Can Kobe surpass MJ's #3 on the all-time scoring list?

[DixieNourmous]

Kobe will play till he passes MJ. >book it<

[Psileas]

A lot of junk in this thread, but let's comment on this thing about Kareem:

kobe will have more championships

Irrelevant, even if he manages so. Kobe is not going to have title runs as dominant as Kareem in '71 or '80.

more all nba 1st teams

He needs 3 more such all-NBA teams, which means that he'll need to be All-1st team at the age of 34-35. I wouldn't bet on it. It still won't mean much. Kareem was a center (meaning that only 1 such position was available for each team, and this with plenty of competition - Kareem managed to beat Hakeem in 1986, at the age of 39), plus, Karl Malone, a non-GOAT candidate, is the all-time leader in this category.

and waaay more better recorded a career

Fixed.

and his mvps dont count the same as todays cause they were player voted

if the players voted mvp kobe would have 6+ too

However, Kobe has only 1 MVP and Kareem wouldn't have only 1 MVP, even if the voting panels consisted only of people like RealGM's Jordan'sBulls.

Kareem deserved all the MVP's he won, except maybe 1976. In 1971, he'd be the winner in any case. Same in 1972. Actually, if voters were more impartial, he would win easier than he did. Same in 1974, 1977 and 1980. Easily the best player of each year. In 1977, you might argue Walton, but Kareem would still be the favorite.

and no one remembers kareems seasons except 60 year olds

1) Kareem's era had no Internet/internationally extensive sport networks, etc.
2) Not many outside the ages of 10-30 really deal with Kobe's seasons, either. A lot of my relatives who watched Kareem and Magic live surely don't.
3) Call back in around 2040, when Kobe's generation will be as old as Kareem's generation and we'll see how many youngsters will remember Kobe's seasons.

the player vote for mvp rarely took team record into consideration. it was known as the leagues best player award back when they voted

Is this why Russell won 5 MVP's in his career or Wilt didn't win the 1962 and 1963 MVP's, but he did win the MVP's of '66-'68, when his team posted the league's best records?
With the exception of 1 MVP season alone, Kareem led his team to either the best or one of the best records in the league in every season he won the MVP.

[guy]

took out the stuff that doesnt matter

scoring titles = losing 99% of the time

just showed how much of a hog jordan was that he wanted to lead the league even with great all around teams

What? LOL He had one losing season as the scoring champ and won the scoring title in all 6 of his championship seasons. What the hell are you talking about?

[guy]

kobe will have more championships, more all nba 1st teams, more finals mvps and waaay more memorable a career

and his mvps dont count the same as todays cause they were player voted

if the players voted mvp kobe would have 6+ too

Players were NEVER voting for MVPs during Jordan's day. It was always the media.

[RaceBannana]

Definitely he can, but it will take him more than 3-4 years, id say 5 at least.

[guy]

Because Kobe was drafted onto a team with 2 all star guards and didn't get much playing time until Phil Jackson started coaching. If he was drafted onto an actual lottery team then his career stats would look much better.

So we're supposed to excuse Kobe for not being able to start over the likes of Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel? Really? I don't care if he was just out of high school. This is Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel, not Clyde Drexler and Isiah Thomas. For someone who's supposed to be that great, it shouldn't matter. In fact, for someone who's supposed to be that great, he shouldn't have any excuses made for something as small as being a starter.

[SinJackal]

Kobe will surpass MJ. The odds of him retiring before he does are less than 1%.

Odds of Kobe retiring within a season after passing his total points: over 50%.

I don't have any doubts he'll pass MJ's total points.

That said, it just means he played longer. Jordan chose to not play when he didn't play, he wasn't forced out or unable to play. This includes two prime years where he would've accumulated enough points to be way out of Kobe's realistic reach like he in already in most categories. He's averaged way more PPG, on better efficiancy.

Total points for Kobe won't mean much in their comparison due to Jordan's superior averages.

What? LOL He had one losing season as the scoring champ and won the scoring title in all 6 of his championship seasons. What the hell are you talking about?

Don't sweat it, everyone knows he has no credibility, and don't put any stock into what he says.

[Big#50]

keep thinking that

kobe could verry well luck out another 2 straight with this team as deap as it is

kobe would have a 4 peat ( something jordan doesnt have )

he would have 7 rings ( something jordan doesnt have )

and he would have more points and playoff points, more 1st teams offense and defense, an 81 point game and would be fresh in peoples memorys

Jordan would have won 8 in a row had he not retired. What's your point? Kobe will never surpass MJ. No matter what he does. He can't get better. We've seen his prime and it wasn't beter than Jordans. Even if he wins more rings it will mean nothing because that's a team effort. He also has the most talent on any team in the league. Stats and accolades only take you so far. Anyone with working eyes knows MJ> Kobe. Its not even up for debate. Michael Jordan will never be matched by another guard. Never will we see someone as great as him. 04 and 08 finals showed that Kobe just isn't on the level of Jordan. Kobe is great but when compared to his airness, he isn't close.

[barbaroi]

Definitely he can, but it will take him more than 3-4 years, id say 5 at least.

So you think he's only going to be scoring 16 ppg? Because that's how little he would need to score to get 6500 points in 5 years of games. If he averages 26.4 ppg for 3 years, he will pass MJ.

[barbaroi]

Kobe will surpass MJ. The odds of him retiring before he does are less than 1%.

Odds of Kobe retiring within a season after passing his total points: over 50%.

I don't have any doubts he'll pass MJ's total points.

That said, it just means he played longer. Jordan chose to not play when he didn't play, he wasn't forced out or unable to play. This includes two prime years where he would've accumulated enough points to be way out of Kobe's realistic reach like he in already in most categories. He's averaged way more PPG, on better efficiancy.

Total points for Kobe won't mean much in their comparison due to Jordan's superior averages.

Actually, kobe hasn't played longer than Jordan just yet. He still is 4000 minutes played short of MJ. By the time he passes Jordan he will probably be around 2500-3000 minutes above jordan, so about 1 season's worth of minutes, which is really not all that bad. Sure Jordan's pace was quicker, but he didn't stick around long enough for it. Just like people say you can't prop Kobe's career averages up by taking away the fact that he didn't start right away, so too you can't prop up Jordan's career totals by ignoring the fact that he quit twice in the middle of his career.

[griffmoney2084]

What? LOL He had one losing season as the scoring champ and won the scoring title in all 6 of his championship seasons. What the hell are you talking about?

scoring titles are reserved for hogs on losing teams going based on the history of the honor

like i said... jordan just proved how much of a hog he was because he still wanted to win the "losers title" even when he had the team mates to share the load offensively

he hogged when he didnt need to

would be like kobe chucking 25 times a game with the team mates he has now

he would be trashed by the media

[griffmoney2084]

Jordan would have won 8 in a row had he not retired. What's your point? Kobe will never surpass MJ. No matter what he does. He can't get better. We've seen his prime and it wasn't beter than Jordans. Even if he wins more rings it will mean nothing because that's a team effort. He also has the most talent on any team in the league. Stats and accolades only take you so far. Anyone with working eyes knows MJ> Kobe. Its not even up for debate. Michael Jordan will never be matched by another guard. Never will we see someone as great as him. 04 and 08 finals showed that Kobe just isn't on the level of Jordan. Kobe is great but when compared to his airness, he isn't close.

wrong

jordans retirement gave the bulls the chance to add players for a second run


if jordan stayed for 94 and all of 95,,they probly dont get kukoc, rodman, harper etc...

and the excuse that he didnt have time to get ready for the playoffs is stupid.... he dropped 55 in MSG,,, so if he was good enough to do that he woulda been good enough to do it months after that

[barbaroi]

scoring titles are reserved for hogs on losing teams going based on the history of the honor

like i said... jordan just proved how much of a hog he was because he still wanted to win the "losers title" even when he had the team mates to share the load offensively

he hogged when he didnt need to

would be like kobe chucking 25 times a game with the team mates he has now

he would be trashed by the media

Doesn't mean the media would be right to do so. If you can score with volume and efficiency, do it. Kobe was still averaging 30.4 and leading the league in scoring through January 1st last year. If he had stayed healthy, he had a very good shot at the scoring title. It's not a "loser's award".

[rivas]

Obvious homer is obvious

[Big#50]

wrong

jordans retirement gave the bulls the chance to add players for a second run


if jordan stayed for 94 and all of 95,,they probly dont get kukoc, rodman, harper etc...

and the excuse that he didnt have time to get ready for the playoffs is stupid.... he dropped 55 in MSG,,, so if he was good enough to do that he woulda been good enough to do it months after that

Jordan>Kobe. Its not close.
Jordan came back and looked stiff and rusty. The 55 point game only adds to his greatness. Rusty as hell but still scores 55. Wow! Anyone with a brain can see that wasn't MJ. His shot was off and his ball handling was gone. Trolls will be trolls.