Kobe Bryant is One of the Most Overrated Players in NBA History

[EastCoastNiner]

I really don't see how anybody can hate Kobr Bryant or call him over-rated.

 

 

I've said it for a long time, Kobe Bryant>>>>>Michael Jordan.

[YugoRocketsFan]

I really don't see how anybody can hate Kobr Bryant or call him over-rated.

 

 

I've said it for a long time, Kobe Bryant>>>>>Michael Jordan.

 

You need a CAT scan.

[Lemon]

Lol?

 

I agree in some senses that Kobe is overrated, like as a leader for example. I didn't read the article but Kobe is still one of the greatest in the NBA ever. I think Kobe is talented as hell but the one thing that has always been missing from his game is that I do not believe he makes his teammates better compared to someone like LeBron James. I also think Kobe is one of the most overrated defenders in the NBA these days.

 

Also Kobe doesn't 'rely' on his jumper, he just would rather take jump shots than get to the hole. This has been the case for the past few seasons. Watch highlights of number 8 Kobe, he was throwing down highlight dunks nightly. Obviously age plays a part in this but I am not convinced that Kobe is unable to get to the rack anymore, I just believe he chooses not to. It doesn't help with the paint being so clogged all the time, but still.

 

Kobe's defense isn't overrated. He's an intelligent defender who knows exactly where the ball wants to go and can block the direction. He also knows how to utilize his teammates' help defense to his advantage.

 

His jumper is how he defines himself. He resorts to the jumper more than any dunk highlight would suggest. And he never was as efficient as Jordan or Lebron in closing in on the rim. There are times that I recall where Kobe would miss an easy layup. He's no Derek Fisher, but he's not Josh Smith either. Why is he less efficient? Because of his level of athleticism. Sure he can dunk, but it's at a heavier expense and more of a challenge than those mentioned before. My point is that he was never a Vince Carter or a Jordan who can finish really well at the rim and that's why he's preferred his jumper.

[Real Deal]

A large part of that is also due to the finger injuries. It doesn't take much to dislocate a finger on the rim if it's already damaged. Bryant has two dislocated fingers, and one torn finger, on his right hand alone. He can't risk dunking the ball.

[Phightins]

Kobe Bryant is a once-in-a-lifetime type talent, I really don't see any way he could possibly be overrated. Whether people like him or not is irrelevant, and the fact that LeBron James is better than him is irrelevant as well. Kobe deserves most of the praise he gets, definitely not overrated.

[GamerGuy]

Between the '04-05, '05-06, and '06-7 NBA season, Steve Nash racked up a total of 166 1st place votes. More than Shaq did during the Laker 3-peat. So using Diesel's brilliant logic, Steve Nash is better than Shaq? Nash was the best player between those seasons, because media voters gave him more votes than any other player?

 

LOL.

 

Diesel is forever banned from here, and I don't want to see someone posting for him. Don't do it again.

[YugoRocketsFan]

Between the '04-05, '05-06, and '06-7 NBA season, Steve Nash racked up a total of 166 1st place votes. More than Shaq did during the Laker 3-peat. So using Diesel's brilliant logic, Steve Nash is better than Shaq?

 

LOL.

 

Diesel is forever banned from here, and I don't want to see someone posting for him. Don't do it again.

 

Where does Steve Nash come from though? 142 to 1 is still a huge difference. We are just trying to say that Shaq was the main guy, there really doesnt need to be a discussion, because he was.

Edited March 30, 2010 by YugoRocketsFan

[GamerGuy]

Where does Steve Nash come from though? 142 to 1 is still a huge difference. We are just trying to say that Shaq was the main guy, there really doesnt need to be a discussion, because he was.

He was trying to "prove" that Shaq was the best player in the league during those seasons using 1st place MVP votes. I was showing how flawed that reasoning was.

 

Shaq dominated offensively, yes. There's no denying that. But Kobe ran the offense, played tenacious defense, and still scored his 25 or so points a game. That's not a second fiddle player. There was no "main" guy in L.A, it was Shaq, Kobe, and Phil.

[YugoRocketsFan]

He was trying to "prove" that Shaq was the best player in the league during those seasons using 1st place MVP votes. I was showing how flawed that reasoning was.

 

Shaq dominated offensively, yes. There's no denying that. But Kobe ran the offense, played tenacious defense, and still scored his 25 or so points a game. That's not a second fiddle player. There was no "main" guy in L.A, it was Shaq, Kobe, and Phil.

 

Its flawed when you use it in different situations.

 

So Shaq didnt run the offfense, he played crappy D and just scored a lot?

 

The offense ran THROUGH Shaq, its not like Kobe was playing the point-forward and hooking up Shaq with every basket, Shaq was the one running the offense, Shaq was the first guy to always touch the ball, and usually the last. Shaq also didnt need to even play defense, he just simply raped everyone by just being a beast, but I am sure he was good defensively in the finals too, he was very dominant defensively in his Laker days. The main guy was Shaq, you seriously cant be that much of a Kobe fan.

[JWaLL]

Diesel is forever banned from here, and I don't want to see someone posting for him. Don't do it again.

Why can't I post for him if the posts are not controversial or rule-breaking? That doesn't make sense. He has another reply that I'm waiting to post...

[GamerGuy]

Its flawed when you use it in different situations.

 

So Shaq didnt run the offfense, he played crappy D and just scored a lot?

 

The offense ran THROUGH Shaq, its not like Kobe was playing the point-forward and hooking up Shaq with every basket, Shaq was the one running the offense, Shaq was the first guy to always touch the ball, and usually the last. Shaq also didnt need to even play defense, he just simply raped everyone by just being a beast, but I am sure he was good defensively in the finals too, he was very dominant defensively in his Laker days. The main guy was Shaq, you seriously cant be that much of a Kobe fan.

Shaq was above-average defensively. He did well in boxing guys out and using his size, but he sucked on pick and roll defense. Kobe was the one who initiated the offense, setting the triangle up. Yes, the ball was throw into Shaq and he kicked it out, but that's only one part of it. The biggest reason why we lost in the 2004 Finals was that the Pistons were constantly doubling and trapping Kobe, which completely disrupted our offense. He had a much harder time getting the ball into Shaq, and the triangle came to a screeching halt.

 

I was a HUGE Shaq fan during the 3-peat. Huge. Even though I've lost a lot of respect for the guy over the years, I'm not denying the fact that he was a major reason for winning those championships. He just wasn't the only reason. Shaq was not the "main" guy. It was a dynamic duo, end of discussion.

[GamerGuy]

Why can't I post for him if the posts are not controversial or rule-breaking? That doesn't make sense. He has another reply that I'm waiting to post...

Posting here is a privilege, not a right. He lost that privilege when he was banned. If someone else is posting replies for him, he might as well not even be banned, controversial posts or not. I'm not going to sit here and deal with his posts. If he wants to debate about this topic...well, that's just too bad. He blew his chance.

 

Don't post for him, period.

[YugoRocketsFan]

Shaq was above-average defensively. He did well in boxing guys out and using his size, but he sucked on pick and roll defense. Kobe was the one who initiated the offense, setting the triangle up. Yes, the ball was throw into Shaq and he kicked it out, but that's only one part of it. The biggest reason why we lost in the 2004 Finals was that the Pistons were constantly doubling and trapping Kobe, which completely disrupted our offense. He had a much harder time getting the ball into Shaq, and the triangle came to a screeching halt.

 

I was a HUGE Shaq fan during the 3-peat. Huge. Even though I've lost a lot of respect for the guy over the years, I'm not denying the fact that he was a major reason for winning those championships. He just wasn't the only reason. Shaq was not the "main" guy. It was a dynamic duo, end of discussion.

 

When I am saying that Shaq is the main guy, I am not saying he did everything by himself, to break it down in percentages, Shaq did 40, Kobe 25, rest of team and Phil, 35. That would make better sense right? Shaq performed the best, theres no better way I can put it, Kobe and Shaq was the dynamic duo but Shaq was evidently better.

[Poe]

Shaq was the MVP in those three championships. I think Diesel made that clear to everyone.

 

 

That said, the fact that Kobe came into a team where Shaq was the main guy doesn't make Kobe overrated, either. Kobe was between 22-24 years old then. Shaq was in his prime. Had their birth dates flip-flopped and Kobe been in his prime, and if Shaq was 22 years old, maybe things would have been different.

 

 

Still, either way, Shaq couldn't have won without Kobe or Wade. Kobe couldn't have won without Shaq or Pau. Championships aren't an individual award.

[YugoRocketsFan]

Shaq was the MVP in those three championships. I think Diesel made that clear to everyone.

 

 

That said, the fact that Kobe came into a team where Shaq was the main guy doesn't make Kobe overrated, either. Kobe was between 22-24 years old then. Shaq was in his prime. Had their birth dates flip-flopped and Kobe been in his prime, and if Shaq was 22 years old, maybe things would have been different.

 

 

Still, either way, Shaq couldn't have won without Kobe or Wade. Kobe couldn't have won without Shaq or Pau. Championships aren't an individual award.

 

Like I said we arent putting down the performance of others (kobe in this case) we just saying Shaq was the leader and the main guy

[Poe]

Like I said we arent putting down the performance of others (kobe in this case) we just saying Shaq was the leader and the main guy

...and that makes Kobe one of the most overrated players in history?

[YugoRocketsFan]

...and that makes Kobe one of the most overrated players in history?

 

 

It does, he won just 1 ring as the man.

[Poe]

It does, he won just 1 ring as the man.

No. He won one ring as being the unquestioned best player. He still had a great team around him.

 

 

I'm tired of seeing how people saying how number of rings, or Finals MVPs, equals how great a particular player is. But hypothetically, let's just say it does. For instance, if Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant's birthdates were switched and a young Jordan had been paired with a prime Shaq, more than likely, they would have won 3 championships still, and Shaq would have still been "the man".

 

 

But since it doesn't work that way and I don't have a time machine to prove these statements, it all comes back to what I keep repeating. It takes a great team to win a championship, not one guy, and the number of rings should not be in the discussion of saying if an individual player is overrated or underrated. If that were the case, then Karl Malone was the most overrated PF of all time.

Edited March 30, 2010 by Poe

[Real Deal]

Diesel doesn't post here anymore, because he couldn't refrain from acting like a child. His posts are deleted, and if I see one more, I'm banning IP addresses and accounts that contain them. He didn't contribute when he was here, and he won't contribute when he's not.

 

I'm sure a former member, who isn't worthy of posting here anymore, isn't worth losing an account over.

 

Plus, the obsession is obvious. When you HAVE TO post something on a site you're banned from, and it's because you keep checking in and making sure nobody says anything about your favorite player, something is mentally wrong.

 

I hate Shaq, but I can recognize how great he was. He's on our rotation of main banners for a reason. However, when you have so much hate for a player that you refuse to give him credit for anything he did, you don't belong here. Maybe if the maturity level was a bit higher, things would've been different...but I sure the hell don't go searching for a Shaq shirt in a store just to take a picture of me flipping it off, and I don't go hunting down people to make comments for me on a site where I'm not welcome anymore.

[Real Deal]

Between the '04-05, '05-06, and '06-7 NBA season, Steve Nash racked up a total of 166 1st place votes. More than Shaq did during the Laker 3-peat. So using Diesel's brilliant logic, Steve Nash is better than Shaq? Nash was the best player between those seasons, because media voters gave him more votes than any other player?

 

LOL.

Haha, yep. I guess voters were right in giving Shaq just one season MVP award, also. Speaks volumes, right?

 

Nobody has yet to give me a "second fiddle" on a championship team that averages 28.5 PPG on 46% FG, 6 RPG, 5 APG, almost 2 SPG, while taking 22 FGA per game (the most shot attempts on the team).

 

Anyone want to tackle that? I'll be waiting. Give me ONE "Robin" on ANY kind of team that has ever done that. Just one.

 

Here's the facts: in 1996, Shaq came to Los Angeles and increased their wins from 53 to 56. Kobe was a bench player, getting under 16 minutes per game.

 

That season, and the next two seasons, the Lakers failed in the playoffs.

 

Phil Jackson comes, introduces the triangle offense, and gives Kobe the chance to run it. No matter if it was the post tri, reverse tri, whatever...it was the triangle offense, and very unlike the reverse triangle ran in Chicago.

 

The first season Kobe is given the offense, they win their first of three championships.

 

Comparisons to Pippen went out the door when Kobe was picking and choosing his time to attack. With Jordan as a teammate, Pippen NEVER averaged over 17 FGA per game, never averaged over 21 PPG. Kobe came out of the gates and broke that mold the first season the Lakers won the title, taking 18 shots for 23 points per game. The next season? 22 shots for almost 29 PPG. Third title? 20 shots for over 25 PPG. In 2002-03? 30 PPG with 23.5 FGA per game.

 

To say that Shaq was the first and last to touch the ball shows you didn't watch the Lakers.

 

Shaq needed two slashing, scoring guards that ran the offense to win his championships. Otherwise, teams put two or three guys on him the entire game, and it wore him out. Kobe Bryant, meet Dwyane Wade, who took over the Miami-Dallas series in the same fashion Kobe was taking over games against the Kings and Spurs in the playoffs, two of the toughest teams the Lakers faced.

 

Shaq obliterated the East champs every year. We know that. Kobe dissected the West powerhouses, putting up 30+ point games against them and taking a load of pressure off the entire team, including O'Neal.

 

Kobe was 21-23 years old. Shaq was sitting in his prime, with a 22-year old "Robin" averaging almost 29 PPG and running the offense, defending the best players on the court every night.

 

Kobe wasn't as important? Please. He averaged 29.4 PPG on 47% FG, 7.3 RPG, and 6.1 APG in the 2001 Playoffs. Does anyone want to give me a "Robin" that has come remotely close to those playoff numbers?