Who's better all time Larry Bird or Kobe Bryant?

[Im so nba'd out]

This is more of a closer debate for these two.Lets leave the big dogs(LeBron,Jordan,Curry) out of it :oldlol:



but then again Kobe is pretty much a Jordan clone so maybe i should of choose someone else like Durant

[AlternativeAcc.]

This is more of a closer debate for these two.Lets leave the big dogs(LeBron,Jordan,Curry) out of it :oldlol:
:biggums:


:roll: :roll: :roll:

[StrongLurk]

They are equal to me.

[Im so nba'd out]

They are equal to me.
not an acceptable answer.pick a side ******



edit: i apologize StrongLurk, im really trying to work on my anger outburst

[Im so nba'd out]

:biggums:


:roll: :roll: :roll:
I have the dingo rated higher than most :confusedshrug:

[Manny98]

KD is better than both

[Mr.GOAT2408]

Can't go wrong with either, both better than LeBron :lol

[TheCorporation]

Can't go wrong with either, both better than LeBron :lol

Fred Durst is disappointed in you :(

[Prometheus]

Kobe, easily.

[kennethgriffen]

both guys are top 3 all time in offensive skills


but kobe was twice the defensive player and dropped more 50 point games and 60 point games in 1 week than larry did in 13 years

[Prometheus]

both guys are top 3 all time in offensive skills


but kobe was twice the defensive player and dropped more 50 point games and 60 point games in 1 week than larry did in 13 years

Not to mention he was good for nearly twice as long, and won more championships, and won championships in two different eras.

[Dray n Klay]

both guys are top 3 all time in offensive skills


but kobe was twice the defensive player and dropped more 50 point games and 60 point games in 1 week than larry did in 13 years

Who got more 30 point triple doubles...

[Xiao Yao You]

Bird

[tpols]

pretty much neck and neck...

both super iq and can play within high level system.

Kobe more athletic, dynamic scoring game, bird the better teammate elevator.

Wash.

[superduper]

Who got more 30 point triple doubles...

How many 50 point triple doubles does LeGOAT have? :eek:

[Celtics 1825]

Bird

[DaHeezy]

Bird's team was elite. Very well constructed and probably the only team that could challenge the Warriors, 80's Lakers, and 90's Bulls. Hard to say if he could have carried a team. Players like him are hard to gauge because you only have the sample given. Kobe without Shaq was very accomplished.

All around Bird, but Kobe I'd build around.

[Rico2016]

Who got more 30 point triple doubles...

LeBron has 12 and Kobe has...zero :(

RANKER! :mad:

[OldSchoolBBall]

Bird's 3-4 year prime is better without question imo.

[bigkingsfan]

The guy that isn't #12

[the mesiah]

Starting a franchise from the ground up.. give me Bird over Kobe

[scuzzy]

The guy that isn't #12
this



gotta respect Top 10, first dibs come first (Bird)

[SpaceJam2]

this



gotta respect Top 10, first dibs come first (Bird)

Kobe's on the outside looking in at the top 10, no doubt about it

[Cold soul]

Kobe had the better career than Bird but are in sametier as far as greatness goes.

[julizaver]

This is more of a closer debate for these two.Lets leave the big dogs(LeBron,Jordan,Curry) out of it :oldlol:



but then again Kobe is pretty much a Jordan clone so maybe i should of choose someone else like Durant

Bird.

Safe for Jordan one could argue also Bird vs Lebron or Bird vs Curry.

[90sgoat]

Simon is being ignored so hard, he had to bust out this gimmick alt:roll:

[Nowoco]

The only black mark on Bird's career was that his back went.

Kobe has a long, long list of black marks.

I find it difficult to believe that any ex-NBA player would take Kobe over Bird.

[clutchinho]

Depends on your team makeup - whether you needed a forward or a guard, a pass first guy or a shoot first guy. But I'd take either on them in a playoff series and like my chances, both were stone cold killers on the court and could fit into any team.

In other words put Bird or Kobe in Lebron's situation in the East and they'd both have 5 rings minimum.

[sdot_thadon]

I have Bird higher alltime.



In other words put Bird or Kobe in Lebron's situation in the East and they'd both have 5 rings minimum.
I'd love to know what finals besides 2011 you'd feel either could win that Lebron lost or even how they'd win the ones he did win.

[Manny98]

I have Bird 9th and Kobe 10th all time

[HylianNightmare]

Can't go wrong with either, both better than LeBron :lol
This

[LeCola]

Bird is a top 5 player, Kobe is around 10-15. So, they are not even close.

[bizil]

Could go either way peak-prime wise or GOAT wise. I will say Bird was more revolutionary and redefined the SF position FOR SURE. Before Bird, there was NEVER a 6'9-6'10 SF with his blend of skills. He and Magic were the godfathers of positionless basketball back in the late 70's and early 80's.

Magic got to explore the limits of his positional versatility. BUT the Celtics never allowed Bird to really do that. Which was a SHAME in a sense. Because I think Bird was capable of playing four different positions, SG to the center spot. And could pass as good as any PG to ever play. But just didn't quite have the handles or pace to play the PG flat out like Magic could.


And the Mamba is the most skilled player of all time when u combine scoring skillset, handles, defense, and passing as a package. Of course guys like MJ and KD are right up there too. BUT across the board, I would still give Kobe the edge skill wise.

[Duncan21formvp]

KD is better than both
And better than Lebron as well

[Round Mound]

Bird. Bird could shoot with the best, create and pass with the best, rebound with the best and was the GOAT team defender. Kobe was a better 1 on 1 scorer and 1 on 1 defender. All of the rest of skills Bird was better.

[AussieSteve]

Close, but I lean Bird.

[SpaceJam2]

They are both tier 3 so tied

[SamuraiSWISH]

pretty much neck and neck...

both super iq and can play within high level system.

Kobe more athletic, dynamic scoring game, bird the better teammate elevator.

Wash.
100% agreed

[Kiddlovesnets]

There

[Fedor - Laker]

Kobe is a better scorer, but thats about it.

Also, he was a massive ****ing ball hog and couldn't win a ring without Shaq or Gasol.

[StrongLurk]

They are equal to me.

Bump from over two years ago.

[FKAri]

Bump from over two years ago.

This is a hard one. It's obviously Kobe if you're going by the way people usually rank these things (accolades, longevity, blah blah).

But as actual basketball players it's close but I think I'd lean Kobe.

[kawhileonard2]

Bird won as the true best player on the squad in a tough eastern conference.

[Mr.GOAT2408]

Kobe but Larry Legend was an incredible player, the best small forward I've ever seen with all due respect to both Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard (didn't really see Dr. J)

[DABIGSALSISHA]

The man who used to participate in bar fights during his championship runs...

[kenneth_griffin]

bird and kobe are the best bad shot makers ever. theyre pretty much tied in my eyes.. both similar peaks scoring wise. bird better at passing and rebounding. kobe better at defense. both could shoot left handed. behind the backboard. kobe could dunk way better and finish inside but bird had better leadership. both won their first title with lesser roles. both had injuries end their careers. kobes was longer and won more. bird had 2 more league mvps. both hit tons of game winners.


its tough. really depends on who you like more


both are above lebron that's all I know

but if I had to pick one I'm taking kobe just cause he has more 50 and 60 point games in one week than bird has in 13 full seasons

[Pip' N Rodman]

bird and kobe are the best bad shot makers ever. theyre pretty much tied in my eyes.. both similar peaks scoring wise. bird better at passing and rebounding. kobe better at defense. both could shoot left handed. behind the backboard. kobe could dunk way better and finish inside but bird had better leadership. both won their first title with lesser roles. both had injuries end their careers. kobes was longer and won more. bird had 2 more league mvps. both hit tons of game winners.


its tough. really depends on who you like more


both are above lebron that's all I know

but if I had to pick one I'm taking kobe just cause he has more 50 and 60 point games in one week than bird has in 13 full seasons

Who got more 30 point triple doubles though?

[kawhileonard2]

The man who used to participate in bar fights during his championship runs...

What that got to do with anything?

[mr4speed]

Bird. Bird could shoot with the best, create and pass with the best, rebound with the best and was the GOAT team defender. Kobe was a better 1 on 1 scorer and 1 on 1 defender. All of the rest of skills Bird was better.
Totally agree with this - sums it up well.

[Thenameless]

I'd say Bird pretty easily and I'm a Laker fan. The only thing that makes this somewhat close is total career value because Kobe played much longer.

Larry is the more efficient scorer (better FG%, better 3-point shooter, better at free throws), better rebounder, better passer, better blocker, and better at help defense.

Kobe is a volume shooter, so while he scores more, he misses a lot more and often hurts his team. He's a better one-on-one defender, and gets more steals.

Overall, Larry is much better for a team.

[Mr. Jabbar]

bird and kobe are the best bad shot makers ever. theyre pretty much tied in my eyes.. both similar peaks scoring wise. bird better at passing and rebounding. kobe better at defense. both could shoot left handed. behind the backboard. kobe could dunk way better and finish inside but bird had better leadership. both won their first title with lesser roles. both had injuries end their careers. kobes was longer and won more. bird had 2 more league mvps. both hit tons of game winners.


its tough. really depends on who you like more


both are above lebron that's all I know

but if I had to pick one I'm taking kobe just cause he has more 50 and 60 point games in one week than bird has in 13 full seasons

https://www.pnglib.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/smug-pepe-cut-out_5f349443c1428.png

[HoopsNY]

both guys are top 3 all time in offensive skills


but kobe was twice the defensive player and dropped more 50 point games and 60 point games in 1 week than larry did in 13 years

Larry could easily score 50 points, though. He did it 4 times in his career and could score at will if needed to. Kobe couldn't do the other things that Bird did. He wasn't the help defender that Bird was, certainly wasn't the shooter, and he definitely wasn't the rebounder, passer, or playmaker that Bird was. In their peaks, albeit Bird's was very short, Bird put up 27 a game to Kobe's 29. It's not a monumental difference. And in the playoffs, it was similar.

[MadDog]

Rather have Bird on my team. Better shooter, teamplayer and possibly more clutch. He wasn't as coordinated as Kobe although arguably just as skilled. Both are competitors of the highest order.

[HoopsNY]

Bird's team was elite. Very well constructed and probably the only team that could challenge the Warriors, 80's Lakers, and 90's Bulls. Hard to say if he could have carried a team. Players like him are hard to gauge because you only have the sample given. Kobe without Shaq was very accomplished.

All around Bird, but Kobe I'd build around.

Consider what happened when a stacked '88 Celtics team lost Bird for nearly the entire season in '89. The team went from winning 57 games to winning just 42, barely making the playoffs. And that's despite having Reggie Lewis, McHale, and Parish. They were an 8th seed and got swept in the first round.

[HoopsNY]

Question for the 80s guys. Did Bird ever have a meltdown and gave away a series the way Kobe did against the Suns, in a game 7 on top of it all?

[FKAri]

Question for the 80s guys. Did Bird ever have a meltdown and gave away a series the way Kobe did against the Suns, in a game 7 on top of it all?

Lakers fans will tell you Larry choked all the time. Celtics fans will tell you all about the tragedy of Tragic Johnson. Fans will be fans.

[FKAri]

It's killing kenneth to pretend that he's impartial.

[Jasper]

This is more of a closer debate for these two.Lets leave the big dogs(LeBron,Jordan,Curry) out of it :oldlol:



but then again Kobe is pretty much a Jordan clone so maybe i should of choose someone else like Durant

once OP decides what his topic is , get back to me.

[Spain_]

Prime for prime it's Bird.
What would even be the argument against this?
Even beyond just being a better player, point forwards are just inherently more valuable than shooting guards.

[Spain_]

This is a hard one. It's obviously Kobe if you're going by the way people usually rank these things (accolades, longevity, blah blah).

But as actual basketball players it's close but I think I'd lean Kobe.

accolades wise I don't think anything Kobe has trumps 3 straight MVPs

[Spain_]

accolades wise I don't think anything Kobe has trumps 3 straight MVPs

I did love Kobe don't get me wrong though, I'm both Italian and Spanish so I think of him as one us in a way.
He had a very strong media/ambassador presence in Southern Europe for ball

[And1AllDay]

kobe

bird cant score and has a junky back

bad defense

bird got a better mustache tho

[King Kawhi]

Mamba

[HoopsNY]

kobe

bird cant score and has a junky back

bad defense

bird got a better mustache tho

Bird can't score? Bird is 18th on the all-time list for PPG. When he retired he was top 10. In the '80s, Bird finished top 10 in scoring 6 times, including being top 5 four years in a row between 1985-88. And he would have finished top 5 in 1989 had he not been injured, missing almost the entire season.

Bird could score with the best of them. And he was never a bad defender. Bird was an excellent help defender and as a PF, he was an excellent on the ball defender.

Bird spent his first five seasons as a PF. He won All-Defensive honors in 3 of those 5 years. He led the league in Defensive Win Shares four times in his career; only 3 other players in league history have led the league in DWS more times than Bird. And that trend would have continued for Bird had he continued to play PF.

But Bird was a system player and his willingness to play within the system yielded results. It's why he was 1 steal away from a quadruple-double but decided to sit out the 4th quarter because Boston was blowing out the Jazz. He wasn't a perennial stat padder like some of these guys today.