Can you name 15 players in NBA history better than Kobe?

[coolnerd88]

I got this idea, reading a thread in the players comparison thread.

A poster said that Kobe Bryant is 15 on his list and the other poster was like "name 15 players greater than Kobe Bryant"............

which got me thinking....Kobe's resume is very decorated but their have been ALOT of great NBA players in history.

I have Kobe at 11 on my all-time list due to monsterous longevity, and his outrageous scoring outbursts...also he played tenacious defense when he was you...he works hard and has a will to win...but I have a few problems with putting Kobe in my top 10...

1. In his career, he has been a selfish volume shooting chucker...now has he been ridiculously good at YES but alot of the times...ray charles could've seen that he needed to stop shooting the ball

2. His finals performances aren't up to par...yea he has had AWESOME SERIES in the playoffs but to me LEGENDS AND LEGACIES are stamped in the finals and lets just say...his is very pedstrian


3. There was definitive yr where Kobe was number 1...even if you think he was top 5 every yr from 01-10...There wasn't one yr where Kobe was UNANIMIOUSLY 1...2001-2004= Shaq was NUMBER 1....2003-2007 gets alittle more confusing...Duncan was dominating, winning titles....Nash won 2 MVP's...and you can say whatever but Nash deserved it and he was balling...Wade had one of the greatest performances in 2006...the emergence of King James...T-mac's ridiculous yr in 03....Iverson going strong...I mean I have no qualms giving you 2006 but it's very arguable...2008 and 2009...constant media debates between James and Bryant(Personally I would give my boy Wade the title but realistically speaking he JUST started getting media love as possible best player in the league so thats why I didn't mention him)............I mean where was he the DEFINITIVE DOMINATE NUMBER 1 player in the league

there's more but these are a few but nevertheless he's at 11..but playing devils advocate like I just did...can you name 15 players in NBA history better than Bryant?

[coolnerd88]

For the record I want to see other people's responses first before I try and name them..I can name 10 but 11-15 may get hard

[Tim_Hardawayy]

Guess I'll repost.

I mean it depends, are we talking 15 guys at their peaks/primes that we'd take over Kobe? Or 15 guys with better careers?

If its careers, no possible way.

At their peaks/primes? Maybe... maybe...

Well, first off centers. I'd definitely take Kareem, Shaq, Wilt, and Hakeem at their best over Kobe. I think arguments can be made for Moses and Russell, but I'll leave them out for now. So that's 4.

Power forwards, I'd have to take an absolute peak Duncan over Kobe, and would strongly consider Malone and Barkley. But only going with Duncan here. So now we're at 5.

Small forwards, you've got Julius Erving and Larry Bird to consider here. Definite yes to Larry. Maybe on Julius... so now we're at 6.

Shooting guard, only MJ. Jerry West has a little bit of an argument. So now we're at 7.

Point guard, Magic definitely. Can't think of another that impacts the game comparably. And we're at 8.

So I guess, I could definitely see Kobe at 9 as far as a peak/prime player in NBA history. Then it depends on some of these maybe guys up there.

Yeah, gonna have to go with no on peak/prime here as well. I'd have to take all of those maybe guys over Kobe just to be at 15, and I don't think I can do that.

EDIT: I totally forgot Bill Walton. I'd take a prime Bill over Kobe as well. So that'd leave Kobe at 10. Still not 15 though.

[CellarDoor]

Going off what Tim said...if you're talking body of work. I can only comfortably name 5-6 guys ahead of him. Another 3 are in his neighborhood.

Primes? It comes close, but I think it might still be short.

[Bruh Man]

Guess I'll repost.

I mean it depends, are we talking 15 guys at their peaks/primes that we'd take over Kobe? Or 15 guys with better careers?

If its careers, no possible way.

At their peaks/primes? Maybe... maybe...

Well, first off centers. I'd definitely take Kareem, Shaq, Wilt, and Hakeem at their best over Kobe. I think arguments can be made for Moses and Russell, but I'll leave them out for now. So that's 4.

Power forwards, I'd have to take an absolute peak Duncan over Kobe, and would strongly consider Malone and Barkley. But only going with Duncan here. So now we're at 5.

Small forwards, you've got Julius Erving and Larry Bird to consider here. Definite yes to Larry. Maybe on Julius... so now we're at 6.

Shooting guard, only MJ. Jerry West has a little bit of an argument. So now we're at 7.

Point guard, Magic definitely. Can't think of another that impacts the game comparably. And we're at 8.

So I guess, I could definitely see Kobe at 9 as far as a peak/prime player in NBA history. Then it depends on some of these maybe guys up there.

Yeah, gonna have to go with no on peak/prime here as well. I'd have to take all of those maybe guys over Kobe just to be at 15, and I don't think I can do that.

EDIT: I totally forgot Bill Walton. I'd take a prime Bill over Kobe as well. So that'd leave Kobe at 10. Still not 15 though.

That's a good way of looking at it, you'll be hard pressed to keep him out of the top 10 list let alone top 15. I would like to see what 15 players OP has in mind.

[coolnerd88]

Alright I'ma give this a shot...In no definitive order so nobody get their panties in a bunch

1.Jordan
2.Chamberlain
3.KJ
4.Magic
5.Larry
6.Dr.J
7.Shaq
8.Duncan
9.Russel
10.Hakeem
11. Jerry West
12.Oscar
13.Moses
14.Karl Malone
15.Charles Barkley

I think I could feel comfortable arguing this list....Malone is number 2 in points all time and 6th in rebounds. Won two MVPs. Known as one of the greates power forwards to ever play the game.....As far as Oscar, 9th all time in points and 5th in assists. Is only player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season. Won the NBA Finals in 1970-1971 and has won one NBA MVP....Moses was beast, 6th all time in points, 5th in rebounds, and 21st in blocks and was a three time MVP and won the NBA Finals and Finals MVP in 1983....Charles is pushing BUT a case can be made he was one of four NBA players to have 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 4,000 assists...with a league MVP

Now a few of these players don't have NBA championships but I can easily argue that they ran into the GOAT..which sucks but nobody was topping Jordan so that can't be held against them...Jordan was unstoppable....as stated in the Reggie documentary "When Jordan retired, a new sense of wave came over, everybody felt like they had a chance..the league was wide open" LOL...you can't hold that against anybody

Now I pushed it alittle but nonethless these players have great resumes

[coolnerd88]

Oh and I was talking careers

[Warspite]

Players I believe had greater careers than Kobe
Wilt,MJ,KAJ,Magic,Bird,Russell, Hakeem, Shaq, DrJ, Duncan, Moses.

Players I believe are better (peak) than Kobe

Wilt, MJ,KAJ,Magic, Bird, Russell, Hakeem,Shaq, DrJ, Duncan, Moses, DRob, Hondo, Walton, West, Oscar, LBJ, B. King, Charles, K Malone, Frazier

Players I would sign/draft over Kobe

Wilt, KAJ, Russell, Shaq, Hakeem, Moses, Walton, DRob, Ewing, Duncan, Pettit, Bird, DrJ, LBJ, Hondo, Oscar, Magic, MJ, KG, Lanier, McAdoo, CP3, Isiah, Frazier, K Malone, Thurmond. (I realy like bigmen)

Kobe has had alot of success and played on a lot of great teams. Few players can say they have done as well or better. More players can say Im as good or better and with similar circumstances can have similar results. Still even more players are prefered as fundemental building blocks of a team.

There have been over 30 players who are SG/SFs who have had a +28ppg season. You can find wing scorers but you cant find 28ppg bigmen and the game has changed to favor the quick PG over all else.

[USA]

If you are talking careers, I see only 9 possibilities ahead of him.

No order:
Jordan
Kareem
Wilt
Magic
Bird
Russell
Shaq
Duncan
Hakeem

...and I am leaning toward Kobe over Duncan and Hakeem for careers.

[coolnerd88]

Players I believe had greater careers than Kobe
Wilt,MJ,KAJ,Magic,Bird,Russell, Hakeem, Shaq, DrJ, Duncan, Moses.

Players I believe are better (peak) than Kobe

Wilt, MJ,KAJ,Magic, Bird, Russell, Hakeem,Shaq, DrJ, Duncan, Moses, DRob, Hondo, Walton, West, Oscar, LBJ, B. King, Charles, K Malone, Frazier

Players I would sign/draft over Kobe

Wilt, KAJ, Russell, Shaq, Hakeem, Moses, Walton, DRob, Ewing, Duncan, Pettit, Bird, DrJ, LBJ, Hondo, Oscar, Magic, MJ, KG, Lanier, McAdoo, CP3, Isiah, Frazier, K Malone, Thurmond. (I realy like bigmen)

Kobe has had alot of success and played on a lot of great teams. Few players can say they have done as well or better. More players can say Im as good or better and with similar circumstances can have similar results. Still even more players are prefered as fundemental building blocks of a team.

There have been over 30 players who are SG/SFs who have had a +28ppg season. You can find wing scorers but you cant find 28ppg bigmen and the game has changed to favor the quick PG over all else.

Good point...Kobe's career SCREAMS RIGHT PLACE AT RIGHT TIME but still it can't be held against him but PEAK SHAQ...good gracious are you kidding me?...being coached by Phil Jackson...but still he made the most of his opportunites

[GoLakers2011]

I can only name 1, Michael Jordan.

And lol at the haters about who don't have Kobe in their top 10. Wake up and give the man his due.

[Optimism Prime]

I can only name 1, Michael Jordan.

And lol at the haters about who don't have Kobe in their top 10. Wake up and give the man his due.

I'm with you. Anyone who doesn't think Kobe has an argument for GOAT, a Lakers username and a picture of him as their avatar is clearly a hater.

Clearly.

[Wavy Q]

I can only name 1, Michael Jordan.

And lol at the haters about who don't have Kobe in their top 10. Wake up and give the man his due.

I'm with you. Anyone who doesn't think Kobe has an argument for GOAT, a Lakers username and a picture of him as their avatar is clearly a hater.

Clearly.

i lol'd

[coolnerd88]

I can only name 1, Michael Jordan.

And lol at the haters about who don't have Kobe in their top 10. Wake up and give the man his due.

And the thread takes a considerable turn

[rrravenred]

I can only name 1, Michael Jordan.

And lol at the haters about who don't have Kobe in their top 10. Wake up and give the man his due.

I'm with you. Anyone who doesn't think Kobe has an argument for GOAT, a Lakers username and a picture of him as their avatar is clearly a hater.

Clearly.

Gold.

[Optimism Prime]

I can only name 1, Michael Jordan.

And lol at the haters about who don't have Kobe in their top 10. Wake up and give the man his due.

I'm with you. Anyone who doesn't think Kobe has an argument for GOAT, a Lakers username and a picture of him as their avatar is clearly a hater.

Clearly.

Gold.

...is what color medal Team USA would have if Kobe was on the team this year. Being led by that scrub Durant? LMAO.

[Wavy Q]

thank you for the new signature btw

[Bruh Man]

Players I believe had greater careers than Kobe
Wilt,MJ,KAJ,Magic,Bird,Russell, Hakeem, Shaq, DrJ, Duncan, Moses.

Players I believe are better (peak) than Kobe

Wilt, MJ,KAJ,Magic, Bird, Russell, Hakeem,Shaq, DrJ, Duncan, Moses, DRob, Hondo, Walton, West, Oscar, LBJ, B. King, Charles, K Malone, Frazier

Players I would sign/draft over Kobe

Wilt, KAJ, Russell, Shaq, Hakeem, Moses, Walton, DRob, Ewing, Duncan, Pettit, Bird, DrJ, LBJ, Hondo, Oscar, Magic, MJ, KG, Lanier, McAdoo, CP3, Isiah, Frazier, K Malone, Thurmond. (I realy like bigmen)

Kobe has had alot of success and played on a lot of great teams. Few players can say they have done as well or better. More players can say Im as good or better and with similar circumstances can have similar results. Still even more players are prefered as fundemental building blocks of a team.

There have been over 30 players who are SG/SFs who have had a +28ppg season. You can find wing scorers but you cant find 28ppg bigmen and the game has changed to favor the quick PG over all else.

[Scalabrine]

You say you have Kobe at 11, reason being... you have a hard to putting him in the top 10.

Who are your top 10.

If were talking primes then that list is good, there are tons of others, Oscar Robertson obviously belongs.

The thing thats made Kobe great is his ability to dominate pretty much when he entered the league out of high school (since he became a starter the year they traded eddie jones).
- Hes been one of the best players in the league and winning for 10 straight seasons
- He has won 6 rings
- He has career averages of 25/5/5
- Hes scored 81 points in a game
- Lead a starting lineup of Chris Mihm, Kwame Brown, Lamar Odom, and Smush Parker into the playoffs and almost upset the Suns.
-11 All Star Games
- 3 Time All Star Game MVP
-2 Time NBA Finals MVP
-1 Time League MVP
- 8 Time All NBA First Defensive Team
- 2 Time All NBA Second Defensive Team
- 8 Time All NBA First Team
- 2 Time All NBA Second Team
- 2 Time All NBA Third Team (14 All NBA Teams Total)
- 4 Seasns without missing a game
- 2 Time Scoring Champion
- 31 Years of Age!!!

Thats hard to top, and you have to think hes got another 5 years left in him of good basketball.

[Scalabrine]

forgot to mention his success in world play too