

[GJense4181]

Define *generation*.

[NO-KG-AI]

not gonna vote and not to discredit KG .. but hes never won a ring and never had many winning records in Minny and the years he did make the playoffs he lost to the guy hes going against in this pole ...

OK, choosing Kobe is fine, but people really underestimate the impact Garnett had on the sorry franchise that is the wolves.

Garnett's team had a losing record 4 times in his 12 years in Minnesota, His Rookie year, where he averaged 10 points, his second year, in which they were 40-42 and in the playoffs. The last two years in minnesota were his other two losing seasons, where he had possibly the worst supporting cast EVER. I mean look at those guys now, he was traded for like 6 players and they are far and away the worst team in the league without Garnett, yet he took all the flack for them missing the playoffs.

He lost to the lakers twice in the playoffs, once when the Lakers were heavy favorites, and another when they were favored, and then Cassell got injured and they became heavy favorites. It was LAkers Vs. Wolves, they wouldn't have been heavy favorites if you take out Garnett's number 2 guy, and take out Shaq from the Lakers, I'll just leave it at that.

For comparison Kobe has LED his teams to 45 wins, and first round exits in his best seasons without Shaq.

You can't use supporting cast as an excuse for Kobe in an argument against KG.

I don't see anything wrong with choosing Kobe over KG, but really if you swapped them for each other from the time the Lakers had Shaq, how would this all look?

[Griever24]

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OK, choosing Kobe is fine, but people really underestimate the impact Garnett had on the sorry franchise that is the wolves.

Garnett's team had a losing record 4 times in his 12 years in Minnesota, His Rookie year, where he averaged 10 points, his second year, in which they were 40-42 and in the playoffs. The last two years in minnesota were his other two losing seasons, where he had possibly the worst supporting cast EVER. I mean look at those guys now, he was traded for like 6 players and they are far and away the worst team in the league without Garnett, yet he took all the flack for them missing the playoffs.

He lost to the lakers twice in the playoffs, once when the Lakers were heavy favorites, and another when they were favored, and then Cassell got injured and they became heavy favorites. It was LAkers Vs. Wolves, they wouldn't have been heavy favorites if you take out Garnett's number 2 guy, and take out Shaq from the Lakers, I'll just leave it at that.

For comparison Kobe has LED his teams to 45 wins, and first round exits in his best seasons without Shaq.

You can't use supporting cast as an excuse for Kobe in an argument against KG.

I don't see anything wrong with choosing Kobe over KG, but really if you swapped them for each other from the time the Lakers had Shaq, how would this all look?

as i mentioned before were not in a world of but's and if's.

i totally agree KG has done so much for his team, he still dawns a MVP and was devoted to minny but if your saying you cant use Kobe's supporting cast in this arguement then why should we be able to use KG's then ?

its obvious he had a bad cast but you cannot discredit Kobe because he had a GM who actually put together a good team

i mentioned this in another thread before they were both Vital pieces to the Championship and Shaq wouldnt have been able to do it without Kobe either .. Kobe was no scrub sitting in the Free-Agency pool

Smush frickin Parker and Kwame as starters, not to mention Cook in a long stretch with Odom at SF .. i know you cant use but thats a pretty tough Cast to carry.

KG in Kobes place would have been one of the scariest tandems in the frontline of the NBA but just like i mentioned before those are Big Men .. there would have been no inside out combination and great Guard to draw those fouls and attract attention for those dump off's to Shaq like Kobe and wade did so well .. so you could argue .. you know they would be successful but to what extent ?

[conleyorbust]

This is an impossible comparison to make. If they both retired before this season then everybody would say Kobe, because he was a winner but KG was just a "good player on a bad team". If KG wins a title this season, people are going to look at him in a completely different light - the difference between "winner" and "loser" is huge in this league.

If KG wins a title this season and Kobe retires with 3 rings, then will probably be viewed as the greater player.

People tend to neglect how dynamic a player KG has been for his career because he doesn't have a title. He has been a 4 time rebound champ, one of the greatest passers ever for a big man, an amazingly versatile defender, and a multifaceted scoring threat.

[TonyMontana]

Kobe

[GJense4181]

Tim Duncan/Shaq. Because of their team successes (up until this season for O'Neal).
Or Garnett. Because physically he was unparalleled for quite some time. He didn't *revolutionize* the PF position, but teams are definitely looking for well-rounded, athletic 4's now and many upcomers mold their game after KG.
Or Kobe. Because of his scoring prowess and ability to take over/control games. I don't think we're looking for the next Jordan anymore because Bryant comes pretty close.
and in the future Lebron. He's only 23, I believe. Despite him playing at the same time as Shaq, I don't consider them members of the same generation (which is entirely arbitrary).

[prophet_of_rage]

give kg shaq in his prime.....

why dont we give LeBron Ray Allen and KG

and MJ Hakeem and Clyde

those arguements never cease to amaze me Kobe was just as big a factor in those championship runs as Shaq

yes kobe has had a better team throughout his career before these past 3 seasons but thats not his fault

it's also vice versa for Shaq take Wade and kobe away and how many rings do you think he hoist up .. take Pippen away from MJ .. take McHale away from bird .. so many take and gives and what if's but in the end if it got you a championship then it shouldnt be argued ..

if they were critical and vital to the Chip it should never be argued ..

i say that because Slava has 3 but hes not better than KG obviously its whoever was Vital and they BOth were vital .. Kobe was no Scrub you could find off Free Agency

(On another note KG and shaq would have been 2 big men so there would not have been an Elite Guard to Penetrate and create, Dish and get fouls and for those big men ... so you could argue it might not have been as successful)

Unless you watched the Spurs.

[candy for lunch]

Define *generation*.

I don't think anyone here seems to have the proper ability to do so...

I'll assume the OP means '3rd best player drafted in the 90s not named Duncan or Shaq' and I'll go with Kobe.

[Jules Winnfield]

How can Kobe be third when the 90s aren't over? He'll be the best player of this generation by 2010.

Right now he's clearly and firmly 3rd.

[Doctor MJ]

most people agree that the 2 best careers of this past generation are Shaq and Duncan..it would be hard to argue otherwise IMO, when you look at the accomplishments of the others, unless the next 2 win a few MVP's or championships respectively..which leads me to my question..

assuming KG wins the MVP this year(with the Celtics hype, and the media dislike for Bean), who is the 3rd best player of the generation, Kobe or Garnett?..there is also the chance of KG coming off with a title this year, and Kobe has an outisde shot at both as well..

It's very close. If KG wins the MVP (and I agree with the voting), I will have him above Kobe on my list.