is kobe the 2nd best sidekick in nba history?

[cos88]

after pippen :confusedshrug: ?

what's your top 3-5 sidekicks ? no trolling pls, it's a honest question.

[Bandito]

Kobe can't even be the best sidekick:lol

[Sarcastic]

Pippen isn't even top 5.

Kareem, Wade, Kobe, Oscar, and Jerry West are all far ahead of Pip.

[Ca$H]

after pippen :confusedshrug: ?

what's your top 3-5 sidekicks ? no trolling pls, it's a honest question.

Magic or Kareem have to qualify also. I think Kobe is 2nd best after Magic.

[jzek]

Who else has been gifted with so many rings? I would have said Worthy but he actually won a FMVP while playing with Magic!

[tmacattack33]

Kobe early 2000's, Wade (2011-2013), and Shaq (2005-2006) are three of the best i've seen.

[Jacks3]

Kobe 2001 is by far the best #2 in history.

29+/7+/6+/2+/56% TS in the post-season that season with elite defense.

:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

[thabisyo]

magic or kareem depending on how you look at it :lol

[KG215]

Kobe, in 2001 and 2002, was better than Pippen. Of course you've also got to figure out how you view Magic and Kareem, because they were both the "sidekick" to the other at various times.

[Bandito]

Kobe 2001 is by far the best #2 in history.

29+/7+/6+/2+/56% TS in the post-season that season with elite defense.

:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:
nah shaq was the best #2 in history...:roll:

[Micku]

Kevin Mchale must be up there too. Magic Johnson too from 80-86ish. It was more 1a and 1b in 85

[LosScandalous]

Name me a sidekick who averaged 25/8/6 and 27/6/5 as a sidekick in the finals.

Those are better stats then plenty of 1st options have done in the finals much less any sidekick.

Also in the 01 and 02 finals he was about as much of a sidekick as Westbrook is to Durant now so don't get it twisted.

[K Xerxes]

Kobe only qualified as a "sidekick" in the late 90s and perhaps 2000. In 2001 onwards, he was in a 1A and 1B situation with Shaq. Shaq won the FMVPs, but Kobe played his part in the WC series (which were arguably harder than the finals with the state of the EC back then), and was better than Shaq sometimes.

I remember him being absolutely immense against the Spurs in the 01 WCF.

Don't really agree with the sidekick term being used here. Nor in Magic and Kareem's case until Kareem got incredibly old. Kareem was the best player until the mid 80s where Magic entered his prime and Kareem declined.

[rule1223]

lol at op thinking pippen is the undisputed best sidekick of all time, another "expert" who gets all his knowledge from youtube highlight tapes

[cos88]

lol at op thinking pippen is the undisputed best sidekick of all time, another "expert" who gets all his knowledge from youtube highlight tapes


do you know what ''?'' means?

i've asked a question, oh and yes pippen is the best sidekick in nba history. give me a better man than pippen.

[rule1223]

do you know what ''?'' means?

i've asked a question, oh and yes pippen is the best sidekick in nba history. give me a better man than pippen.
what does the question mark have to do with anything? everyone in the thread knows what you were trying to imply, stop being butthurt and backtracking... pippen in his prime wouldnt even be a top 3 sidekick in todays league much less all time

[Micku]

Name me a sidekick who averaged 25/8/6 and 27/6/5 as a sidekick in the finals.

Those are better stats then plenty of 1st options have done in the finals much less any sidekick.

Also in the 01 and 02 finals he was about as much of a sidekick as Westbrook is to Durant now so don't get it twisted.

Kevin Mchale.

In 86 Finals:
26/9/2 on 57% shooting.

In 85 Finals:
26/10/1 on 60% shooting.

Not to mention he was a great defender. Probably the best defender on the Celts team. He guarded quick guys like James Worthy and Wilkins and guarded power guys like Barkley. Larry Bird was always the man tho. But Kevin Mchale was unstoppable. Nobody could guard him.

And, he was the leading scorer in those Finals series. Neither team outscore him. Not Bird, not Kareem, not Magic, not Worthy, not Hakeem.

[Jacks3]

Kobe 2001/2002 is better than any version of Pippen and it's not even really close. He was a top 3-4 player in the league. Pip never was.

[cos88]

what does the question mark have to do with anything? everyone in the thread knows what you were trying to imply, stop being butthurt and backtracking... pippen in his prime wouldnt even be a top 3 sidekick in todays league much less all time


wtf is wrong with you?

wouldn't even be a top 3 sidekick in today's league ? :roll: :roll:

2012-2013 sidekicks:

wade, westbrook, howard, ginobili/duncan, jr smith ?


pippen is so underrated it's not even funny. best permimeter defender off all time, top 30 on every all time lists with a good offensive game. :facepalm

[Legends66NBA7]

How many times was Sam Jones considered a sidekick during Bill Russell's time there ?

I'd say Hondo is up there too, but early on wasn't really that good of a player when he was winning titles. Can't really say he was a "sidekick" at that time.

[I<3NBA]

who was Russel's sidekick? he would be the best sidekick of all time.
Pippen would come second, getting 6 rings as a sidekick. is there a sidekick that got more?
and Kobe, idk. how many rings he got as a sidekick? 3? or 4?

[pauk]

Name me a sidekick who averaged 25/8/6 and 27/6/5 as a sidekick in the finals.

Those are better stats then plenty of 1st options have done in the finals much less any sidekick.

Also in the 01 and 02 finals he was about as much of a sidekick as Westbrook is to Durant now so don't get it twisted.

Plenty.... lets take Havlicek for example, he had runs like 26-9-8 / 24-8-8 / 27-7-6 / 25-10-6 in the playoffs and finals (sometimes better in Finals) sidekicking Bill Russell... He ended up with 8 championships and 1 fmvp (averaged 26-9-8 in that Finals) compared to Kobes 5 championships and 2 fmvp.... he was also part of 11 all-nba teams and 8 all-defensive teams.... pretty comparable..... yet nobody dares to put him in top 10....

[KG215]

Plenty.... lets take Havlicek for example, he had runs like 26-9-8 / 24-8-8 / 27-7-6 / 25-10-6 in the playoffs and finals (sometimes better in Finals) sidekicking Bill Russell... He ended up with 8 championships and 1 fmvp (averaged 26-9-8 in that Finals) compared to Kobes 5 championships and 2 fmvp.... he was also part of 11 all-nba teams and 8 all-defensive teams.... pretty comparable..... yet nobody dares to put him in top 10....
:facepalm

You say plenty then give one example.


It's like the time you said "lots of guys" (or something along those lines) in response to someone asking if an all-time great/superstar has ever had a Finals as bad as LeBron's 2011 Finals, then continued to mention one player, Kobe, and his 2000 Finals performance as a 20 year old where he was hurt.

[INDI]

Kobe, shaq, n bron

[longtime lurker]

Kevin Mchale.

In 86 Finals:
26/9/2 on 57% shooting.

In 85 Finals:
26/10/1 on 60% shooting.

Not to mention he was a great defender. Probably the best defender on the Celts team. He guarded quick guys like James Worthy and Wilkins and guarded power guys like Barkley. Larry Bird was always the man tho. But Kevin Mchale was unstoppable. Nobody could guard him.

And, he was the leading scorer in those Finals series. Neither team outscore him. Not Bird, not Kareem, not Magic, not Worthy, not Hakeem.

And I laugh that some posters think Gasol was better

[Doctor Rivers]

Plenty.... lets take Havlicek for example, he had runs like 26-9-8 / 24-8-8 / 27-7-6 / 25-10-6 in the playoffs and finals (sometimes better in Finals) sidekicking Bill Russell... He ended up with 8 championships and 1 fmvp (averaged 26-9-8 in that Finals) compared to Kobes 5 championships and 2 fmvp.... he was also part of 11 all-nba teams and 8 all-defensive teams.... pretty comparable..... yet nobody dares to put him in top 10....

lol oh the Havlicek vs. Kobe comparison

[Jacks3]

and Kobe, idk. how many rings he got as a sidekick? 3? or 4?
:roll: :roll: :roll: what an idiot.

[longtime lurker]

Plenty.... lets take Havlicek for example, he had runs like 26-9-8 / 24-8-8 / 27-7-6 / 25-10-6 in the playoffs and finals (sometimes better in Finals) sidekicking Bill Russell... He ended up with 8 championships and 1 fmvp (averaged 26-9-8 in that Finals) compared to Kobes 5 championships and 2 fmvp.... he was also part of 11 all-nba teams and 8 all-defensive teams.... pretty comparable..... yet nobody dares to put him in top 10....

Looks like prime Lebron numbers.

[Im so nba'd out]

1 year bump for the 2nd best side kick ever

[GODbe]

It's pretty wierd that Godbe put up better stats as a "2nd option" than LeBald as a "1st option". :lol

GOAT gonna GOAT :rockon: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

[kennethgriffin]

#1 option / leader in field goal attempts per game

1997 - shaq ( lost 4-1 to jazz )
1998 - shaq ( swept by jazz )
1999 - shaq ( swept by spurs )
2000 - shaq ( CHAMPIONS ............But kobe saved them in WCF game 7 )
2001 - kobe ( CHAMPIONS )
2002 - kobe ( CHAMPIONS )
2003 - kobe ( lost 4-2 to spurs )
2004 - kobe ( NBA FINALS )




i dunno... looks like the lakers had more success when shaq was the sidekick
































:lol

[Roundball_Rock]

Pippen isn't even top 5.

Kareem, Wade, Kobe, Oscar, and Jerry West are all far ahead of Pip.

Kareem? He was a "sidekick" for only a brief period.

Oscar? Here is what Oscar did as a "sidekick" in Milwaukee: 19/6/8, 17/5/8, 15.5/5/7.5, 13/4/6.

Kobe and West have strong cases. I don't think Wade does. He was better in 2011 than Pippen but his 2012 and 2013 performance was comparable to Pippen's. 2014 Wade was worse than any version of 1991-1998 Pippen.


Name me a sidekick who averaged 25/8/6 and 27/6/5 as a sidekick in the finals.

Those are better stats then plenty of 1st options have done in the finals much less any sidekick.

:applause:

Pippen had lines of 21/9/7, 21/8/8, 21/9/8 and 20/8/4 in the Finals--while playing dominant defense (his best defensive performance, 98', was actually in none of the referenced Finals) and providing leadership. This is better than many FMVP's and he backed it up. It isn't as if he had a fluke great series here and there.


Kobe only qualified as a "sidekick" in the late 90s and perhaps 2000. In 2001 onwards, he was in a 1A and 1B situation with Shaq. Shaq won the FMVPs, but Kobe played his part in the WC series (which were arguably harder than the finals with the state of the EC back then), and was better than Shaq sometimes.

Kobe was a "sidekick" under the traditional definition: he was the second best player. That says more about how dumb the "sidekick" designation is: you had a top 3-5 player but because he played with a better player his contributions are diminished? :wtf: It is the same thing with Pippen, who was a top 5 player for several championships.


He was a top 3-4 player in the league. Pip never was.

He was at his peak. The all-NBA voting, an objective measure from the time, shows him as the #1 vote getter at forward in 94' and 96' and he was right behind Malone in 95' (Pippen was #1 overall in 94', #3 overall in 95' and #2 overall in 96' in all-NBA voting). That objectively suggests he was viewed as the best forward in the league those years. Were there four guards or centers better than him in those years?

[ThePhantomCreep]

Looks like prime Lebron numbers.

Put LeBron in the 60's doe...

Elgin Baylor (all of 6'5") averaged 14rpg for his career in that era.