How many places did Kobe climb on the all-time list now that LeBron has proved West >

[hiphopanonymous]

LeBron has fallen under the top 25 this season which sucks for him but on a more positive note many players have risen 1 place or more due to his fall from grace. One of which is Kobe who played his entire career in the West and on the spotlight heavy Lakers team which adds additional challenge. Now that we’re seeing that “9 Finals appearances” means missing the Playoffs out West where does Kobe now rank?

How many rings/Finals would he have snatched up in the East? My guess is at least 8 rings with the added rest of Eastern “playoff” sweeps and probably 15 or 16 Finals appearances what do you guys think?

[sdot_thadon]

negative 6 spots op.

[3ball]

The range is #2 behind MJ to #7ish behind magic, bird, etc

Say what you want about kobe, but anytime he had just 1 all-star, he was top of the league and champion

Only MJ/Kobe won multiple rings with 1 all-star teammate, except shaq (who had kobe), and hakeem (when MJ was out of league)

Give Kobe just 1 all-star and he had a winning juggernaut - only him and MJ can say that

[TheCorporation]

The range is #2 behind MJ to #7ish behind magic, bird, etc

Say what you want about kobe, but anytime he had just 1 all-star, he was top of the league and champion

Only MJ/Kobe won multiple rings with 1 all-star teammate, except shaq (who had kobe), and hakeem (when MJ was out of league)

Give Kobe just 1 all-star and he had a winning juggernaut - only him and MJ can say that

Imagine saying Kobe is #2 which leads me to believe MJ is #1 in your mind, so you're saying the gap between Kobe and MJ is 1 slot.

You're basically dissing MJ. Should we slide MJ to 11th behind 12be if they are this close in your eyes?

Be careful now, sir

[scuzzy]

How many places did Kobe drop now that Paul George proved East >> West

[jstern]

I agree that Lebron has proven this season that his success, reaching 8 Finals in a row was due to playing in one of the weakest conferences in sports history.

But in theory that should only move up Kobe one spot, unless there are also other top ten level players who played in an extremely weak conference.

Though I do see how Kobe would make it to the Final a lot more than he did in the West, and probably win more than Lebron due to playing a better brand of basketball. And those extra trips to the Finals would put him in a higher spot, like it's done with Lebron. But again, he would be getting the unfair advantage, with inflated numbers, more free trips to the Finals, just like Lebron. And that's not right.

Those rings would in a sense also be worthless, tainted due to playing in such a weak conference.

[kennethgriffen]

kobe probably vaulted into the top 6-7 on the medias list ( 12th a year prior )

lebrons fallen to around 4th/5th to them ( top 2-3 a year prior )



in the court of public opinion however i wouldn't be surprised if kobe was boosted into the top 3 and lebron dropped to around 10th

[3ball]

Imagine saying Kobe is #2 which leads me to believe MJ is #1 in your mind, so you're saying the gap between Kobe and MJ is 1 slot.

You're basically dissing MJ. Should we slide MJ to 11th behind 12be if they are this close in your eyes?

Be careful now, sir

I think you could argue that him and MJ had the best skill sets ever and needed the least help - everyone in the top 10 needed super-teams with 3+ HOF except MJ/kobe

MJ could be more than 1 slot ahead.. But again, it could be argued that they're 1a and 1b because of their goat skillset and not needing super-teams like every other top 10 player did

[MrFonzworth]

0. Nothing can possibly happen to improve your legacy when years have past since the last time you've played in the plafoffs.

[sbw19]

[COLOR=Teal]Context is everything. A lot of people were of the opinion LeBron was/is still the best player in the league, at worst top-3.
[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Teal]Kobe was basically that when he took the Lakers to a 57-win record season they landed Gasol ie many considered him the best, at worst top-3 as well. Now remember Pau played only 1/3 of the season and 20yo Bynum only played the first 35 games and missed more than half the season.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Teal]That left Kobe with Odom and 33yo Fisher as his primary sidekicks throughout the season. Yet the Lakers were 30-16 BEFORE they got Gasol, (that's a 53-win pace,) with Bynum missing 11 of those games and Lamar and Fish combining for 25ppg during that span, well below the 36ppg Ingram and Kuzma have been averaging so far.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Teal]This season has been an unmitigated disaster in large part because LeBron is selfish. Caring about stats instead of playing D and shopping for stars at the expense of team chemistry and stability has ultimately been the Lakers undoing.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Teal]Players missing games happen, difference with Kobe team played together and played the right way. It was all about winning, no other agendas or issues got in the way.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Teal]Our record could have been much better, and its being subpar being mostly self-inflicted is the most frustrating part.[/COLOR]

[kennethgriffen]

kobe is mickey mantle

Kareem is hank aaron

jordan is willie mays



lebron is mark mcgwire