Would Kobe's legacy suffer if we won with Howard or CP3?

[Leor_77]

There doesn't seem to be too many rumors today, so I thought I would throw out this hypothetical. Kobe, Gasol and Howard is, IMO, a more dominant three than Wade, Lebron and Bosh (If healthy and playing at a high level, I think that Kobe/Howard could even be better than Wade/Lebron). I'm wondering if we (knock on wood) won one or multiple championships after acquiring a Dwight Howard or Chris Paul (another knock on wood, lol), if people would look to take away some credit from Kobe, and say that he needed more help from superstars to win.

Even though Wilt had West, Magic had Kareem, Oscar had Kareem, the Celtics had their stacked team, etc. and vice versa to all of those, it seems like some people want to **** all over Kobe during the Shaq years and say that he didn't do anything, and that a Vince Carter/TMac type of player could have still resulted in the same amount of championships. Granted Shaq was "The Man" during those years, Kobe still deserves a lot of credit, especially for his 2002-2003 season, which IMO should have been another MVP for him.

Now, obviously, it all depends on how good Kobe would hypothetically play overall, but I just feel that the Kobe haters would use something like this to try and take away from his legacy regardless. Thoughts?

[TyCobb]

He's won 5 rings already..his legacy is pretty much cemented. He's already 33 years old.

As a Lakers fan, LA needs an heir apparent to Kobe. He's towards the end of his career.

[Kilroy]

No... Kobe needs help like any other superstar... And at this point in his career, it's time for him to start handing over the franchise to the next guy...

Kobe could 3peat entirely by himself and people would still want an asterisk by his accomplishments...

The problem with the Shaq years for Kobe isn't that Shaq was on the team, but that it was clearly Shaqs team and that Kobe was a complimentary piece of that team... Frankly, he deserves a little heat for that... As good as he was, Shaq was entering his prime, unlike when Magic came in and took over the Lakers from post-prime Kareem.

Logic tells you it took MJ 7 seasons to get the right pieces around him to be a contender, and no major star ever won without the right pieces around him...
So to any logical fan, Kobe's legacy is safe.

The question is, how long after acquiring Howard, would the team be Howard's team and not Kobe's... For some reason, I doubt the same would happen with CP3 but maybe I'm underestimating CP3's level of dominance because Kobe plays a similar position.

[Jetset]

Lakers fan before I'm a Kobe fan. You do whatever's best for the franchise.

And don't worry about the Kobe detractors and haters. And as TyCobb said, his place in the NBA is already set in stone.

[TonyMontana]

Not at all.

He's already established himself and his leagcy. The rest of it from here is just extra gravy on his mash potatos.

[KhanAir23]

No
he already has bigger status then cp could ever reach, true story

[MoLakers]

No. Kobe's legacy is intact. The bigger issue imo is the future of the Lakers. Kobe is not..CP3/D12 would be. It would be nice to have a great team now but I want one of em for the long haul.

[Jazza2319]

I wouldn't say so, but whoever comes (CP3 or Dwight) legacy would probably be called into question. Dwight would be compared to Shaq for the rest of his life, and would be tasked by the media to win more titles with shaq, while cp3 would just be seen as another guy who couldn't win it by himself.

Kobe's legacy as a top 10 player is clearly in place though, winning a couple more titles will only move him up the rankings. I say we still have a good 4 or 5 years of seeing Kobe in a laker uniform

[LAKESHOW]

5 rings suffer?

[Imadogg]

His legacy wouldn't suffer, but I understand what you're saying. People hold Kobe to a different standard because he came after Jordan.

If he wins with Dwight Howard, and Dwight wins the Finals MVP... Kobe would certainly not be thought of as much better in the all time rankings compared to wherever he's ranked now. If he wins with this team though (or if he gets Finals MVP over Dwight), his legacy would increase even more.

So there's no real way it could suffer with Dwight (unless he chokes like 2 Finals in a row with horrible stats on a stacked team), but there is a chance it doesn't advance as much in some people's eyes.

[Danny Darko]

not at all. This isn't the Mailman, or Barkley, or any number of guys who couldn't get it done. Good teams win and all anyone would remember is that it was one of the good teams Kobe played on along the way to many rings.

[The Skyhook]

Kobe has pretty much established his legacy. I generally see the argument that guys like Bird, Magic, Shaq, and Duncan were better than Kobe in their prime years but Kobe has the edge over them in longevity. Even though it might not have been the prettiest or most efficient way of doing it, the things Kobe has done are enough to cement him as a top 10 player all time. From here on out anything Kobe does will just add onto his legacy in terms of how much he was able to accomplish in his career.

Theres a good chance Kobe will become the all time scoring leader in the playoffs and eventually move to number 3 all time in scoring. There might even be another championship in Kobe's future. I don't see any of those things hurting his legacy even if he did it while playing alongside another star like Dwight or Paul.

[trufan24]

hmm its more about what Kobe has done individually...many people have already criticized him, saying he wouldnt have won without shaq, or he wouldnt have won without gasol, which are solid arguments...but its what Kobe brought to the game since Jordan retired that has made him the best player post MJ era...we can make the case that Shaq was the "man" during the threepeat, or that Gasol was the reason for the latter back to back championships, but neither guys, or any other guy, were responsible for an 81-point outburst, or 62 individual points vs a team's 61 points through 3 quarters...so to answer the question, no it will not ruin his legacy what-so-ever LOL

[Draper]

Nope, the way other teams are stacking up superstars like it's the '80s. It's starting to become the norm again. Besides his current resume speaks for itself.

[Robert Gray]

I hate Kobe Bryant, but his legacy is cemented. At the end of his career he'll be known as one of the top ten players of all time, maybe even top 5. I don't think the fact that he couldn't win it all without a dominant big will do anything to tarnish his legacy (Shaq, after all, is probably the best C of all time).

Nobody can dispute his talent or his desire to win. I mentioned that I hate Kobe, but I haven't had this much fun hating someone since maybe I was a kid and would literally boo my tv at some of the heels in the WWF. That's the mark of a truly great athlete, the ability to be respected without being liked. It's impossible not to respect Kobe's game.

[LascelleL]

His legacy would be worse off if He didn't win anymore rings regardless of Howard or CP3 being here

[ennui]

Dont care - want moar ringz

[PurpleGold]

MJ could take a dump on the NBA's constitution in a 1 hour televised special on ESPN and still have his legacy intact as the greatest basketball player ever.

Now replace MJ with Kobe and add one of* the greatest.

[WIZ]

5 rings suffer?

[Walid]

Only to non-Lakers fans and MJ nuthuggers.