Best Player in 2008

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Best Player in 2008?

Chris Paul
6
18%
Kevin Garnett
6
18%
Kobe Bryant
15
45%
Lebron James
6
18%
Other
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 33

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Best Player in 2008 

Post#1 » by Matt15 » Tue Sep 14, 2021 10:47 pm

Who was the best player in 2008? I mostly see 4 potential candidates. Personally I have Kobe at #1 but can see arguments for Chris Paul as well.
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Re: Best Player in 2008 

Post#2 » by falcolombardi » Tue Sep 14, 2021 10:54 pm

temptatively

1-lebron
2-kobe
3- chris Paul
4- garnett
5- duncan/dirk

would need to think it more thoroughly
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Re: Best Player in 2008 

Post#3 » by No-more-rings » Tue Sep 14, 2021 11:16 pm

I give it to Kobe, though I don’t think his case is neccesarily clearer than anyone else. His playoff run through the West was Jordan-esque, and looking at the other guys I trusted his offense over what Lebron was at that point and Cp3 was still a bit inexperienced. KG’s impact was situational with him not having to play real high minutes or carry a big load.
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Re: Best Player in 2008 

Post#4 » by Texas Chuck » Tue Sep 14, 2021 11:43 pm

Lebron. Paul, KG, Kobe and Dirk likely his closest challengers.
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Re: Best Player in 2008 

Post#5 » by feyki » Wed Sep 15, 2021 9:32 am

Kobe and Paul were really close. Then Lebron and then Garnett and Dirk fill the top 5.
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Re: Best Player in 2008 

Post#6 » by 70sFan » Wed Sep 15, 2021 9:34 am

It's between Kobe and Garnett for me. I probably lean to KG, I'm more attracted by two-way bigmen in general.

James has reasonable case as well, but he's clearly behind these two. Then you have Dirk and Duncan fighting for the 5th spot.
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Re: Best Player in 2008 

Post#7 » by Point-Forward » Wed Sep 15, 2021 2:17 pm

I would say Kobe.

It's not a myth he changed his game a bit and became more of a playmaker (at least in comparison with the two prior years). He was actually doing a good job carrying the team before the arrival of Gasol in february (which was the final piece of the puzzle). The Lakers had a pretty respectable record prior to that point. He also was a more disciplined defensive player. I remember Tex Winter critizicing his defensive performance prior to the season and he probably took that as a challenge, lost some weight and got on to it. 2008 is his best defensive version other than 2000-2002 (the fact that he didn't have to deploy so much energy on the offensive end probably played a role also). So to sum it up, he was basically the same killer and scoring machine as always, but revitalized as a playmaker and as a defender.

Then he went berserker mode in the Playoffs, destroying Denver and Utah in the first two rounds, and playing a very intelligent game against San Antonio in the Conference Finals. I remember him not taking more than a couple of shots in the first half of games and telling to myself "is this Kobe?". He was a much more patient and cerebral player, let the game come to him, set his teammates up and then took over when the situation called for it. The only stain in his curriculum was the Finals against Boston, where he suffered in terms of scoring efficiency, but yet again, the Celtics were throwing double and triple teams at him 24/7, and the interior guys didn't step up to the challenge. They needed to mature and get stronger mentally before they could contend with Boston. With all that said, Lakers stole two games and, if not for the unexplicable comebacks, could have even won that series.

The other contender would be Chris Paul. One of the peak seasons historically for a PG in my view. I loved Garnett's game and impact that year also, but he was not the same shot creator that Kobe and Paul were. This is something I value a lot in a franchise player, specially come Playoff time.
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Re: Best Player in 2008 

Post#8 » by Strepbacter » Wed Sep 15, 2021 2:25 pm

It was Kobe. Best offensive player in the league + legit All-Defense level guard.
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Re: Best Player in 2008 

Post#9 » by Dutchball97 » Wed Sep 15, 2021 2:36 pm

Very close between Chris Paul and Kobe. I voted for CP3 as I think he had arguably the best regular season and probably played a slightly better individual series against the Spurs than Kobe did the next round. If Kobe had a somewhat better finals I'd probably have went with him instead though.

I can also see arguments for Kevin Garnett and to a lesser degree LeBron James but I do have them firmly behind Kobe and CP3 for this season personally.
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Re: Best Player in 2008 

Post#10 » by No-more-rings » Wed Sep 15, 2021 2:54 pm

Dutchball97 wrote:I voted for CP3 as I think he had arguably the best regular season and probably played a slightly better individual series against the Spurs than Kobe did the next round.

Don't know about that one. Remember Kobe didn't get much out of Pau offensively he was basically shut down. Kobe closed out game 5 with 39 points, while no one else did much of anything on offense. I think both Kobe and Paul played well, not sure what makes you give Cp3 the edge though.
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Re: Best Player in 2008 

Post#11 » by Dutchball97 » Wed Sep 15, 2021 3:48 pm

No-more-rings wrote:
Dutchball97 wrote:I voted for CP3 as I think he had arguably the best regular season and probably played a slightly better individual series against the Spurs than Kobe did the next round.

Don't know about that one. Remember Kobe didn't get much out of Pau offensively he was basically shut down. Kobe closed out game 5 with 39 points, while no one else did much of anything on offense. I think both Kobe and Paul played well, not sure what makes you give Cp3 the edge though.


I mean, "probably played slightly better" isn't all that decisive of a statement. The biggest difference is imo their playmaking. You could argue that this isn't Kobe's role but with Fisher just not doing a good job at being the PG and Kobe leading the Lakers in assists and AST% they definitely could've benefitted from a bit more playmaking on Kobe's end. Kobe averaged 3.8 assists against the Spurs with a AST% of 20 and a 1.6:1 AST-TOV ratio, while Chris Paul in the second round against the Spurs averaged 10.7 assists with a AST% of 50.7 and a 4.7:1 AST-TOV ratio. I don't think Kobe's advantages in terms of scoring and defense necessarily swing it the other way as Paul also had great scoring that series and played good defense. Pau struggling offensively and Fisher just not providing what you'd like from a backcourt partner for Kobe might do the trick but I don't think the Hornets supporting cast was that much better outside of West having a strong series.

Like I said I think it is close and their respective performances against the Spurs was less of a factor than CP3's (imo) somewhat better regular season and Kobe not having a great finals. Still a toss up either way and if you ask me some other time I might go with Kobe but this is just one of those seasons I don't think you can go wrong with either Kobe or CP3.
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Re: Best Player in 2008 

Post#12 » by Statlanta » Wed Sep 15, 2021 4:02 pm

I voted Kobe I thought KG regressed from his prime self this season
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