How do you go about ranking Kobe Bryant?

[kawhileonard2]

Good to see Kobe still at the top of ISH forums….still


Always overthinking rankings…..

MJ

Kobe

Magic


Bird/Bron


It really is that simple……

Agreed! With Kawhi ahead of Lebron.

[SATAN]

Good to see Kobe still at the top of ISH forums….still


Always overthinking rankings…..

MJ

Kobe

Magic


Bird/Bron


It really is that simple……

Says the retard

[AlphaWolf24]

Says the retard

Wow ……what is this 2010?…….that word is canceled.


BTW is ISH still saying ETHERED?

[PejaTheSerbSnip]

Yes, I would say that's true for all these outcomes. They happened as they happened but replaying them doesn't necessarily mean the same outcomes as you said. We've seen too many titles over the years decided literally by a bounce here and there, a timely play, an untimely call. These things operate on a fine edge in many cases. It's funny that you mentioned the 2004 team because my mind did briefly ponder what would happen if KG was with the Spurs instead of Duncan. Does KG take out the Lakers with that 2004 Spurs cast, and then what does he do against that Pistons squad, without looking at stats I wager the peak of those early-mid 2000's Detroit teams?

What's your thoughts on Dirk? He was the least versatile of the top 3 PFs of the era with the aforementioned two, but arguably the best offensive anchor. Dirk needed interior defense, wing defenders and rebounding to supplement what he did well. I'm curious as to how he fares with those 99 and 03 Spurs teams with an end of prime/past prime Admiral and the respective rosters. Of course all of these scenarios depend on which version/year of these guys we're referring to. But circumstances most certainly have nearly infinite 'what-if' scenarios with how the title picture can shake out if you swap guys at this level around.

Love him and always felt his pre-‘11 playoff failures were given too much airtime. I give Dirk (and to an extent Nash) a bit of a pass for amassing only one finals berth from ‘00-‘07. Conference imbalance was at an all-time high and only one 60+ win juggernaut could make it out of the West each year.

The one year he made it he put up 28/12/3 49/40/90 against the #2/#1/#16 defences which included one of the best ever Game 7 performances. I know he blew chunks for a large part of the finals (his team was hosed tbf), but that doesn’t override his carry-job before then. He was also excellent in ‘03 before the injury.

You’re spot-on about his ability as an offensive anchor, the Mavs were a yearly offensive powerful and he has some of the best offensive on-offs ever.

My first reaction was to be skeptical of Dirk’s impact in lieu of TD on that ‘99 squad but their path to the title didn’t seem particularly daunting to me. The Lakers were a mess that year, Blazers were a paper tiger and Admiral’s versatility would be enough to counteract much of Dirk’s defensive shortcomings.

Wouldn’t be till bullish about him getting the job done in ‘03 with a diminished Robinson. Even though he’s the superior offensive player generally, Duncan played out of his skin in ‘03 and a Prime Dirk wouldn’t be a shoo-in to match even just his offensive output. All-time carryjob.

[dankok8]

Interesting discussion here.

KG is a weird player to evaluate because as was said, he was simply dealt a shit sandwich for the first 12 years of his career. He could not be reasonably expected to win a ring with Minnesota. Not when the front office was incompetent and competing with absolute juggernauts in the 2000's Western Conference.

With that said, I do see Duncan as a superior player. His offensive style as in playing through him in the post was just better than playing through KG. Duncan put more pressure on the defense, drew more fouls, and could get his team those key buckets in key moments. KG couldn't... As was said, the 2003 title run by Duncan is one of the most impressive in history. I just don't see KG ever replicating that. All other Spurs titles, I could see KG winning them as well even though I would say KG wins about 2-3 titles in place of Duncan in a hypothetical scenario where he was drafted by the Spurs and spent his whole career there. Conversely if Duncan was also on KG's teams, I think he wins nothing in Minnesota and maybe about 2 title in Boston and I think Duncan does make it out of the first round a couple of times before 2004.

[Phoenix]

Love him and always felt his pre-‘11 playoff failures were given too much airtime. I give Dirk (and to an extent Nash) a bit of a pass for amassing only one finals berth from ‘00-‘07. Conference imbalance was at an all-time high and only one 60+ win juggernaut could make it out of the West each year.

The one year he made it he put up 28/12/3 49/40/90 against the #2/#1/#16 defences which included one of the best ever Game 7 performances. I know he blew chunks for a large part of the finals (his team was hosed tbf), but that doesn’t override his carry-job before then. He was also excellent in ‘03 before the injury.

You’re spot-on about his ability as an offensive anchor, the Mavs were a yearly offensive powerful and he has some of the best offensive on-offs ever.

My first reaction was to be skeptical of Dirk’s impact in lieu of TD on that ‘99 squad but their path to the title didn’t seem particularly daunting to me. The Lakers were a mess that year, Blazers were a paper tiger and Admiral’s versatility would be enough to counteract much of Dirk’s defensive shortcomings.

Wouldn’t be till bullish about him getting the job done in ‘03 with a diminished Robinson. Even though he’s the superior offensive player generally, Duncan played out of his skin in ‘03 and a Prime Dirk wouldn’t be a shoo-in to match even just his offensive output. All-time carryjob.

Agree with all that, good post

Alot of how playoff Dirk pre-2011 was perceived came off the back of that 2007 first round collapse against the Warriors (made worse by him winning the MVP that year), and many people act like this was the standard for him when he was 25/10/3 on 58% TS over his playoff career. Not too shabby for a so-called 'underperformer' prior to winning.