#5 NBA Player Peak Of All-Time According to InsideHoops

[shaq2000]

Yeah I'm gonna vote in Scalabrine next too. Scalabrine at #6 is just as laughable as Kobe at #5.

Nah, that's hyperbole. You can say Kobe at #5 is just as laughable as LeBron at #5, but not Scalabrine. Kobe and LeBron are both all-time greats of the modern era who both, not coincidentally, happen to have a shitload of fans. Scalabrine in the top 5 would be incomparably mind-boggling.

[MJ23forever]

Kobe's scoring alone from '06 to '09 puts his peak in the top 10 conversation to me, although I don't agree at all with the posters saying that Kobe post-2003 was a bad defender.

His all-around play and defense from 2001-2003 was also astonishing.

[tmacattack33]

Define peak. One game? One season? Three seasons?

Kobe can put up a case for all those scenarios. He didn't get lucky 1 night and got 81 points. He also scored 62 in 3 quarters, rang up 40 points for like 10+ games straight? Dude was a beast.

Defense? Who's to say his defense was bad? He was on the all-defense team in those peak years.

Scoring is a HUGE part of basketball, one of the most important skills a player can have is to score.. in fact anyone that can put up numbers consistently in this league can get a decent contract. And Kobe happens to be probably the top 5 scorer in the history of the game.

It's time you take off your lebron-love shades and your head out of your ass. You might have a different opinion on this spot.. but to say picking Kobe is outrageous? Come on, man.

His scoring over the season was not that amazing giving his effiency level.

For every scoring great game he had, there must have been an equally bad game where he shot jacked and missed all his shots and killed his team.

And his playmaking ability obviously wasn't any good.



Again, if his peak play really is so high, then on legacy lists, given his peak play plus longevity, he should be number 2 behind only Jordan. Which is buffoonish.

[SwayDizzle]

Kobe

[swag2011]

Lol i love how mad kobe gets everyone. Ish votes hom number 8 all time, haters get pissed. Kobe voted top 5 peak of all time, haters are pissed one again. Love how kobe got these ho's still mad after 16 years

[lakerspng]

That's because he doesn't dominate at anything other than scoring. Other great players dominated at multiple aspects of the game.

And even though he is probably be the most skilled scorer ever, that does not translate into efficiency. Two points scored on a triple-teamed fade-away is the same as two points scored on an easy lay-up.

Actually he's one of the best defenders at his position in history. And in crunch time one of the most dominant shut down perimeter defenders I've ever seen.

He was in the discussion for the best all around player in the league for much of his career and was a tremendous playmaker.

calling Kobe a one dimensional player is so clearly incorrect that it's simply ridiculous.

[LosBulls]

Allen Iverson

[Ne 1]

BTW i see a lot kobe he is not by any means top 5 even top 10.He is not statistically there.His awards during his peak(06-09) is MVP and FMVP(not two because he only won one FMVP during the same span.Can you please explain to me what he has over magic bird kareem etc.

That's the thing with Kobe, and potentially one of his greatest drawback, unlike other all time greats, he doesn't have a clear 3 year peak. Kobe had a peak that lasted from 2001-2003, and then another one that lasted 2006-2008 (with the rape case smack dab in the middle).

[BlackVVaves]

Kareem, 77-80.

[KG215]

As for LeBron, I'm sitting on the fence about this season ('11-'12) being the start of his peak).

Like with so many other all-time greats he just had his best season start to finish at age 27. Maybe it wasn't his best statistical season and winning a championship was easier with Wade and Bosh than Mo Williams Zydrunas Ilgauskas, but this seemed to be the year he put it all together. I also felt it was his best all-around defensive season. So, I'm hesitant to put him as high as #5 or #6 right now, because he may have just started his best "all-around" peak. If he goes on to do this for another couple of seasons and wins another ring or two, then I can definitely see the case for him being as high as top 5 all-time for something like this.

[chazzy]

As for LeBron, I'm sitting on the fence about this season ('11-'12) being the start of his peak).

Like with so many other all-time greats he just had his best season start to finish at age 27. Maybe it wasn't his best statistical season and winning a championship was easier with Wade and Bosh than Mo Williams Zydrunas Ilgauskas, but this seemed to be the year he put it all together. I also felt it was his best all-around defensive season. So, I'm hesitant to put him as high as #5 or #6 right now, because he may have just started his best "all-around" peak. If he goes on to do this for another couple of seasons and wins another ring or two, then I can definitely see the case for him being as high as top 5 all-time for something like this.

In terms of on court ability, I thought he was better in 09 and 10. This year he played with a lot of effort and sustained consistency throughout the entire playoffs, most notably on the glass and battling in the paint. His shooting was better back then as was his ability to create for himself in the half court.

[lilgodfather1]

I might as well change my vote from KAJ to LeBron... At least there is a chance that an actual top 7 peak player gets into the top 5 rather than a borderline top 10 peak player.

[KG215]

In terms of on court ability, I thought he was better in 09 and 10. This year he played with a lot of effort and sustained consistency throughout the entire playoffs, most notably on the glass and battling in the paint. His shooting was better back then as was his ability to create for himself in the half court.

I agree, especially with the shooting part and scoring in the half court. I just don't think it was by a big margin. There's been other all-time greats who did certain things in terms of on court ability when they were in their younger physical prime seasons of 22-25ish but hadn't ever put it all together yet. That's what I think we saw from LeBron this year. Like you said, he was more consistent in the playofs. He seemed to find the right balance of "distributor/playmaker" mode and "takeover/scorer" mode, added the best version of his post game (he was an animal on the block in the Finals) and, like I said, it was his best all-around defensive season.

I'm just in wait-and-see mode with his peak righ tnow. In 3-5 years we'll either be looking back and saying '08-'09 through '11-'12 was his multi-year peak with the '11-'12 season being his absolute peak, or we'll be saying '11-'12 was the start of his "'1990-1993 Jordanesque" peak where he put it all together, played more consistently, found the balance between taking over and getting teammates involved, and defending at an elite level.

Remember that Jordan, even going into the 1991 playoffs, people still had major questions as to whether he could lead a team to a championship or not. He was still fighting the "too selfish/shot-jacker" label. I think '87-'89/90 Jordan was similar to '08-'10 LeBron in the sense that he was probably an even more capable scorer/player on the court but he was still missing several things.

[tommy3]

lebron james

[TheMarkMadsen]

Kobe Bryant