Do you think Kobe Bryant (the greatest basketball player in history) will lead the Lakers to it's 3rd Three-Peat ?

It's hard to compare the old NBA which didn't have technology the level of talent, and the intensity of plya that we have today. I don't think it's fair at all. The five rings Kobe has won were done with far more hurdles to overcome and with so much more technology thrown against him and the Lakers than the old NBA days. It's like trying to equate the racist MLB days to the days after liberation. I.e. the game of baseball changed 1,000% as the MLB threw away white racism and transformed itself into the Negro Leagues. The Negro Leagues stole bases, faked throws, pitchers intentionally threw at batters, runners intentionally slid into basemen, etc. That's why the old racist MLB records are universally ignored by baseball fans.

If you compare Kobe & Michael lifetime stats, Jordan comes out stronger in every key stat but 3 pt shooting:

Jordan Bryant Johnson

shooting pct .497 .455 .520

3 pt pct .327 .340 .303

assists/game 5.3 4.7 11.2

rebs/game 6.2 5.3 7.2

free throws made/game 6.8 6.4 5.5

pts/game 30.1 25.3 19.5

I still think you can make a case for Magic Johnson as being up there with the other MJ. Better FG pct, rebounds, and 6 more assists per game makes up for the gap in points per game.

I believe Lebron will likely outstrip all three of them by the time he's done. Matching Michaels 6 rings will prove to be a tall order for Lebron. If Wade were several years younger he would have a better shot at that.

wtf where did my spaces go? how do you format on lr.com?

..................................Jordan Bryant Johnson

shooting pct_________ .497__ .455__ .520

3 pt pct_____________.327__ .340__ .303

assists/game__________ 5.3 ___4.7__ 11.2

rebs/game____________ 6.2 ___5.3___ 7.2

free throws made/game__ 6.8 ___6.4___ 5.5

pts/game____________ 30.1 __25.3__ 19.5

It's a new era now. The NBA is a totally different game. many of the old stars would not have made the roster in today's NBA.

Kobe Bryant will WIN the Lakers Triple Triple. Kobe is the greatest B-Baller ever.

Kobe is possibly one of the top ten all time.

Anyone who even puts him in the same galaxy as MJ either never saw MJ play or is certifiably retarded.

Kobe's leading his team to 5 NBA titles? Yeah, right. Try 2. Were you guys even old enough to watch Shaq lead the Lakers to those first 3?

If you want to give credit to Kobe as one of the all time greats then you'll have to put him right up there with Robert Horry.

Different era wrote:

It's a new era now. The NBA is a totally different game. many of the old stars would not have made the roster in today's NBA.

You are kidding, right? I'm guessing if Magic, Jordan, Bird, etc. were 25 and playing in the NBA their stats would be just as good (if not better) than they were in their era. They had the fundamental tools, they would be bigger, faster and stronger, just like everyone else in this day. I mean, Jordan averaged 20 a game just seven years ago, and he was 41 years old!

This is the problem with the current "ESPN era" thinking. Ever notice how in every single sport, at every level, the "best ever" for that sport it playing right now?

It's like people calling Tebow the best college football player ever, or Hansbrough the best college player ever. Hansbrough would have been a sixth man on Carolina teams in the 80s (tell me how he starts on the 82 title team for example -- and even the best ever in the ACC? What would a guy like Lenny Bias have done to him?) and Tebow? He was a winner, but best ever? That covers waaayyy too much ground.

John Stockton is the greatest b-ball player ever.

Magic & Jordan wouldn't be stars let alone superstars in today's NBA. It's a new game, totally different from your mammy's NBA.

Michael Jordan led the Bulls to two three-peats. He's the greatest player in history. Kobe wouldn't make top 5.

Triple Triple wrote:

Kobe Bryant will WIN the Lakers Triple Triple. Kobe is the greatest B-Baller ever.

I think you meant to say he was the greatest B-baller that was also a rapist.

technology????? last time i checked the floor was the same size, the rim was the same height, and they use the same ball. the only thing that has changed are the huge baggy uniforms which carry more weight and inhibit movement more (a regression if anything). please explain the technology argument because you're being incredibly vague and sound like a typical teenager.

what people tend to forget about magic and bird is that these guys both averaged a double double for their entire career. stop and think about how many players do that for a season and then realize they did it over the course of a career. lebron and kobe, who are widely considered the best these days, have not done that for even one season in their careers. kobe is obviously a bit smaller than magic and bird but lebron is not. he's about the same size and more athletic but doesn't understand the game as well as magic and bird. he's the most overhyped athlete on the planet.

the other thing people forget about magic and bird is that both were winners their entire career. larry bird went to indiana state. he single handedly carried that team to the national finals that year (losing to msu and magic). after he left they didn't make it back to the tournament until 2000. his rookie year with the celtics they had a 32 game turnaround and his second season they won the title. both guys made players around them great and were clutch championship performers. kobe is the only guy in the leauge that can compare with these two right now. lebron is not even in the same discussion.

Michael Jordan would average probably 36-40 ppg in this pansy, hand-check, don't touch the superstars inside the 3-point line NBA. If Kobe had to play back in Jordan's day when you could just maul people with the ball and there were hard fouls without chickenshit "flagrant" fouls, he would have quit.

Is this thread about whether Kobe Bryant can lead the Lakers to the title, or whether the greatest basketball player in history will lead the Lakers to the title? Because those are two VERY different things.

I have listened to every argument for anybody not named Michael Jordan to claim to be the greatest basketball player in history. No argument is even worth listening to anymore. Jordan was so good that people got sick of voting him as the MVP, and voted for other people out of sheer boredom. He clearly was shafted on the 1993 and 1997 MVP awards, and almost definitely was shafted in 1990 as well (not to mention that he clearly would have won in 1994 and 1995 had he played).

atownrunnin wrote:I mean, Jordan averaged 20 a game just seven years ago, and he was 41 years old!.

Fantastic point...and let us not forget Jordan took a little sabatical to play baseball. His career feats, and feats upon returning would have been that much greater if he had stuck with basketball...take away the event of his dad dying and his amazing career would be just that more amazing.

From Los Angeles (the undisputed basketball Capitol of the World (with the NCAA and NBA championships to prove it):

Do you think Kobe Bryant (the greatest basketball player in history) will lead the Lakers to it's 3rd Three-Peat this season ?

Yahvol ! Kobe will win the 3^3 for the Lakes. KB is the top sports star ever and the best B-ball player ever in the NBA. There never has been a better player and never will be anyone better than Kobe. You can't argue with that.

3^3 wrote:

Yahvol ! Kobe will win the 3^3 for the Lakes. KB is the top sports star ever and the best B-ball player ever in the NBA (that is also a rapist). There never has been a better player (that enjoyed rape) and never will be anyone better than Kobe (who raped a girl). You can't argue with that.

Fixed that for you.

3^3 wrote:

From Los Angeles (the undisputed basketball Capitol of the World (with the NCAA and NBA championships to prove it):

Do you think Kobe Bryant (the greatest basketball player in history) will lead the Lakers to it's 3rd Three-Peat this season ?

Yahvol ! Kobe will win the 3^3 for the Lakes. KB is the top sports star ever and the best B-ball player ever in the NBA. There never has been a better player and never will be anyone better than Kobe. You can't argue with that.

MJ essentially won 6 years in a row (the 6 full seasons he played before/after baseball), and then retired before returning again for the wizards. Most who watched the bulls would be willing to bet it would have been 8 years in a row if he hadn't gone to play baseball. I would not have been shocked to see Jordan win 10 in a row if he wanted to keep playing. You obviuosly did not watch the bulls teams of the 90's.

Imagine if MJ had gone to the lakers with Phil after Chicago. It would have been MJ and Shaq in those early years, and Kobe's career would have been dampened.

That said i do think Kobe is an awesome player. I just think alot of newer people don't quite grasp how awesome MJ was.

How many people left the sport for almost 2 years, retired again for 3 years, and could score 22 and 20 points a game at age 39 and 40? I mean seriously? He played against today's "level of athleticism" and quite frankly the out of shape, older Jordan did pretty good against them.

From Los Angeles (the undisputed basketball Capitol of the World (with the NCAA and NBA championships to prove it):