This is a short-sighted argument. I was thinking about this when looking at how legitimately awesome this Finals matchup is. The last time a pair of teams met in the Finals with championship cores came when the Spurs faced the Pistons this decade. Before that, you have to go back to pre-Jordan. The 2008 Lakers weren't a championship core. Only three players had a ring (I think Luke Walton won a ring in 2003), only two as valuable rotation players, and only Kobe remained of the team's top three players (unless you count Fisher as that team's third option). The Bulls and Rockets never met in the 90's. The only East team that won a Finals in the early 2000's was that Pistons squad. Miami has never been back since 2006, and the Spurs haven't been back since beating Cleveland in 2007. This is only the second champ vs. champ Finals matchup the NBA has seen in a long while. Also, the only teams to beat a championship team in the Finals since the Jordan era were the 2004 Pistons knocking off the three-peat, and the Spurs beating those Pistons. Are we going to criticize Pierce, Wade, and Shaq for never beating championship teams in the Finals? Jordan only did it once, and it was at the end of the Showtime era. None of the Lakers did it. The Celtics didn't do it. Neither did the Heat. Can you use this argument as a small strike against Kobe as a legendary player? Perhaps, but you also need to understand the context. Needless to say, this series will go a long way in enhancing reputations.