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

[Mor'Fiyah]

By the way.... not even MJ ever averaged 32+ ppg and 7+ apg in an NBA finals. That doesn't make him better than anybody... but its just a testament to how good he has been even when he didn't play his best.

[chitownsfinest]

By the way.... not even MJ ever averaged 32+ ppg and 7+ apg in an NBA finals. That doesn't make him better than anybody... but its just a testament to how good he has been even when he didn't play his best.

He averaged 31+ ppg and 11 apg in 91 on 50+ % shooting. Just showing how illogical in can be to group specific stats.

[NBASTATMAN]

By the way.... not even MJ ever averaged 32+ ppg and 7+ apg in an NBA finals. That doesn't make him better than anybody... but its just a testament to how good he has been even when he didn't play his best.

WHAT A JOKE POST... Didn't mj avg like 31 pts and 11 ass in 91 with 56 percent shooting... Wow ,talk about homer... Didn' t lebron kill this same team... LOL.. KOBE should be respected but don't troll and post this crap.

[Mor'Fiyah]

He averaged 31+ ppg and 11 apg in 91 on 50+ % shooting. Just showing how illogical in can be to group specific stats.

Noted. And agreed. Wasn't saying it was better than Jordan... just pointing out that he had a hell of a finals despite not having the best FG% ... and he won!

[chitownsfinest]

Noted. And agreed. Wasn't saying it was better than Jordan... just pointing out that he had a hell of a finals despite not having the best FG% ... and he won!

[thejumpa]

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.

Where do I have Kobe?. To be honest, I have been thinking about that question for a couple days....

Without going into too much detail, off the top of my head, I have at something like 20-25, probably leaning more towards 25. I know people are going to look at me sideways for that but that's honestly where I see him at. He has the skills, no doubt, but hasn't shown he can be a true leader, which is HUGE IMO, for too long. Jordan was the same way, but bounced back better in IMO and kept a run going that truly showed his (AND Phils') leadership and dominance. I think it says a lot when people compare your game to Michael, so I give him that. I can't see someone comparing ones game to Kobe's in 15-20 years though....

Now, Kobe stays in a leadership role, wins rings, or maybe even doesn't win any rings, I still think he will be included in a Top 10 discussion. As of right now I cannot see it.

[Mor'Fiyah]

WHAT A JOKE POST... Didn't mj avg like 31 pts and 11 ass in 91 with 56 percent shooting... Wow ,talk about homer...

Also very good. Only MJ lost didn't he? Like I said. I wasn't pointing that out to say Kobe was better than MJ or anything of that sort. I merely pointed it out to say Kobe's stats were unbelievable even though he probably could have been better.

[NBASTATMAN]

Noted. And agreed. Wasn't saying it was better than Jordan... just pointing out that he had a hell of a finals despite not having the best FG% ... and he won!

Yea but why did MJ's name have to be put into that post.. You could easily have just stated kobe was great though he didn't shoot well... Kobe played smart and that is the reason the lakers won.. TOO BAD.. I really liked his dumb side better..

[TheAnchorman]

Also very good. Only MJ lost didn't he? Like I said. I wasn't pointing that out to say Kobe was better than MJ or anything of that sort. I merely pointed it out to say Kobe's stats were unbelievable even though he probably could have been better.

MJ won.

[Avaj]

For those that don't have Kobe in their top 10 how many rings does he have to win to be in the top 10??

[NBASTATMAN]

Also very good. Only MJ lost didn't he? Like I said. I wasn't pointing that out to say Kobe was better than MJ or anything of that sort. I merely pointed it out to say Kobe's stats were unbelievable even though he probably could have been better.

WOW ,TALK ABOUT NOT KNOWING BBALL HISTORY.. LOL
HOW CAN WE TAKE ANYTHING THIS GUY POSTS SERIOUSLY?

[chitownsfinest]

Also very good. Only MJ lost didn't he? Like I said. I wasn't pointing that out to say Kobe was better than MJ or anything of that sort. I merely pointed it out to say Kobe's stats were unbelievable even though he probably could have been better.

Naah, the Bulls won in 5

[magi]

I don't really care where Kobe stands right now, I know for a fact once his career is done he'll be in the top 10. He is only 30 years of age, he'll play for another 6-8 years I'm sure. He has more accolades to win and hopefully more championships.

[TryToBeUnbias]

Where do I have Kobe?. To be honest, I have been thinking about that question for a couple days....

Without going into too much detail, off the top of my head, I have at something like 20-25, probably leaning more towards 25. I know people are going to look at me sideways for that but that's honestly where I see him at. He has the skills, no doubt, but hasn't shown he can be a true leader, which is HUGE IMO, for too long. Jordan was the same way, but bounced back better in IMO and kept a run going that truly showed his (AND Phils') leadership and dominance. I think it says a lot when people compare your game to Michael, so I give him that. I can't see someone comparing ones game to Kobe's in 15-20 years though....

Now, Kobe stays in a leadership role, wins rings, or maybe even doesn't win any rings, I still think he will be included in a Top 10 discussion. As of right now I cannot see it.

cant see anybody taking this post seriously...name those players in your top 20 please off the top of your head

[Mor'Fiyah]

Where do I have Kobe?. To be honest, I have been thinking about that question for a couple days....

Without going into too much detail, off the top of my head, I have at something like 20-25, probably leaning more towards 25. I know people are going to look at me sideways for that but that's honestly where I see him at. He has the skills, no doubt, but hasn't shown he can be a true leader, which is HUGE IMO, for too long. Jordan was the same way, but bounced back better in IMO and kept a run going that truly showed his (AND Phils') leadership and dominance. I think it says a lot when people compare your game to Michael, so I give him that. I can't see someone comparing ones game to Kobe's in 15-20 years though....

Now, Kobe stays in a leadership role, wins rings, or maybe even doesn't win any rings, I still think he will be included in a Top 10 discussion. As of right now I cannot see it.

Fair enough. I do think most people would think 25 is a little low, but you are welcome to your opinion.

As for the leadership role, I guess that might be subjective as well. It certainly seemed to me like he was the leader of that team... and a pretty good leader as well. The one thing he kind of infused in that team was this never give up mentality. There were times I thought they played badly as a team... but I never felt like they just gave up. The snaps of Kobe in the team huddle was some pretty surreal stuff. But I suppose we need to just see more of it.