Kobe Bryant says no rivals in career

[I.R.Beast]

Do me a favor and name all this competition he had in the WEST....including the guys he played against in the playoffs.

Kobe was far and away the best SG in the west..... Michael Finley was really good, and he faced really good defensive guards such as doug christy and bruce bowen, etc.

[SilkkTheShocker]

Kobe was far and away the best SG in the west..... Michael Finley was really good, and he faced really good defensive guards such as doug christy and bruce bowen, etc.

Finley is so underrated sometimes. People forget about that great game in 01 to upset the the Jazz in the 1st round.

[I.R.Beast]

Finley is so underrated sometimes. People forget about that great game in 01 to upset the the Jazz in the 1st round.

Mike Finley was a great player....no if ands or buts about it.

[bwink23]

Mike Finley was a great player....no if ands or buts about it.

Yes...these guys were so great, Kobe didn't feel the need to mention them....

GOOD, yes....GReAT, give me a break.

[SilkkTheShocker]

Mike Finley was a great player....no if ands or buts about it.

For sure. He gets slept on a lot. Not saying he is anywhere near Kobe's level, but the man could ball.

[White Mamba]

What!!!??? Wade is only 4 years younger. Wade was also in high school in 1996-97, not elementary school.

THEY ARE NOT RIVALS - no playoff history.

even if they meet this year its not the same - kobe is 16th season in. and wade&lebron together.

[Fudge]

T-Mac should'v been that guy. Sad to think about it really.

[La Frescobaldi]

I mean he has a point, who was his rival? Everyone that he got compared with either fell off or just wasn't on his level. As much as ESPN tries to pump up the Kobe/Lebron thing, they never really had any animosity (sp?) towards each other. And like Kobe mentioned, he was already a 7 year vet by the time Wade came in the league.

yeah.

And when you talk about KB8... who was unmatched for speed & sheer skillful moves... lightning court decisions....the beautiful grace of the young Kobe... combined with just legendary, blistering competitive drive...... what are we talking about?

One of the all-time, the all-time greats, that's what we are talking about.

Nobody in his era has been able to stand up to the force of Kobe Bryant & that will be a legacy matched only by a very very few of the elite players.

Of all the players today I respect Bryant the most and no small factor of that is his unmatched knowledge of the NBA first to last.

Kobe is Chameleon - he will change in a twinkling from MJ drive to Pearl spins, from Walt Frazier smooth to the brutality of Oscar... Kobe's ability to understand how & when to use that single hard dribble of Jerry West... the way he can run transition game to the perfection of Stockton.... he reminds me not only of those guys but I can see literally hundreds of players within his skillset. Bernard King post moves just executed to perfection.... The way he boxes out, the serious pounding he can dish out under the boards can bring memories of pure '70s genius like Elvin Hayes and Spencer Haywood.

And Kobe's awareness of his physical body changing, and his ability to transform his game from out that Kobe8 galactic athleticism to the Old Master Will School Your World Kobe24 is nothing short of what Wilt Chamberlain did in his career.
Which I grew up watching Wilt as a Sixer & Laker and that is truly the highest accolade I can give due to the fact. #13 is still the greatest I've ever seen.

Oh yeah Bryant is the whole package, unmatched since His Airness.

Long may he reign!!

[PickernRoller]

Kobe's closest rival is Shaq lol. He never has had a rivalry. Kobe and LeBron see eachother twice a year, never met in the playoffs, same with Wade, same with all of the other SG's. He never did have a rival simply because he played in the weak West for his entire career.

Weak west? West dominates in the last 10+ years in championships and they are "weak" west? Lol gtfo

West > East after Jordan retired.

[NoGunzJustSkillz]

T-Mac should'v been that guy. Sad to think about it really.

if the orlando magic were in the western conference during t-mac's peak, they would have probably have had a rivalry.

it's sorta funny because while kobe hasn't really had a rival, shaq had a few. yao/duncan/hakeem/big show/sabonis...

manu/kobe was fun for a while...

[RaininTwos]

AI pretty much lit up the lakers for over a decade but apparently Kobe had no rivals. GTFO

[bwink23]

AI pretty much lit up the lakers for over a decade but apparently Kobe had no rivals. GTFO

Meeting 2 times a years to me is not a big rivalry....

[B]

Weak west? West dominates in the last 10+ years in championships and they are "weak" west? Lol gtfo

West > East after Jordan retired.

Thank you. I was hoping somebody else picked that up

[RazorBaLade]

Kobe's closest rival is Shaq lol. He never has had a rivalry. Kobe and LeBron see eachother twice a year, never met in the playoffs, same with Wade, same with all of the other SG's. He never did have a rival simply because he played in the weak West for his entire career.

the weak west.... WAT

And ya, kobes outlived em all. I don't know how to find it but there was an article that summed up his career really well. if he doesnt kill you, he outlives you. I can't even say shaq was his rival, if they met in the finals then hell yea.... But it just didn't happen.

[Lebron23]

AI pretty much lit up the lakers for over a decade but apparently Kobe had no rivals. GTFO

This