What is Kobe's legacy if he beats Miami's big 3 in the finals?

[QUOTE=catch24]Really depends on how he plays individually.[/QUOTE]

True, but just hypothetically I think whichever teams wins the latest series tends to win the argument.

[QUOTE=plowking]Holy shit! You know nothing about baskeball! :oldlol:

So in Larry Bird's peak (considering he won 3 MVP's in a row) he was only super duper awesome in 2 or 3 of them apparently? :oldlol:
Bird was top 3 in MVP voting for 8 years in a row, and if you count his rookie season where he was 4th, he was top 4 for 9 years in MVP voting...
All NBA first team since his rookie season and for 9 consecutive seasons...

I mean, really... Did you expect anyone to believe what you were saying?[/QUOTE]

Ooooh, subjective awards and subjective honors. Impressive.

/not.

Everyone will forget about kobe.

Lakers front court will be remembered forever.

[QUOTE=Scott Baker]Intelligence has nothing to do with opinion.[/QUOTE]

intelligence is usually correlated with evaluating facts in a correct way. Evaluating facts in a correct way is usually related to having a more well-informed opinion.

[QUOTE=Kurosawa0]True, but just hypothetically I think whichever teams wins the latest series tends to win the argument.[/QUOTE]

What if the Heat fail to win it this year, then D-Wade suddenly gets injured the following year and Heat fails to make it to the finals?

If Kobe beats Miami he will just move up on the all time list. Beating Miami isn't going to suddenly push him to #3 or #2.

You guys have to remember that Miami and it's players haven't done jack in this league besides Wade. Some consider Lebron and Bosh losers.

Beating Miami would be the same as beating any other team in the Finals.

Kobe's legacy is pretty much set in the top 10 list as of now IMO.

He get's 6 rings I say he moves in top 5.
But really it depends how he also performs next year and how he wins in the Finals. If Kobe get's seven....and wins four in a row something not even Jordan as the main option did not do (probably would of if he didn't retire the first time) then Kobe might have a shot at being number 2.

First things first...win number 6.

[QUOTE=crisoner]Kobe's legacy is pretty much set in the top 10 list as of now IMO.

He get's 6 rings I say he moves in top 5.
But really it depends how he also performs next year and how he wins in the Finals. If Kobe get's seven....and wins four in a row something not even Jordan as the main option did not do [b](probably would of if he didn't retire the first time)[/b] then Kobe might have a shot at being number 2.

First things first...win number 6.[/QUOTE]

I'm hardly in disagreement with the general point of your post but I just wanted to address the bolded.

"Would of" isn't a logical argument in my view. Conversely, if Kobe had averaged 22.9 FGA per game as Jordan did over his career rather than the 19.2 he has, his ppg numbers would of been about equal. If Del Harris hadn't brought him off the bench his first two seasons, Kobe would of developed more quickly and posted better numbers. If Kobe had a perimeter player the caliber of Scottie Pippen and didn't have to facilitate the offense as he's done and got to play full time wing for the better part of his career, he would of won 10 scoring titles.

^ None of the above pass for acceptable to people in most cases, regardless of "would of" and "what if".

[QUOTE=crisoner]Kobe's legacy is pretty much set in the top 10 list as of now IMO.

He get's 6 rings I say he moves in top 5.
But really it depends how he also performs next year and how he wins in the Finals. If Kobe get's seven....and wins four in a row something not even Jordan as the main option did not do (probably would of if he didn't retire the first time) then Kobe might have a shot at being number 2.

First things first...win number 6.[/QUOTE]

win another first and congrats on 10k posts.

[QUOTE=Bring-Your-Js]I'm hardly in disagreement with the general point of your post but I just wanted to address the bolded.

"Would of" isn't a logical argument in my view. Conversely, if Kobe had averaged 22.9 FGA per game as Jordan did over his career rather than the 19.2 he has, his ppg numbers would of been about equal. If Del Harris hadn't brought him off the bench his first two seasons, Kobe would of developed more quickly and posted better numbers. If Kobe had a perimeter player the caliber of Scottie Pippen and didn't have to facilitate the offense as he's done and got to play full time wing for the better part of his career, he would of won 10 scoring titles.

^ None of the above pass for acceptable to people in most cases, regardless of "would of" and "what if".[/QUOTE]

the problem with your assertion is that kobe was not ready to play in the playoffs or regular season big minutes his first 2 years. he would have been awful playing a lot of minutes and it actually would have stunted his growth. trust me....if he was ready....they would have played.

the second problem is that kobe would have much less titles playing with a "scottie pippen"....in fact, i don't see how kobe could have won even 1 title in his first 8 years without either playing with shaq or duncan. so that point holds no water at all.

the third problem is that if kobe shot the ball 23 times a game for his career....he would have shot around 42% from the field. and there is not way in hell any coach is going to allow that unless he was playing on terrible teams. so if kobe wanted to win (which he clearly does)...he had to shoot less because he simply isn't good enough offensively to take 23 shots a game and score efficiently enough.

you can't have it both ways. kobe would not have won 1 ring if he didn't have shaq or duncan for his first 8 years....kobe was simply not good enough to be the number 1 option on a title team during that time. yes....his ppg would definitely have gone up....but his efficiency would have gone down as well.

i do agree that playing "what if" is sometimes stupid. and i certainly don't think that jordan needs to be credited with another title because he retired. but if you do play the "what if" game.....at least look at it from both sides.

[QUOTE=ginobli2311]
the third problem is that if kobe shot the ball 23 times a game for his career....he would have shot around 42% from the field. and there is not way in hell any coach is going to allow that unless he was playing on terrible teams. he had to shoot less because he simply isn't good enough offensively to take 23 shots a game and score efficiently enough.
[/QUOTE]
In the seasons Kobe has put up more than 22 shots per game, his FG% was 45-46%. Don't know where you got 42% from.

He would have probably been putting up 20 shots a game by his 3rd-4th year had he started on the Hornets instead of 5th IMO.

The Lakers may beat the Heat. Kobe is not the Lakers. He's their best player (arguably best in the league), but in the end he is just one player. It's still a team sport, haters and stans.

Just a b-ball fan, but Kobe took me over the top this year. He has many reasons to win the respect of fans, but this year, for some reason, won me. I think it is because I realized the merits of a true leader vs. the merits of someone I was really hoping would become a true leader.

[QUOTE=New York Knicks]Any analyst will tell you the Lakers are still the favorites. No combination of wing players can battle against LA's ridiculous frontcourt rotation.[/QUOTE]



this.

[QUOTE=lakers_forever]The Lakers may beat the Heat. Kobe is not the Lakers. He's their best player (arguably best in the league), but in the end he is just one player. It's still a team sport, haters and stans.[/QUOTE]

This, why does the lakers winning another championship(notice I didn't say Kobe) suddenly vault Kobe over players who are obviously better than him? Kobe is in the top 10 already, no amount of championships is going to get him past #5.

Sure he may win more championships than guys like Wilt, Kareem, and Jordan but all three of those players were simply better players than Kobe.

People on this board value TEAM championships WAY too much when trying to determine who the best PLAYER is. Had Kobe played for the Wizards his entire career and won 0 championships, this same board wouldn't even have him in the top 15, even though he's the exact same player who's rated 7-10 by most posters as a laker.

Why does playing for a better team make you a better player? Players should be judged by how well THEY play, not how well their TEAM plays.