How many "Kobe Stoppers" have there been?

[G.O.A.T.]

Raja Bell
Thabo Sefolosha
Ron Artest
Ruben Patterson
Arron Afflalo
Dahntay Jones
Matt Barnes
Bruce Bowen
Shane Battier
James Posey
Shaq

...anyone else??

It seems like there has been a new one every year.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Heh2C1g0lbE/SsT9_VzxflI/AAAAAAAACao/gKk8Io_VwvI/s400/1.jpg

[6thManOfTheYear]

Katelyn Faber

[Batz]

That black guy. He was good.

[NoGunzJustSkillz]

lol, Ruben Patterson...man i hated that punk...

[jlauber]

Doug Christy, while with the Kings, was another "Kobe-Stopper" that Kobe routinely torched.

[ShaqAttack3234]

Hahah, I remember Patterson claimed to be a Kobe stopper before a series, was that 2001 or 2002? Didn't Kobe torch Patterson that series?

[jlauber]

One thing about Bowen...I don't think HE ever claimed to be a "Kobe-Stopper"...and he probably did as well as anyone in guarding him. Still, even he needed Duncan's help. I don't think there has ever been anyone that could "stop" Kobe.

[sodapop]

You forgot to add Scottie Pippen....

[Jakeh008]

Ruben Patterson is THE KOBE STOPPER!

everyone else just played good D on him... or at least tried

[Force]

Tayshaun Prince 2004 Finals, he made him shoot like crap

[Force]

Hahah, I remember Patterson claimed to be a Kobe stopper before a series, was that 2001 or 2002? Didn't Kobe torch Patterson that series?

percentage wise, Ruben did hold Kobe to a lower FG% than his Kobe's average, but still, he wasn't a Kobe stopper.

[Jakeh008]

percentage wise, Ruben did hold Kobe to a lower FG% than his Kobe's average, but still, he wasn't a Kobe stopper.

Why dont you go ask him

[crisoner]

Katelyn Faber

HA nice try she said NO and Kobe still got at her!!!! Allegedly....:roll:

[hayden695]

Not Jeff Green apperantly.

[Burgz]

clicked on this thread expecting to see a bunch of posts saying tayshaun prince

i guess people have short memories :ohwell:

[RazorBaLade]

clicked on this thread expecting to see a bunch of posts saying tayshaun prince

i guess people have short memories :ohwell:

missing shots =/= great defense. You can't stop great players. Remember when Raja said "he can score 50 tonight, but it's gonna be the hardest 50 he'll ever score." Or maybe it was 40 but anyways thats all you can say so saying prince stopped him is bull..

[imlmf]

missing shots =/= great defense. You can't stop great players. Remember when Raja said "he can score 50 tonight, but it's gonna be the hardest 50 he'll ever score." Or maybe it was 40 but anyways thats all you can say so saying prince stopped him is bull..



making the opponent miss shots isn't great defense?

[cotdt]

Kobe's scored against all of those guys, and crushed their teams at one time or another. Kobe's broken finger is the only force that can really stop him.

[Solid Snake]

Ruben Patterson was just the epitome of a stereotypical ghetto dumbass. Completely lacking class, as well as many other things.

[RazorBaLade]

making the opponent miss shots isn't great defense?

i dont believe that u can Make someone miss shots. you can make them more difficult but at the end of the day its still up to whether or not the guy simply makes the shots. ive seen kobe have games where he misses everything by a mile and the next game dominate against perfect defense.

[Toizumi]

There isn't a defender in the world that can stop Kobe. Some guys are great defenders and might make it tougher on him than usual, but you can't shut him down. He just doesn't need much space and is great at hitting off balance jumpers :confusedshrug:

Kobe can be bothered by great team defenses though. But that goes for all NBA player, not just Bryant.

[KingLeBronJames]

The Kobe stopper? It's his index finger.

[w00terz]

Katelyn Faber

/thread

[KingLeBronJames]

/thread
Index finger > Kobe accusser.

[vinsane01]

When i hear kobe stopper i think of RUUUUUBEN!

The ones that really made kobe work hard for his shots were bruce bowen, battier and tayshaun. Not to be rude to kobe fans but in 04 tay and pistons made kobe look like a scrub pretending to be an allstar.

[Derek Zoolander]

Batum and Sefalosha are doing better guarding Kobe than anyone I've ever seen, especially Batum, who is 6'8 and just as quick as Kobe and much stronger and bullies him around I've never seen any defender do that to Kobe.

But that could also be because these are guys in their athletic prime and ATHLETICALLY atleast Kobe is on the decline.


Tayshaun also is one of the few legit Kobe stoppers who still guards Kobe well every time they play

[MMM]

It seems to me Ray Allen does a great job on him. Pierce in the 08 finals did a solid job on him as well.

[Burgz]

There isn't a defender in the world that can stop Kobe. Some guys are great defenders and might make it tougher on him than usual, but you can't shut him down. He just doesn't need much space and is great at hitting off balance jumpers :confusedshrug:

Kobe can be bothered by great team defenses though. But that goes for all NBA player, not just Bryant.

this is why i think tayshaun did a great job in 2004, he knew his own limits sometimes and larry brown is great team defense coach and prince trusted his teammates

[SAKOTXA]

You can't stop superstars playing one on one defense.
/Thread

[King Lebron LBJ]

percentage wise, Ruben did hold Kobe to a lower FG% than his Kobe's average, but still, he wasn't a Kobe stopper.

There wasn't one in Kobe's young days/prime.

[ZenMaster]

i dont believe that u can Make someone miss shots. you can make them more difficult but at the end of the day its still up to whether or not the guy simply makes the shots. ive seen kobe have games where he misses everything by a mile and the next game dominate against perfect defense.

Sure you can make someone miss shots. You can make guys less effective by playing the right type of defense for the right situation.

Like in the old Battier efficiency article. Shane had stats saying that Kobe was 50/50 in going right or left, but he was less effective going to his left.
There are also different spots on the floor guys are less effective from, you need to know these spots and get them there and contest the shot. That's what good defense is about.

This year Kobe is shooting 41% from 16-23 feet compared to 50% from 10-15 feet. When you know those stats, are you going to tell me a guy who gets Kobe to shoot from 16-23ft is not playing better defense and making him miss shots than if he where to let him get within 10-15ft?

[Diesel J]

elite scorers are always gong to get their points, the job is to make them get them on low eff.

[The Magic Man]

Batum and Sefalosha are doing better guarding Kobe than anyone I've ever seen, especially Batum, who is 6'8 and just as quick as Kobe and much stronger and bullies him around I've never seen any defender do that to Kobe.

But that could also be because these are guys in their athletic prime and ATHLETICALLY atleast Kobe is on the decline.


Tayshaun also is one of the few legit Kobe stoppers who still guards Kobe well every time they play


I don't know about Sefalosha, I think it's more Kobe than him. But Batum? Man, that guy get's in Kobe's shirt!

[HylianNightmare]

http://lakers.freedomblogging.com/files/2008/08/kobe_dunk.jpg
dwight

[LA_Showtime]

Kobe's scored against all of those guys, and crushed their teams at one time or another. Kobe's broken finger is the only force that can really stop him.

His ego can too.

[TennesseeFan]

How is Shaq a Kobe stopper?

[O.J A 6'4Mamba]

His ego can too.

Yeah Kobe very rare, there isn't a single guy that could shut kobe down. Did he have bad shooting nights against a few of them yes. he got them in one point or another. Right now just father time is gradually stopping Kobe. He still dropped 39 last night.

[LA_Showtime]

Yeah Kobe very rare, there isn't a single guy that could shut kobe down. Did he have bad shooting nights against a few of them yes. he got them in one point or another. Right now just father time is gradually stopping Kobe. He still dropped 39 last night.

I think a lot of it has to due with injury, although his decreased athleticism made him a target for getting his shot blocked. He got blocked like 8 times last night.

I defended Kobe in the first half. I thought he was just trying to break out of his slump. However, I didn't know Phil Jackson told him before the game to cool it. Basically going against your coach is selfish and stupid, and his antics caused the Lakers to struggle. I don't care if he supposedly eats first, you aren't eating at all if you continue to shoot 30 percent. Kobe shot 43% last night and people consider that good? Get outta here.

[iDunk]

Vince Carter, Kobe averages like 24 points against him.

[phoenix18]

Battier.

[Rake2204]

Big fan of the Tayshaun Prince love I'm seeing here.

I do believe great defense can make players miss shots. If we had to break it down further, it's not just the matter of a player missing a shot because he's being guarded by someone good. But it's a matter of that defender perhaps forcing the offensive player to speed up his own game, dribble into areas he's not comfortable, shooting quickly (as to avoid the defender), taking shots within the very limited amount of time in which a great defender may provide a clean look, awkwardly falling away, etc.

I can't speak directly toward Tayshaun's defense in '04 and it's overall effect, but it surely did appear Kobe was trying to meet some sort of shot quota that series. It seemed like he was attempting shots not because it was the right shot, but because he just liked the idea of himself shooting.

In regards to the original "Kobe Stopper", I don't remember Ruben Patterson having that much success. However, I do remember watching NBA Inside Stuff or a Sportscenter segment showing the Trail Blazers pregame, and a teammate playfully punching Patterson in the chest whispering, "Kobe Stopper, Kobe Stopper, Kobe Stopper!" Ridiculous.

[TennesseeFan]

Oh, its Patterson all the way here.

Kobe didn't mess with Ruben.

[King Lebron LBJ]

True the defense Tay Prince played on Kobe in 2004 was great D, played right into his hands.

[Diesel J]

Bowen vs Kobe reg season

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&p1=bryanko01&p2=bowenbr01


Kobe Bryant vs. Tayshaun Prince

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&p1=bryanko01&p2=princta01

Kobe Bryant vs. Ruben Patterson

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&p1=bryanko01&p2=patteru01

Kobe Bryant vs. James Posey

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&p1=bryanko01&p2=poseyja01

Kobe Bryant vs. Ron Artest

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&p1=bryanko01&p2=artesro01

Kobe Bryant vs. Shane Battier

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&p1=bryanko01&p2=battish01

[G.O.A.T.]

...

In regards to the original "Kobe Stopper", I don't remember Ruben Patterson having that much success. However, I do remember watching NBA Inside Stuff or a Sportscenter segment showing the Trail Blazers pregame, and a teammate playfully punching Patterson in the chest whispering, "Kobe Stopper, Kobe Stopper, Kobe Stopper!" Ridiculous.

That was Shawn Kemp lol

[Cangri]

It seems to me Ray Allen does a great job on him. Pierce in the 08 finals did a solid job on him as well.
Yeah, Pierce was really making him work very hard just to get the ball up.

[KB2009Champ]

people are always in a hurry to call a guy a kobe stopper.

its like : "wow, he made kobe misss, yes he is a kobe stopper!!!"

[EllisGW]

its a myth there is no kobe stopper

[emsteez forreal]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Academy_Awards_afterparty_CUN_Terry_Crews.jpg/400px-Academy_Awards_afterparty_CUN_Terry_Crews.jpg

oops, i meant

http://por-img.cimcontent.net/api/assets/bin-200907/f0cb5e3665f27e1c43f93f450ee86624.jpg

[3ptShooter]

There has been exactly 4 Kobe Stoppers:

1.
http://www.orthopaedicsandtrauma.com/acatalog/Legend_knee_brace.gif

2.
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0174655czlfCi/410x.jpg

3.
http://hoopedia.nba.com/images/a/ab/DelHarris.jpg

4. And lastly...
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LGyIcZzRA3M/SZjHhu8ZUgI/AAAAAAAAC7I/WOHZUXor1yk/s320/kobe+face.jpg

[ImmortalD24]

Nicolas Batum
JJ Reddick
Kirk Hinrich
Baron Davis
Eric Snow
Steve Blake
Antoine Wright
Anthony Parker
Andre Kirilenko
Jared Dudley
Martell Webster
Stephen Jackson
Andre Igoudala
Joe Johnson
LeBron James
Stu Jackson

I could go on..

[DMV2]

Kobe is the greatest Kobestopper of all-time.

[SupermanOnSteroids]

Raja Bell
Thabo Sefolosha
Ron Artest
Ruben Patterson
Arron Afflalo
Dahntay Jones
Matt Barnes
Bruce Bowen
Shane Battier
James Posey
Shaq

...anyone else??

It seems like there has been a new one every year.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Heh2C1g0lbE/SsT9_VzxflI/AAAAAAAACao/gKk8Io_VwvI/s400/1.jpg
FG%

[pauk]

Kobe had the toughest time against taller & quick/strong players like Lebron, Kirilenko, Tayshuan (none you mentioned, oddly), they would contest his shots the best. He really would have to hoist some ridicilously tough shots to not get blocked, so much so that if it went in it would be a highlight.

[MiseryCityTexas]

You people in here are starting to dickride the Lakers a little too hard even when they're losing. Majority of these threads are Lakers topics. I thought this was Inside Hoops. Not Lakers Nation.