Greater: Kobe Bryant vs Stephen Curry

[PaulLee]

I'm a big Steph fan, but it will be hard for Steph to be greater than Kobe with the amount of defensive accolades that Kobe has under his belt. Kobe was all defensive 1st team 9 times!

Several of those rightfully belong to Doug Christie.

Ok, so drop him to the second team? Doesnt move the needle. Steph will need to finish up having an offensive career/accolades comparable to Magic for him to move ahead of Kobe.

[Matt15]

Kobe will go down in history as the greater player for sure.

[HeartBreakKid]

I'm a big Steph fan, but it will be hard for Steph to be greater than Kobe with the amount of defensive accolades that Kobe has under his belt. Kobe was all defensive 1st team 9 times!

Several of those rightfully belong to Doug Christie.

Ok, so drop him to the second team? Doesnt move the needle. Steph will need to finish up having an offensive career/accolades comparable to Magic for him to move ahead of Kobe.

Kobe Bryant didn't deserve 9 all defensive awards, 1st or 2nd team. He was getting them even after it was a meme that he was a bad defender (among casual audiences no less).

Just saying, look at the amount of all-defensive awards Kobe has and then look at the amount defensive specialist have who played at the same time. Iguodalla has one first team and one second team selection, not a great look unless someone thinks 30 year old + Bryant is a better defender than Iguodalla.

[dcstanley]

Kobe. And Kobe didn’t have the quality of players in his later years that Curry had. I’m talking 07-10 Lakers. Kobe’s prime yielded two rings in a tough league. He was the man, the role model and the only player to reach MJ status( yes he got there). Kobe only needed Gasol with good role players to get over the hump. I miss him, his tenacity, his drive and motivation. No Kobe means many players today would suck. A lot of players modeled their games after him. RIP KB24. It would have been nice to see him in a Net uniform but i understand LA is where it was at.

Tough league? The 09 and 10 Lakers faced teams like the Ron Artest led Rockets, Deron Williams led Jazz, Carmelo Anthony led Nuggets, Dwight Howard led Magic, 34 year-old Steve Nash led Suns, the 2010 Celtics with a hobbled Garnett en route to their two championships. I wouldn't call any of those teams world beaters.. The Lakers were certainly not at a talent disadvantage.

[Ruma85]

Kobe. And Kobe didn’t have the quality of players in his later years that Curry had. I’m talking 07-10 Lakers. Kobe’s prime yielded two rings in a tough league. He was the man, the role model and the only player to reach MJ status( yes he got there). Kobe only needed Gasol with good role players to get over the hump. I miss him, his tenacity, his drive and motivation. No Kobe means many players today would suck. A lot of players modeled their games after him. RIP KB24. It would have been nice to see him in a Net uniform but i understand LA is where it was at.

Tough league? The 09 and 10 Lakers faced teams like the Ron Artest led Rockets, Deron Williams led Jazz, Carmelo Anthony led Nuggets, Dwight Howard led Magic, 34 year-old Steve Nash led Suns, the 2010 Celtics with a hobbled Garnett en route to their two championships. I wouldn't call any of those teams world beaters.. The Lakers were certainly not at a talent disadvantage.

Curious i know this is a little off topic, how do you think the warriors would fare in those 09-10 seasons?

[Ruma85]

Several of those rightfully belong to Doug Christie.

Ok, so drop him to the second team? Doesnt move the needle. Steph will need to finish up having an offensive career/accolades comparable to Magic for him to move ahead of Kobe.

Kobe Bryant didn't deserve 9 all defensive awards, 1st or 2nd team. He was getting them even after it was a meme that he was a bad defender (among casual audiences no less).

Just saying, look at the amount of all-defensive awards Kobe has and then look at the amount defensive specialist have who played at the same time. Iguodalla has one first team and one second team selection, not a great look unless someone thinks 30 year old + Bryant is a better defender than Iguodalla.

I was always curious does the nba feel the need to give the all defensive team award to a player who has a lot of responsibilities on the offensive end as well? i agree kobe hasn't probably deserved some of the all defensive selections.

[No-more-rings]

Paint me skeptical that Curry surpasses Kobe's career. What we have so far with Curry turning 34 this season.

Kobe: 18 time all star(though fair to say around 14-15 were actually deserved)
-5 time champion(2 as the clear best player)
- 2 FMVP
-15 total all nba teams
-Prior to 2013, missed few or no games in the playoffs, never missed more than 17 games in a season prior to the ACL tear
-Was 1b to Shaq on what was probably the second greatest postseason team ever(2001 Lakers)

Curry: 7 time all star(this year will make it 8)
3 time champion(1 as the clear best, 2 as a 1a/1b)
7 total all nba teams(this year should be 8)
Not as durable as Kobe, missed most of 2012, multiple playoff games in 2016, 2018 and missed 30+ games in 2018 and the whole 2020 season

If Curry's best 3-5 seasons are better than Kobe's I don't see it by a significant margin. Seems to me Curry needs to reel off 2-3 more mvp caliber seasons after this one plus be an all star a few more after, I see that as unlikely given his age and injury history but not impossible.

[HeartBreakKid]

Ok, so drop him to the second team? Doesnt move the needle. Steph will need to finish up having an offensive career/accolades comparable to Magic for him to move ahead of Kobe.

Kobe Bryant didn't deserve 9 all defensive awards, 1st or 2nd team. He was getting them even after it was a meme that he was a bad defender (among casual audiences no less).

Just saying, look at the amount of all-defensive awards Kobe has and then look at the amount defensive specialist have who played at the same time. Iguodalla has one first team and one second team selection, not a great look unless someone thinks 30 year old + Bryant is a better defender than Iguodalla.

I was always curious does the nba feel the need to give the all defensive team award to a player who has a lot of responsibilities on the offensive end as well? i agree kobe hasn't probably deserved some of the all defensive selections.

The NBA doesn't give its own awards, it's from a large panel of authority figures in the media.

A lot of them simply do not pay attention to most teams, much less defense.

[falcolombardi]

Kobe Bryant didn't deserve 9 all defensive awards, 1st or 2nd team. He was getting them even after it was a meme that he was a bad defender (among casual audiences no less).

Just saying, look at the amount of all-defensive awards Kobe has and then look at the amount defensive specialist have who played at the same time. Iguodalla has one first team and one second team selection, not a great look unless someone thinks 30 year old + Bryant is a better defender than Iguodalla.

I was always curious does the nba feel the need to give the all defensive team award to a player who has a lot of responsibilities on the offensive end as well? i agree kobe hasn't probably deserved some of the all defensive selections.

The NBA doesn't give its own awards, it's from a large panel of authority figures in the media.

A lot of them simply do not pay attention to most teams, much less defense.

basically this, nba awards are like movie awards for the most part (think the oscars)

for the most part the people dont become judges because they are experts on cinema/basketball but rather because they are famous or influencial already (within pro sports coverage standards) or in Hollywood case, have the right connections

some of them are more than worthy of the spot, others dont even watch the movies/games

the end results end up more or less close to consensus with a few really. really bad picks every year

[HeartBreakKid]

I was always curious does the nba feel the need to give the all defensive team award to a player who has a lot of responsibilities on the offensive end as well? i agree kobe hasn't probably deserved some of the all defensive selections.

The NBA doesn't give its own awards, it's from a large panel of authority figures in the media.

A lot of them simply do not pay attention to most teams, much less defense.

basically this, nba awards are like movie awards for the most part (think the oscars)

for the most part the people dont become judges because they are experts on cinema/basketball but rather because they are famous or influencial already (within pro sports coverage standards) or in Hollywood case, have the right connections

some of them are more than worthy of the spot, others dont even watch the movies/games

the end results end up more or less close to consensus with a few really. really bad picks every year

I was thinking of the same analogy. A lot of people will say, vote for whatever Pixar movie is out as the best animated movie because that's just what their kids saw for the Oscars etc.

[falcolombardi]

The NBA doesn't give its own awards, it's from a large panel of authority figures in the media.

A lot of them simply do not pay attention to most teams, much less defense.

basically this, nba awards are like movie awards for the most part (think the oscars)

for the most part the people dont become judges because they are experts on cinema/basketball but rather because they are famous or influencial already (within pro sports coverage standards) or in Hollywood case, have the right connections

some of them are more than worthy of the spot, others dont even watch the movies/games

the end results end up more or less close to consensus with a few really. really bad picks every year

I was thinking of the same analogy. A lot of people will say, vote for whatever Pixar movie is out as the best animated movie because that's just what their kids saw for the Oscars etc.

is even worse than that, some dude admited outright he didnt see any of the animatión movies he was a judge on but rather saw that one had a dog and voted for it without watching because...it had a dog in the cover and he likes dogs

i honestly would be surprised if voters like sas had more through reasoning and analysis thsn that

[Ruma85]

I'm quite dumb founded by the poll result of this topic.

Curry is a great great player he would most like end up very near a top 10 player when it's all set and done. The guy has maximised everything has in his career.

In my honest take of all this there is no shame in curry not being on Bryant's level few are, when i say level i mean cream of the top of players that have ever played.

[ceiling raiser]

I'm quite dumb founded by the poll result of this topic.

Curry is a great great player he would most like end up very near a top 10 player when it's all set and done. The guy has maximised everything has in his career.

In my honest take of all this there is no shame in curry not being on Bryant's level few are, when i say level i mean cream of the top of players that have ever played.

There is no shame in Kobe being a top 15-20 player of all-time either. Some people who saw the entirety of both of their careers just felt Curry was a more impactful player.

[Ruma85]

I'm quite dumb founded by the poll result of this topic.

Curry is a great great player he would most like end up very near a top 10 player when it's all set and done. The guy has maximised everything has in his career.

In my honest take of all this there is no shame in curry not being on Bryant's level few are, when i say level i mean cream of the top of players that have ever played.

There is no shame in Kobe being a top 15-20 player of all-time either. Some people who saw the entirety of both of their careers just felt Curry was a more impactful player.

I'm shocked by the result being 66 percent for Curry, i no problem people not argeeing with me.

Though if kobe is top 15 then so is Curry.

[ceiling raiser]

I'm quite dumb founded by the poll result of this topic.

Curry is a great great player he would most like end up very near a top 10 player when it's all set and done. The guy has maximised everything has in his career.

In my honest take of all this there is no shame in curry not being on Bryant's level few are, when i say level i mean cream of the top of players that have ever played.

There is no shame in Kobe being a top 15-20 player of all-time either. Some people who saw the entirety of both of their careers just felt Curry was a more impactful player.

I'm shocked by the result being 66 percent for Curry, i no problem people not argeeing with me.

Though if kobe is top 15 then so is Curry.

I think Curry had higher highs. Sometimes though I feel like I value the fact that Kobe’s skillset was more resilient in the playoffs. It’s interesting to think about how they’d play together imo.

[Amares]

I'm quite dumb founded by the poll result of this topic.

Curry is a great great player he would most like end up very near a top 10 player when it's all set and done. The guy has maximised everything has in his career.

In my honest take of all this there is no shame in curry not being on Bryant's level few are, when i say level i mean cream of the top of players that have ever played.

There is no shame in Kobe being a top 15-20 player of all-time either. Some people who saw the entirety of both of their careers just felt Curry was a more impactful player.

I'm shocked by the result being 66 percent for Curry, i no problem people not argeeing with me.

Though if kobe is top 15 then so is Curry.

It's "When it's all said and done" approach. Curry is not higher than Kobe for most yet, but he will at the end.

[Dutchball97]

Curry peaked higher than Kobe by quite a margin in the regular season imo although I do think Kobe probably still has the best play-off run between them in 2009.

The big advantage Kobe has right now is his longevity. Both guys became star players around their 4th season but Kobe entered the league 3 years younger than Curry. Considering Kobe's last great year was his age 34 season in 12/13 (All-NBA 1st, 5th in MVP voting, 10+ WS) and he didn't miss an entire prime season like Curry did in 19/20, there is about a 5 season difference between them and that is including the current season already.

Curry's game does seem to be aging better than Kobe's did but to catch up in terms of longevity he'll have to play close to his current form untill he's nearly 40. That does seem to be a big ask but it isn't entirely impossible.

I think if Curry has a couple more seasons at his current level he'll at least be close enough in terms of longevity for his peak/prime to give him the edge over Kobe but I believe whichever way it falls they'll end up very close to each other on the all-time list.

[Ruma85]

Curry peaked higher than Kobe by quite a margin in the regular season imo although I do think Kobe probably still has the best play-off run between them in 2009.

The big advantage Kobe has right now is his longevity. Both guys became star players around their 4th season but Kobe entered the league 3 years younger than Curry. Considering Kobe's last great year was his age 34 season in 12/13 (All-NBA 1st, 5th in MVP voting, 10+ WS) and he didn't miss an entire prime season like Curry did in 19/20, there is about a 5 season difference between them and that is including the current season already.

Curry's game does seem to be aging better than Kobe's did but to catch up in terms of longevity he'll have to play close to his current form untill he's nearly 40. That does seem to be a big ask but it isn't entirely impossible.

I think if Curry has a couple more seasons at his current level he'll at least be close enough in terms of longevity for his peak/prime to give him the edge over Kobe but I believe whichever way it falls they'll end up very close to each other on the all-time list.

As bad as this sounds,, and it get's annoying at times. Curry would need two epic runs in the playoffs meaning two more rings for me to put him next to kobe.

I would love to be proven wrong.

[Dutchball97]

Curry peaked higher than Kobe by quite a margin in the regular season imo although I do think Kobe probably still has the best play-off run between them in 2009.

The big advantage Kobe has right now is his longevity. Both guys became star players around their 4th season but Kobe entered the league 3 years younger than Curry. Considering Kobe's last great year was his age 34 season in 12/13 (All-NBA 1st, 5th in MVP voting, 10+ WS) and he didn't miss an entire prime season like Curry did in 19/20, there is about a 5 season difference between them and that is including the current season already.

Curry's game does seem to be aging better than Kobe's did but to catch up in terms of longevity he'll have to play close to his current form untill he's nearly 40. That does seem to be a big ask but it isn't entirely impossible.

I think if Curry has a couple more seasons at his current level he'll at least be close enough in terms of longevity for his peak/prime to give him the edge over Kobe but I believe whichever way it falls they'll end up very close to each other on the all-time list.

As bad as this sounds,, and it get's annoying at times. Curry would need two epic runs in the playoffs meaning two more rings for me to put him next to kobe.

I would love to be proven wrong.

Everyone's criteria are different but I personally don't take rings into account. I don't think it is a great way of judging an individual's impact in the post-season. Kobe would only have 2 rings if Shaq never went to the Lakers or possibly even 0 if Pau didn't join the Lakers either. The same goes for Curry and his best teammates like KD/Dray as well of course.

Instead I prefer looking at career WS. It is an imperfect metric but it goes back to the era of Russell/Wilt and gives at least a pretty decent ballpark of someone's impact. In terms of play-off career WS Kobe is currently 8th with 28.3, while Curry is 33rd with 17.1 so I nontheless agree Curry would need a couple deep runs to close that gap in longevity.

I do think it would help for Curry to have a more dominant play-off run. If he peaks higher than Kobe in both the regular season and play-offs, it is easier to ignore some of Kobe's longevity advantage.

[SpreeS]

Kobe had longer career in the most important NBA market - LA. It helped a lot - media, fans, attract other players way easier, career started with all time great O'Neal. Curry started career in one of the worst club in NBA with crappy owners. One had everything from the start, other was franchise changer, raised from bottom to top.

Impact on winning its not even close:

Career winning %
Curry 0.662 (791 games)
Kobe 0.621 (1346 games)

Team winning % w/o Curry/Kobe
GSW 0.331 (181 games)
LAL 0.435 (246 games)

Difference %
Curry 0.331
Kobe 0.186

Career +/-
Curry +5245 +6.63pts/g
Kobe +4153 +3.09pts/g

Career Netrtg
Curry on +8.6 off -3.1 net +11.7
Kobe on +4.2 off -0.4 net +4.6

PO career +/-
Curry +777 +6.94pts/g
Kobe +555 +2.52pts/g

PO career netrtg
Curry on +8.3 off -4.1 net +12.4
Kobe on +3.3 off -4.3 net +7.6

Curry is way dominant on inpact stats, way better floor and ceiling riser. If he started career in LA with O'Neal, would have way more achievements.