Kobe Bryant is now officially a top 10 player of all time!

[branslowski]

The only players to ever win 4 titles, a Finals MVP, regular season MVP are:

MJ
Kareem
Magic
Shaq
Duncan

and now Kobe.

The only players to average 30/5/5 in a Finals and WIN are MJ and Kobe.If you think Kobe "might" be in the conversation of Top 10 by the END of his career, then you just don't realize how great Kobe is.

Can't really put Oscar ahead of Kobe, Oscar won one title as Kareem's sidekick. Kobe has won 3 as a sidekick and 1 as THE man.

Hakeem did it in 94'....

[Mor'Fiyah]

Everybody on ESPN is caught up in the moment as well....the most sense came out of Magics' and Wilbons' mouth.

Magic and Wilbon both called him the best player in the game today and both have him in the top ten but behind MJ and Magic himself.

MJ
Magic
Kareem
Wilt
Shaq
Duncan
Bird
Russell
Hakeem
[COLOR="Red"]Oscar(insert whoever you want in place of him if you want)[/COLOR]

Don't mind if I do. I put Kobe in there. Most people in the top ten are interchangeable with the exception of MJ.

[xcesswee]

Kobe is probably top 10 in my list but honestly he could be interchanged with other great players in the 10th spot. But it's going to be hard for him to move up because I just don't think he's better than duncan or Hakeem.

[bigkingsfan]

The only players to average 30/5/5 in a Finals and WIN are MJ and Kobe.

That stat is catered to SG. Come on now. Plenty of bigs have put up monster lines in the finals, but just because they don't pass the ball, they can't be put in the discussion. It's like defining 30 10 2 blocks, and Kobe and MJ can't be compared.

[lxlHoTsAuSelxl]

1. Michael Jordan
2. Magic Johnson
3. Larry Bird
4. Wilt Chamberlain
5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
6. Bill Russell
7. Shaquille O'Neal
8. Tim Duncan
9. Hakeem Olajuwon
10. Kobe Bryant

Jerry West moves down to #11.

If Kobe wins 1 more, he will be top 7 and why or how you guys may ask? He will be 31 yrs old and chasing his 5th title.
Next season Shaq probably can't do squat next season*27min pg* and declining bigtime each year.
Duncan is pass his prime*34-35yrs old* and do you guys really think he will win another ring as the second best player on his team?
Next year Kobe will still be top 2 of the NBA at 31 while the rest have come and go. Kobe is still alive and kicking strong chasing his 5th championship ring.
If he wins a ring within the next yr or two I will put him to 7 easily as long as he's the #1 option in LA.

[Indian guy]

Fatal9, how does Kobe surpass TD with one more ring? 4 rings as THE MAN + 2 regular season MVPs + 3 Finals MVPs + superior defensive play + equivalent statistics > 5 rings(2 as the MAN) + 1 MVP + 2 Finals MVPs. All Kobe has going for him is 1 more championship. That does not make up for 2 less Finals MVPs, 1 less regular season MVP(assuming he doesn't win 1 more) and 2 less championships as the team's best player.

[Xsatyr]

That stat is catered to SG. Come on now. Plenty of bigs have put up monster lines in the finals, but just because they don't pass the ball, they can't be put in the discussion. It's like defining 30 10 2 blocks, and Kobe and MJ can't be compared.

Yeah sure revert to being rational and using logic.

[branslowski]

The Lakers Starting Center's Numbers.....6ppg 4reb 40%fg....

[thejumpa]

The only players to ever win 4 titles, a Finals MVP, regular season MVP are:

MJ
Kareem
Magic
Shaq
Duncan

and now Kobe.

The only players to average 30/5/5 in a Finals and WIN are MJ and Kobe.

If you think Kobe "might" be in the conversation of Top 10 by the END of his career, then you just don't realize how great Kobe is.

Can't really put Oscar ahead of Kobe, Oscar won one title as Kareem's sidekick. Kobe has won 3 as a sidekick and 1 as THE man.

Ok, gotcha. But, do THOSE stats mean he has catapulted himself into the Top 10 basketball players of ALL TIME? I mean, 30/5/5 is crazy, don't get me wrong but, in reality it doesn't mean to much. I mean, Jordan did that 4 times, so what does it really mean?

At the end of the day, I think he will be considered one of the best to ever do it....Top 10. Not because he may win more titles, but because what he will continue to do as a leader (something that at this point in his career is second most important to having another ring IMO) to his team. His stats should stay consistent and he should play for at least 5-6 more years.

4 titles? check....MVP and Finals MVP? check...that's a hell of a resume, but like I said, I think you have to look at impact on the game. What was his track record like? Can't say it is better than Duncans...and I put him right towards the end of my list.

[Fatal9]

Fatal9, how does Kobe surpass TD with one more ring? 4 rings as THE MAN + 2 regular season MVPs + 3 Finals MVPs + superior defensive play + equivalent statistics > 5 rings(2 as the MAN) + 1 MVP + 2 Finals MVPs. All Kobe has going for him is 1 more championship. That does not make up for 2 less Finals MVPs, 1 less regular season MVP(assuming he doesn't win 1 more) and 2 less championships as the team's best player.

He has 2 rings and 2* rings. I'd weigh Kobe's 5 rings (2 of them as #1, 1 of them as 1B) higher than Duncan's. I usually value scorers highly too (reason for me placing Bird over Magic).

[Mrofir]

I like Kobe at the 10 spot now.

1. Michael Jordan
2. Kareem
3. Larry Bird
4. Wilt Chamberlain
5. Magic
6. Bill Russell
7. Tim Duncan
8. Shaq
9. Hakeem Olajuwon
10. Kobe Bryant

That's my list, though I really WANT to put Hakeem ahead of both Shaq and Tim.. he may have been a better player but he played in the Jordan era so it's quite hard to tell. Anyway that's a formidable wall of players ahead of Kobe. The only way he climbs is TWO more rings as the main guy. We're talking about legends here, not "really really good". He's going to have to exceed expectations. If he wins the NEXT 2 for a three-peat, I'll be inclined to put him at #5, and I think that's the highest he can ever go given some of his blunders. Hope Lakers fans can live with the agony of having only the 5th-10th most accomplished player of all time on their team. Notice I said most accomplished.. because there are literally dozens more players in the same general skill level.. barkley, D-rob, Lebron, Wade, Steve Nash (jk..), etc

Anyway congrats

[thejumpa]

Magic and Wilbon both called him the best player in the game today and both have him in the top ten but behind MJ and Magic himself.



Don't mind if I do. I put Kobe in there. Most people in the top ten are interchangeable with the exception of MJ.

Best player in the league? Sure, that's an opinion I don't agree with but, it's not really that much of a debate. Lebron or Kobe, pick one.

Most people in the Top 10 are interchangeable besides MJ? Debatable but ok....still, not sure if I could put Kobe in there just yet.

[Mor'Fiyah]

Best player in the league? Sure, that's an opinion I don't agree with but, it's not really that much of a debate. Lebron or Kobe, pick one.

Most people in the Top 10 are interchangeable besides MJ? Debatable but ok....still, not sure if I could put Kobe in there just yet.

And thats fine. The fact that you don't think its unreasonable that other do is at least fair a objective on your part and I can respect that. So where do you have Kobe? Just curious.

[Indian guy]

He has 2 rings and 2* rings.

Oh give me a ****ing break . By that logic I would totally discount Kobe's 3rd championship. That has a bigger asterisk than anything in NBA history. I would also discount this year's championship due to Yao going down in the 2nd round. I could easily see Houston winning 1 more game with him healthy.

So let's see now, Duncan's 2 championships as the MAN('99 & '03) + 2 MVPs + 2 Finals MVPs or Kobe's 3 with 2 of 'em as the 2nd fiddle + 1 MVP + 1 Finals MVP? What a toughie...

[D-Rose]

Oh give me a ****ing break . By that logic I would totally discount Kobe's 3rd championship. That has a bigger asterisk than anything in NBA history. I would also discount this year's championship due to Yao going down in the 2nd round. I could easily see Houston winning 1 more game with him healthy.
So let's see now, Duncan's 2 championships as the MAN('99 & '03) + 2 MVPs + 2 Finals MVPs or Kobe's 2 as the 2nd fiddle('00 & '01) + 1 MVP? What a toughie...

Houston wouldn't have forced a Game 7 if Yao wasn't out. Him being gone opened up the floor for Aaron Brooks.

LA was 6-1 for the year against Yao-Rockets. 2-1 in the series.

We also took them seriously when Yao was playing. When this LA team plays with will and intensity, no one can beat them right now in the league.