Will we ever see a player airball 4 times in an elimination game like Kobe ever again?

[EAS Law]

Yo discuss whatever you wish I suppose but out of decency, can we let the ink dry on the man’s death certificate before we continue to try to tear down his legacy? Like it hasn’t even been a month or two and I’m almost sure this is the fifth of sixth thread aimed at diminishing Kobe Bryant in the astoundingly short period of time since he was tragically killed.

The frequency of these threads I would say is probably lower than before the incident.

That being said, you’ve said it had only been one or two months. How long is the appropriate wait time?

Im not implying that anyone should ignore any shortcomings Kobe had. I’m saying it’s obviously an extremely specific negative lowlight of a 20 year career that was really successful by any reasonable account. So we randomly choose to single out the person and moment to discuss right now? It just seems oddly intentional.

[J___Av]

Eh, I mean he was what? 18-19 at the time ? He went on to become one of the clutchest players of all time after that. From the players perspective, even in today’s game, if their mind is resilient enough they can overcome something like that also.

He was very mixed in the clutch. He wasn't great in game 7s, he has had historic chokes like in Game 2 against OKC in 2012, and of course he was definitely not one you would want to "take the last shot." There were some great moments off his misses though. The Horry shot is famous and in 2010 in their last title run Gasol put back a Kobe miss for the game winner and Artest got an Artest airball and made the game winner. In the 2009 Finals, it was Derek Fisher who dribbled down and buried the clutch 3 to send it to OT in game 4, not Kobe.

I’m familiar with Kobe’s work, and if that’s how you look at it, that’s fine, but most players, coaches, teams, want anyone but Kobe shooting the last shot. Saying it’s a historic choke (game 2 vs OKC) is preposterous; they let a lead get away from them.

We’ve seen Kobe hit game winners, game tying shots, clutch shots, dozens — if not, hundreds — of times over. In my book, he’s top 5-6 clutch all time. Other people don’t feel the same way and that’s cool, but those narratives you’re shelling out are reaches.

Its more than just taking the last shot (which he shoots like 20 something %) its about elimination games, game 7s and hell even the playoffs. Kobe's numbers in these games drops more than almost any other all time great. Kobe's decision making in these moments and games was always questionable because he wants to do it all himself and be the hero. The other teams knew this and thats why his big game numbers are so underwhelming (by his standards). Kobe saw Jordan and all his hero moments and games and wanted that to be him. What he didn't get was Jordan would make the RIGHT play in these games/moments. Jordan didn't force it. Kobe forcing it is why his numbers went down the bigger the moment is

[Priest24]

Watch on YouTube

I feel like in this social media age, any player that did this would get absolutely murdered and may never live this down. Especially any high profile player.

Honestly Kobe was probably harder on himself than anybody could be. Social media and opinions from worthless people don't even matter to someone built like that.

[JB2]

Probably not but it isn't surprising he did. He has very mixed results when the stakes are highest.

Bruh he was 17

[Han Solo]

Watch on YouTube

I feel like in this social media age, any player that did this would get absolutely murdered and may never live this down. Especially any high profile player.

Yeah well he was a brick master. Missing shots was what he was best at.

Kobe career bricks: 14,481
Kobe career makes: 11,719

If you've been watching Kobe all these years then you've seen him miss almost 3,000 more times than you've seen him make.

30,000 Point Club - Lowest FG%:

1. Kobe Bryant .447
2. Dirk Nowitzki .471
3. Michael Jordan .497
4. LeBron James .504
5. Julius Erving .506
6. Karl Malone .516
7. Wilt Chamberlain .540
8. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar .559

I maintain that Kobe Bryant is the most overrated player in NBA history.

His status in the minds of his biggest supporters (GOAT/Top 3/Top 5) does not match who he actually was (Top 15/Top 20).

Still better than LeBron.

[Han Solo]

Pennebaker spends 18 hours a day on RealGm trying to prove to everyone LeBron is better than Jordan and Kobe.

That’s your whole life. You’re in all these bash threads. You also celebrated Kobe’s death. I won’t forget that and I know some others on here won’t either.

You’re a punk. With a LeBron fetish.

[Cavsfansince84]

His age needs to be taken into account. I don't think this thread is going to accomplish much though other than to hate on Kobe for no reason.

[Hindenburg]

Classless troll thread

[celticfan42487]

Probably not but it isn't surprising he did. He has very mixed results when the stakes are highest.

Bruh he was 17

This stayed consistent throughout his entire career

[Pennebaker]

Pennebaker spends 18 hours a day on RealGm trying to prove to everyone LeBron is better than Jordan and Kobe.

That’s your whole life. You’re in all these bash threads. You also celebrated Kobe’s death. I won’t forget that and I know some others on here won’t either.

You’re a punk. With a LeBron fetish.

Look in the mirror, Han. You're obsessed with me.

[azcatz11]

Pennebaker spends 18 hours a day on RealGm trying to prove to everyone LeBron is better than Jordan and Kobe.

That’s your whole life. You’re in all these bash threads. You also celebrated Kobe’s death. I won’t forget that and I know some others on here won’t either.

You’re a punk. With a LeBron fetish.

He celebrated Kobe's death?

[Han Solo]

Pennebaker spends 18 hours a day on RealGm trying to prove to everyone LeBron is better than Jordan and Kobe.

That’s your whole life. You’re in all these bash threads. You also celebrated Kobe’s death. I won’t forget that and I know some others on here won’t either.

You’re a punk. With a LeBron fetish.

Look in the mirror, Han. You're obsessed with me.

You should have been banned for celebrating Kobe’s death. That I’m obsessed with.

[Han Solo]

Pennebaker spends 18 hours a day on RealGm trying to prove to everyone LeBron is better than Jordan and Kobe.

That’s your whole life. You’re in all these bash threads. You also celebrated Kobe’s death. I won’t forget that and I know some others on here won’t either.

You’re a punk. With a LeBron fetish.

He celebrated Kobe's death?

Yes.

[Pennebaker]

Pennebaker spends 18 hours a day on RealGm trying to prove to everyone LeBron is better than Jordan and Kobe.

That’s your whole life. You’re in all these bash threads. You also celebrated Kobe’s death. I won’t forget that and I know some others on here won’t either.

You’re a punk. With a LeBron fetish.

He celebrated Kobe's death?

No. This guy sees what he wants to see.

I made a post about LeBron's record and stats against Kobe and mentioned that Kobe died the day after LeBron passed him in all time scoring (that's probably the part he didnt like), and posted a picture I've been using for years in LeBron vs. Kobe threads - LeBron standing over Kobe next to a picture of Ali knocking out Sonny Liston - and he took that as celebrating a death instead of what it was, LeBron being a superior basketball player.

And this wasnt right after Kobe died, mind you, it was just the other day. We're months removed.

In any case, it was in the spirit of basketball trash talk.

We probably shouldn't talk more about it because the thread could get locked. So I'll leave it at that.

[BigtimeNBAfan]

Kobe is slightly overrated, but only because he is rated so high by so many people. He shouldn't realistically be in the GOAT conversation. If someone said Kobe was the 7th best player ever, ok! But when people like Randy Moss and Arod say he is the greatest, it is just a joke.

[aznsk91]

:lol:


No one has a more fabricated clutch image than Kobe

Who is clutch today in your mind? And besides Mike or Bird (take them as givens), who was clutch to you in the 80s/90s? Gimme a few names for each, not gonna argue w/ your picks. Just wanna get a sense of what you consider legit clutch image vs Kobe's. I know Kobe missed a lot of clutch shots, but he made a lot. People don't consider the misses when they judge that stuff, by and large. And it could be a tough rep to get even if you actually are clutch. EG Vince. He had plenty of clutch shots, but he's not on most peoples' top 5 list for whatever reason.

I don’t think Kobe’s unclutch I just think he has an image that far exceeds reality.


This particular instance when he was young is meaningless I just found it amusing a thread was made of it

I feel a large part of this is based on the differences between player and fan perception on Kobe, since players actually played against Kobe. the fan argument always points to the actual statistics, despite this Kobe was often touted as the most clutch/scary/feared player to play against amongst his peers and NBA coaches. Even as Kobe was tailing off and Lebron in his prime, I remember some NBA players still saying Kobe was the best in the game.

I believe both sides have a point. as fans we can only point to the statistics. but, I also feel player and coach perception of Kobe is very important. the game goes beyond just numbers. player and coaches offer a unique perspective because they played against Kobe in the moment, so the intangibles like his trash talking/killer instinct/etc may be more apparent. I feel there is a large psychological component to this. So, I agree he wasn't this behemoth that made every shot, but I do feel he made these tough shots consistently enough that resulted in demoralizing affects on opponents. I guess I'm just saying, yes you can point the numbers, but I feel there is a reason why Kobe was often touted as the best in the game by his peers and NBA coaches.

[Tracymcgoaty]

Pennebaker spends 18 hours a day on RealGm trying to prove to everyone LeBron is better than Jordan and Kobe.

That’s your whole life. You’re in all these bash threads. You also celebrated Kobe’s death. I won’t forget that and I know some others on here won’t either.

You’re a punk. With a LeBron fetish.

He celebrated Kobe's death?

Yes.

You make that kind of an allegation you better back it the **** up with something other than yes.

[Jordan Stopper]

He was given the green light to take those shots by Dell Harris.

He's not to blame here.

I honestly think he made the right decision in every one of those plays

[reflex35]

This is truly irrelevant.
A young kid having guts to airball a few times.
It might look bad in that moment but in a long run it worked out better for Kobe.

[Jordan Stopper]

Dell Harris is to blame here.

He gave him too much leash.

Anyone else would've crumbled after such a disastrous experience.