Miami Heat

[LakerLegend]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhpVE5Yfvhc[/youtube]

Duncan/LeBron/Wade getting shamed in the olympics. Gotta bring the best to win.

Wade actually had a better game... And Wade/Lebron were the best during the whole olympics.. Backfire

Kobe was the designated defensive stopper and took over in the clutch of that game...just stop

[Mourning_Would]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhpVE5Yfvhc[/youtube]

Duncan/LeBron/Wade getting shamed in the olympics. Gotta bring the best to win.

Wade actually had a better game... And Wade/Lebron were the best during the whole olympics.. Backfire

Kobe was the designated defensive stopper and took over in the clutch of that game...just stop

Lol nothing I said was false though.... Also the fact that he said Lebron and Wade got shamed in their 2nd year as pros, while Larry Brown hardly played them is more worthy of you're reaction. But go on ahead with you're blind homerism

[themaster07]

I to agree w/ Wade's position. Whether you like him or not, Kobe has all the achievements to give Duncan and/or Shaq for a run for the title of "greatest of our era." Although "greatest of our era" is predominately based on statistical accolades and awards (which Kobe has), I think what gives Kobe my vote is his impact/appeal/introductory on the game/NBA to new fans. Some points I'd like to make out is:

- Over the last 5 or even past decade, he has been #1 vote getter in the all star game. What does this mean? The guy is freaking popular despite being labelled "selfish" and "rapist"
- The ovation Kobe received in the Beijing Olympics. The excitement that he brought to the Redeem Team. The love and popularity he has in China cannot be touched. Even guys like Jeremy Lin and Yao Ming do not have the same follow-ship as that of Kobe.
- He was regarded as the most popular basketball player outside of the United States
- Kobe Bryant is a household name that attracts fans and put fans into seats. He's the only player that I know that gets MVP chants at the opposition's court over the past decade.

Call me stupid for using popularity as a tie breaker/decision maker but I truthfully think a player's ability to introduce/appeal to people and sell a product "Nba" and "basketball" should be consider as part of "greatest of our era".

at the end of the day, people like winners and he happens to play for a storied franchise with a ton of bandwagon fans, so the popularity thing is whatever . Its the lakers that drive that machine pretty much. And i dont even get the point of mentioning hes popular in china like who cares. I dont know i just dont see the point of that argument. Hes been in the league since 1996, they know him better than any of these young guys. AI was popular in china too, i just dont get this argument

The China argument was to point out his impact, influence, and introduction of the game to a new crowd of fans. Do you not remember when Yao opted to not play NBA ball/further injure himself for the Olympics? The same Yao that wanted to expand/bring NBA to China. For a guy like Kobe to be receive and/or get a strong following than Yao speaks volume of his game/appeal to people. Also, Kobe and Duncan have been in the league since 1997 but yet Kobe has a greater/stronger presence in international markets. Yes, I agree that playing with the Lakers and/or a bigger market team like the Knicks will help with popularity but smaller market players have received a good amount of attention too (Tmac, AI, and Carter). Shaq has played in LA, starred in movies/music, marketing, etc for most of his career but he doesn't have the same following of that of Kobe. Given achievements/career statistic are similar (which i would say they are) I believe influence/impact in basketball should be something to consider for such a title of greatest of this era.

[LakerLegend]

Funny how you guys try to discredit Kobe in relation to guys like Shaq and Duncan....when they always speak glowingly about his ability and all time ranking.

[microfib4thewin]

People want to down Kobe for not having more MVP's but you should look at Kobe's competition during the 00's. These are the MVP winners:


Shaq
KG
Duncan
Dirk
Nash
Lebron

Or you can look at this year by year to get a better gauge of Kobe's MVP competition.

2000-2002: 2000 is clearly Shaq by a mile with Alonzo and Duncan fighting for the second spot. 2001 was Duncan in the regular season and Shaq in the playoffs. Kobe had perhaps his best playoff run that year but there was very little argument for him over either Shaq or Duncan unless you put a ton of stock over Kobe's performance against the Spurs. 2002 is again between Shaq and Duncan as the best player in the league. All Kobe was competing was the title as the best wing in the league with T-Mac and AI.

2003: Clearly Duncan's year. Was amazing throughout the entire playoffs and was perhaps the starting point of the Spurs becoming a model franchise. With Robinson's impending retirement and Manu/Parker not being a star yet the Spurs could have made drastic changes just like other franchises when they are not seeing progress. Winning a title that year really saved the Spurs. They didn't tear down and rebuild from scratch around Duncan, they didn't try to dump Parker for Kidd, and they are able to win two more titles afterwards because they decide to go with what they have. Kobe was again never in serious contention for MVP as he's still fighting with T-Mac as the best wing in the league.

2004-05: Two of Kobe's prime years wasted by bad decisions both on and off the court.

2006: The fabled season. Some argued this was Kobe's best season and is deserving of MVP because he won the scoring title while making the playoffs with an unimpressive team, but what's lost in Kobe's scoring frenzy are two other superstars that also put up great numbers.

Iverson: 33/7.4/54% TS
Lebron: 31/7/6/57% TS

Those two are never mentioned in the MVP race despite putting up great numbers themselves. In fact, Iverson's numbers were eerily similar albeit inferior to Kobe's. If Kobe's numbers are what's putting him in the MVP race then why does no Kobe supporter think AI should be in the conversation? If you are going to use team success then to exclude AI from the MVP talk then what about Lebron? He put up great but different numbers from Kobe and he also almost upset a superior team.

Aside from the dubious exclusion of those two players Kobe also posted an eFG and TS that is nearly identical to the league average. It's impressive on an individual standpoint for someone to handle as much shooting volume as Kobe, but when he's converting points at the same rate as the entire league combined how much impact does he really have on the team? Should we assume that it's greater than someone like Dirk and Wade who plays with more reserve on a winning team?

2007: Somewhat a reverse of the 2006 season as far as the team goes. They started off playing well and things got south as injuries pile up. For the second half of the season Kobe went back to 2006 mode. Melo, Lebron, and Dirk all had individually impressive seasons, and Dirk would have been the uncontested MVP of the year had he not stunk up the joint in the playoffs.

2008: This was probably the most interesting year as far as MVP talk goes. 05-07 was kind of a void in that there wasn't a player that stood out in both the regular seasons and the playoffs above the rest where you can say one is unanimously the best player in the game. Heck, Nash wouldn't have won two MVPs if there was a player who was impressive at both the individual and the team level. This year is where we have four candidates in Kobe, KG, CP3 and Lebron that present a strong case. In terms of team success, it's KG by a mile. His adjusted +/- is off the chart and he helped Boston to the biggest turnaround in league history. In terms of individual success, both Lebron and CP3 have better arguments over Kobe. Lebron posted 30/8/7 while winning the scoring title while CP3 took the assist and the steals title. Kobe is in the middle in that he's individually more impressive than KG and have more team success than Lebron and CP3.

2009-2010: Those were Lebron's years. The only argument Kobe has over Lebron is rings, and if that's the way you want to go you would also have to revisit previous years and say Wade is better than Kobe in 06, Duncan in 07, and KG in 08.

So in reality, Kobe had a 3 year period where he had a shot at the MVP, and two of those years were weak enough that Nash got the award simply based on his team success. Then you have 2001-03 and 09-10 where Kobe is in the discussion but no one has a serious case to give him a 1st place vote.

[thewhat]

Im kind of sad. This is becoming more like Jordan's All-Star game in 2002 when Mariah Carey gave him a lapdance at halftime.

Everyone is talking about Kobe like hes done after this year.

[HotRocks34]

Feb. 18, 2007


"Mastering the game interests me," said Wade. "I look at a guy like Kobe Bryant and, really, Kobe has mastered the game. He has every move in the book, he knows what spot to get to and when to raise up and when you want to master the game to the point where it's flawless.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/10005791

Jun 17, 2009

“I believe that Kobe Bryant is still the best player in the game, his experience and his overall talent. It’s not taking away from LeBron, it’s not taking away from Carmelo, it’s not taking away from myself,” Wade told ESPN Radio Chicago. “Kobe has been in the game longer than the rest of us, he’s older than us, he’s smart with the game. He’s the better player.”

http://dimemag.com/2009/06/dwyane-wade- ... -the-game/

Wades always shown respect off the court if not necessarily on it.

Good research. Thanks!

[Mamba Venom]

It's timing

It's crazy that Kobe and lebron are 6 years apart (and wade us only 3 years younger)

But Kobe and Jordan are 16 years apart

Mikan 50s
Russell 60s
Kareem 70s
Magic v Bird 80s
Mj 90s
Kobe 00s
Lebron 10s

[Mamba Venom]

if he entered in 2000 and retired in 2009 then his career was 9 years.

R the the 2 lockout seasons counted as just 1.34 seasons based on duration if months played lol

There r some funny conversations about the numbers. You have to account for start if the season and end of the season

R u guys talking about 1999-99 season and 1999-2000 season. Last year we had the Christmas plus 2012 ( hooray we can still technically say it was the 2011-2012 season)

---

Kobe BOOKENDED the 2000s w ships and started 10s in style w another and he busted his ass the entire decade and gave himself to the game. That is why he is the player of the generation. The best basketball player in history would be Kobe Bryant's brain in shaqs body. The little guy tandem of mj Kobe did it for each decade. It was awesome to watch.

[BattleTested]

The decades obviously go from 00-01 to 08-09 or 90-91 to 98-99. But the argument is pointless either way.

Lol at "obviously." So 99-00 or 89-90 or 09-10 just aren't a part of any decade? Definitely dude.

[Volcano]

Kobe's the best marketed and portrayed to the media and general public, which makes him the most memorable of his era. When you talk about playing ability, he's always been a 1-B or #2 on a great team.

[D.Brasco]

It's timing

It's crazy that Kobe and lebron are 6 years apart (and wade us only 3 years younger)

But Kobe and Jordan are 16 years apart

Mikan 50s
Russell 60s
Kareem 70s
Magic v Bird 80s
Mj 90s
Kobe 00s
Lebron 10s

It's ridiculous to list kobe as the player of the 2000's when shaq and duncan were the leaders of a combined 6 championships to kobe's 1 during that decade assuming the cutoff is 2009 (two if you consider 2010 part of that decade).

Not to mention the teams shaq and duncan led were dominant if not dynasties. Nobody is looking on the 2009-2010 lakers teams as dominant dynasties.

The 2000's were dominated by shaq and duncan.

[WhatRickyThinks]

People who think Kobe>Duncan/Shaq I put in the same category as people with Palin for President stickers. Basically, their ignorance is why democracy can never work.

[LakerLegend]

People who think Kobe>Duncan/Shaq I put in the same category as people with Palin for President stickers. Basically, their ignorance is why democracy can never work.

Please prove your oh so superior intellect instead of useless statements like this

[maximusss]

another unfair portray of "the one" by the media. 1 decade is a very long time to retain the title of the greatest in terms of basketball. besides, obviously players dont start their careers/finish at the start time. Its fair to say that the 2000's belong to Shaq, Duncan and Kobe - just like how the 80's is portrayed as Bird vs Magic - but to break that down even further:

Celtics/Bird vs Magic/Lakers is strongly being highlighted by media now, but in the beginning of the 80's we had Dr.J/Sixers who came out of the east in 80', 82' and 83' (while playing the Celtics 2-2 in terms of playoffs series).
To end the decade, Isiah/Pistons won the east three years in a row. (88', 89', 90')
Media hype aside, although its more than fair to say the west belonged to the Magic (9 finals/5 rings), Dr.J/Bird/Isiah all had a period of dominance in the 80's in the eastern conference.

Now we're also in a situation with several players again, with namely Duncan, Shaq and Kobe. they all belong.

[Typhoon20]

For me Duncan > Kobe. But being a guard who resembles MJ in the city of LA compared to a big in SA really kind of skews the opinions imo. When you read all this talk nearly the majority of people claim Kobe as the best of the 00's. Not saying he isn't but Duncan has as much of a fair share in that talk and IMO is better overall.

[ShowTimeERA]

Who cares, its Wade's opinion...Whether Shaq, Duncan, or Kobe were the greatest of said era - all 3 are top-10 all time players...Personally, I would always side with the dominant big man...Any wing including Micahel would have played second fiddle to Shaq, plain and simple...More so, any of these "new" crop of wings...

[Zasterror]

D-Wade always shown respect to Kobe. This ain't nothing new.

[Masigond]

Players always admire flash as they like to be entertained themselves. See Dirk who said that he's a huge Kobe fan, and that he doesn't like to watch Duncan play. Still he also mentioned Duncan's 4 championship rings...

I really would like players to specify if they are talking about the whole package including show, or who they would name as the greatest player when only talking about impact on court and making a team win.

[Jellybeans824]

Yet most people of RealGM, who has never even come close to the NBA, seem to think they know better

Kobe
Shaq/Duncan

February 13, 2013, 2:50 p.m.

Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki has great admiration for Kobe Bryant.
"To me, he's the number one player over the 15 years I've been in the league," said Nowitzki to Grantland's Zach Lowe.
"I was always a huge fan of Kobe," Nowitzki said. "Obviously, he's now on the declining end, like most of us older guys, but the stuff he does ... they are never out of a game."
Nowitzki said he often tunes in to watch Bryant and the Lakers.
"When I get home, at like 11 p.m., I know the fourth quarter will just be starting in L.A., and I'll sit down and watch him basically will his team to win with some incredible shots."