If you say Vince Carter is a better athlete than Kobe watch

[GoBobcats]

Nobody compares to Vince when it comes to athleticism. What Vince can (could?) do in his sleep, Kobe could only dream of.

Dunk of Death : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp6qJ7LZNlg

Thats a sick Dunk

[Bgil]

topic is really too vague. What constitutes an "athlete" and in basketball terms there are many ways to gauge athleticism. Jumping Ability, Short distance speed, long distance speed, hand/eye co-ordination, strength, quickness, agility, ball handling, ability to jump quickly off the floor multiple times, footwork, cardiovascular, etc..

Kobe is better in some aspects and VC is better in others.

+1

Vince's dunk over Weiss is the best dunk in a professional game ever IMO. Vince is certainly a better contest-style dunker. In game (in traffic not on a fast break or wide open alley-oop) I think Kobe is better overall. He's the only player I know of that has a 360 and up-n-under dunk weaponized.

Back when we used to iso him on the baseline (2005 or so), you'd see him rip that dunk off in just about every game. Vince is still superior in every attribute related to dunking IMO (leaping, palming the ball, body control in the air etc)

As for the other attributes Kobe has the edge. He's faster, tougher, has ridiculous cardio, stronger, and more coordinated.

[Marcolopolis5]

Better Athlete is Kobe, better jumper is Vince. And right now, its not even close, Where You at Vince?

[j3yuen]

why is there even a debate?
in their primes, Vince was light years ahead of Kobe in terms of athleticism but that doesn't mean he was a better ball player. If we are talking about strict athletic ability, Vince is probably even more athletic than Jordan... He just had no heart, no hussle, no determination, no competitive spirit... none of the good stuff that made Jordan and is making Kobe so dominant...

Reggie Bush is more athletic than both of them combined

[richboy]

[quote="tha_rock220"][/quote]

VC leverages himself for that dunk. Its a great dunk but I think its a little overrated. I also heard that Kobe jumped over Shaq in practice for a dunk once.

[Kosta]

Watching that top 100 video never gets old...

This isn't even close really, Vince killed anyone athletically in his prime. Now it's a different story, but in his early years, the stuff he did was unparalleld.

[chrice]

Carter does NOT jump higher than Kobe. His long arms give the illusion that he jumps higher than he actually does. Look at his HEAD in relation to the rim...rim level is NOT common as you would assume.

At one point Vince had a 43-44" vertical. Stop being such a homer.

[SpeedyG]

[quote="tha_rock220"][/quote]

This is something a lot of people don't mention when they talk about the Weiss dunk, but to me, is the most impressive part of it. Yes, clearing a 7 footer is pretty darn impressive. Doing it in a real game, even more impressive. But man take a look at where VC took off! That is sick! People mention the Kobe's attempt on Dwight. But as someone has pointed out, it was much closer to the basket. Even Richard Jefferson (who is also a good in-game dunker but isn't even in the league of VC in his prime athleticism wise) had a Weiss like dunk over Kevin Willis when the Nets played the Spurs in the Finals. But similar to the Kobe one, it was from much shorter distance.

Seriously, for those who don't think Vince was more athletic than Kobe in their primes, just take Kenny Smith's word for it.

"It's over. It's over."

[richboy]

Being a good dunker doesn't make you more athletically. Is VC a better athlete than Lebron. Is he a better athlete than Dwight. Is he a better athlete than Josh Smith. It seems like we are saying the better you are as a dunker the better athlete you are. Like I said IMO VC is a great dunker because of his hand size.

[Number34]

Really, you have no idea about basketball if you think that kobe is a better dunker then vince. Vince is far better. Sorry but anything is just pure homerism

[Reks]

Kobe jumped on shaq's back....

And in VC's prime; Lebron couldn't touch him..

[Man_Up]

I can't click the link cause i'm at work right now, but from what i've seen from Kobe. He's a good athlete not a great one.

The reason Kobe gets those highlight Dunks is because he knows how to get where he wants through traffic, and he has great body control. From a pure leaping prospective he's nothing amazing, IMO. Kobe is an amazing basketball play er and a verygood athlete.

If i were to rate there jumping ability from a 1-5 Kobe would be a 4, and Vince a 5. Considering the jump from each number to be a pretty good gap.

[Ronaldo/dinho]

notice how few VC fans (if any) jumped on this topic? It's because this comparison is a joke really and an insult to the greatest dunker of all-time Vince Carter....So kobe stans, keep wasting your time defending the obvious but don't forget one thing....the one you're apologizing for extremely disagree with yo'all knuckle head..oh the irony. lol

[richboy]

Well the question is who is the better athlete not who is the better dunker. It seems like posters equate dunking ability with athletic ability.

[D.Brasco]

In overall athletic ability it is vince. He just never had the motivation to put his skills to full use.

[Smills91]

Kobe's dunk on Dwight Howard would've been similar to that Frederick Weis Dunk by Carter had Dwight not have his arms up to prevent Kobe's momentum from carrying him over:

(picture)

Also Kobe has a bunch of highly underrated dunks like the Dunk vs the Kings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lA4gVPQaTY

And that Baseline double-clutch 360 vs the Utah Jazz: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAGoCmnY778

Kobe right now is a better dunker since he's the better conditioned athlete, but Carter in his prime is SLIGHTLY the better dunker.

Ignoring the fact that it should be considered a charge, sure.

[zong]

Carter is/was more athletic than Kobe during his better years

Kobe's just a way better player