Dwight Howard Imitates Kobe Bryant (VIDEO)

Regarding the best player in ’04.
This is a quote from Jackson’s book…
In Phil’s words, March 29th 2004.. “I told the press yesterday that Kobe has reclaimed his role as the “top player in the game.” Now I think Phil has a better understanding of players than we all do here. His judgement can be more trusted than ours, considering he was around NBA players on a daily basis. Just sayin’.

I don’t see 38 percent in a Finals loss anywhere on that list.
And in 98 his second best player and only other scorer was Scottie Pippen who was battling a back injury and was very little help.
In 95-96 he was going against Gary Payton the last three games and had arguably the worst three games of his post season career. If George Karl had been smart enough to put the DPOY on Jordan earlier, maybe your point would have merit.
No one forgot anything. You apparently forgot that Pippen could barely walk or get dressed in 1998. You also forgot that when the Bulls went up 3-0 Jordan was absolutely DESTROYING Nate McMillian and Hershey Hawkins. It wasn’t until Karl made the switch to Payton that his numbers dropped.
And, based ont he list you posted, Jordan has never played as poorly as Kobe in the Finals, never lost in the Finals, and particularly never lost when his second best players was SHAQUILLE O’NEAL!

Phil Jackson could have meant anything by that. 2004 is over, we don’t care about anyone’s opinion. Kobe Bryant was, in no way, the best player in the league in 2004. Factually speaking. Did he have the most skill? probably. Did that translate into him being “the best player” in an NBA basketball game? No. And in no way can you make a case that he was.

Man, Kobe has been the most skilled player in the game at many points in his career.
But best? Best is hard to grant him. He had all the skills but he never matched this skills with the right attitude at the same time.
I mean, when he dropped 35 a game there was not a better scorer in the League. But, he was also petulant and quit on his team in the playoffs while losing to a squad without its second best player after going up 3-1!
Kobe is hard to evaluate. I’ve long thought he was the most skilled and smartest player who also did the DUMBEST things on the floor at times.

@seed 43%>33% and 33ppg>22ppg what are you trying to prove with those numbers? Oh wait and MJ won.

From Phil Jackson -
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. – “Kobe has patterned himself after Michael, and there are a lot of identical things there,” Jackson told the Los Angeles Times, “but it’s one thing to hope to be like him, it’s another thing to be like him.”

Kobe Bryant earns high praise from Phil Jackson, but the Lakers coach says his current star should not be compared to Michael Jordan. (AP photo)
“I’m with (ESPN’s) Bill Simmons on this,” he added. “We have to take Michael Jordan out of the equation. Stop comparing anyone to Michael Jordan. It’s just not fair. He was remarkable. …

“(Kobe) doesn’t shoot the same percentage (.455) as Michael (.497). He has the same characteristics as Michael, but he’s not the same player. It takes nothing away from him — he’s a great player in his own right.”

the lakers will sweep the west and then sweep miami if they make it to the finals

Kobe Bryant & Magic Johnson are the most fortunate non Celtics in league history in terms of the talent of their teammates. That should not diminish their legacy (assuming you are being rational in the first place), it’s just the way it shook out for them.

The mark of a really transcendent perimeter player is the ability to win without a dominant big man. Jordan did it. Lebron did it. Kobe needed Shaq, Gasol, and now Howard. That doesn’t make him a bad player at all, it just reflects that Kobe’s on-court production doesn’t always measure up to his skillset.

Allenp is on point with this. Kobe has ALWAYS made the game harder for himself in spite of his vast basketball knowledge. Jordan knew how to play the team game far better than Kobe ever has, and that is the crucial difference between the two.

@peregrine, OK, MJ stats state otherwise, This is too easy
No. 10 Jordan worst – Game 3 1998 Finals – Jordan only had 24 points on a night where he took only 14 shots of which he made 7. He made 10 of 11 from the line against Utah and the Bulls won anyway. Jordan added only 3 rebs, 2 assists, 1 stl and 1 blk.

No. 9 Jordan worst – In the 1996 closer against Seattle (game 6), Jordan won on Father’s Day, and capped off a comeback like no other finishing off a 72-10 season. But in that last game he didn’t put up impressive individual stats…well he did, but just not compared to himself. He was rather Kobeish in this one. Jordan had a career Finals low 22 points on 5 of 19 shooting. He did make 11 of 12 from the line and added seven boards but he did have five turnovers. His stats weren’t his best, but it was his most satisfying title win that night!

No. 8 Jordan worst – The Seattle series in 1996 was the only time Jordan had great teammates. In game one he had a sub-par Jordan game but the team still won. MJ scored 28 points on 9 of 18 shooting. He also made 9 of 10 from the line and added 7 rebs 2 asts 2 stls and 1 blk. He did have 4 fouls, but this is Jordan’s eighth WORST finals game, that’s how good he was.

No. 7 Jordan worst – When the Bulls lost to Portland in game four of the 1992 Finals he was kind of off, but his teammates were to blame on a higher level. Jordan contributed with 32 points, but only made 11 of 26 shots from the field. He was a perfect 8 for 8 from the line but only hit 2 of 6 three’s. He did have six assists and five boards in the game but it wasn’t enough – after all he didn’t have Shaq or Gasol to make him look better.

No. 6 Jordan worst – At age 35 Jordan was the oldest NBA MVP and scoring champion ever. The first finals game in 1998 kind of showed his age and the Jazz won. Jordan did have an outstanding 33 points but he shot badly (for MJ not for Kobe) with a 13/29 shooting night and 6/8 free throws. He had two blocks but no steals and only two assists with three boards in the loss.

No. 5 Jordan worst – Game 3 1992 Finals vs. Portland wasn’t Jordan’s greatest personal performance ever, but he still willed his team to the win in the end. His point total was 26, on 11 of 22 shooting. He missed all four three pointers he took but he did have 3 steals 4 assists and 5 rebounds. In the press conference, as if apologizing for only scoring 26 in the win Jordan said, “It was a win, and that’s all that matters.”

No. 4 Jordan worst – Any loss in the Finals for Jordan was a bad game to him. In game five in 1998 vs. Utah, Jordan ‘only’ had 28 points in 45 minutes of play and the team lost. He shot an abysmal 9 of 26 from the field and the Bulls just looked lost. Jordan came up with 10 of 11 free throws but added only 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

No. 3 Jordan worst – Jordan did shoot 50% on the night and he held up his end of the bargain but the Bulls did lose against Seattle in game 5 of 1996. He had a personal low one assist in the game but he did score 26 points. Was he being selfish or did his teammates suck that bad? I’d go with his teammates sucked that bad, not like Shaq or Gasol. This was Longley and Wennington. After all Jordan did go 11/22 on the night in his third worst ever Finals game.

No. 2 Jordan worst – In game four vs Utah in 1997, the 34 year-old Jordan, tied a personal career finals low with only 22 points. He was 11/27 from the field, and the Bulls lost their second in a row against the Jazz.

No. 1 Jordan worst – After winning the first three in a row of the 1996 Finals the Bulls came out sluggish in game four leading to the first of two straight losses. Jordan looked a grizzled 33 years old in his worst ever finals game. He only shot 6 of 19 from the field and he made 11 of 13 free throws but he did miss both his three attempts. He only had three rebounds and two assists with one steal. His four turnovers and three fouls with 23 points in a loss, made this the worst Jordan ever played in the finals, which ain’t really that bad compared to… you know who! Ha ha ha

Oh, so it was just Kobe and Pau? No Ron Artest. No Andrew Bynum. No Trevor Ariza or Derek Fisher. Just Kobe and Pau, the former number 3 pick in the League and a 20 and 10 player.
Man, this is ridiculous. You really think Kobe can challenge MJ and to believe this you must denigrate what Jordan accomplished. No one claims Jordan didn’t have help, but what all of us know is this:
Shaq > Scottie Pippen
That’s true all day every day. And it’s not a slight edge. It’s a humongous massive edge that can’t ever be crossed.
Kobe is a great volume scorer with an amazing work ethic. But, he is a chucker to the core, overrated on defense and has regularly hurt his team with his unwillingness to involve others once he became the Alpha dog.
Why are you acting like Pau is a bum when he’s a great second option? Man this is sad, so very sad. I can’t believe another human could be this stubborn and blind to reality. It’s scary.

The worst game on the 1998 Finals was a game Jordan shot 50 percent from the field? Are you series Seed?
YOu do realize Kobe shot 38 percent in 2004, right? My God man.

The Shock Exchange is curious how long it takes before D12 does his “Chris Childs” impression … mid-season?

Technically my Bulls are the greatest then because Jordan was on the Bulls..right guys? Right? No? Ok then

Kobe shot the Lakers out of a title in ’04. That’s as close to a fact as an opinion can get for anyone who actually watched the series. To say otherwise is to admit you’re a Kobe stan, not a ball fan. Kobe is the closest to MJ in terms of style, but Laker fans confuse this for being close to MJ as a player. Other guys could have chosen to jack Jordan’s mannerisms and moves but they chose not to. I respect that. I respect the fact that Kobe is a great player, but he’s not near Jordan’s level.

Pau was rookie of the year, and very much a housle hold name before he became a Laker and since he came in the league he was widely considered one of the top-ten in a very stacked PF position.

Ya’ll hear that the Lakers picked up Dwight Howard in a trade?
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Haha, Seed is my favorite troll by far. The dude is just him every time. Gotta appreciate?? lol.
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Kobe was arguably the best player in 04. I would have taken, Shaq, Duncan, and Garnett over him. Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady are arguable also, but for me it’s Kobe as the best guard then. He had a slightly below average statistical year in 04, but both 03 and 05 were incredible statistical years. So I doubt Kobe was ‘worse’ that year.
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We should start distinguishing the difference between guards and power forward/centers. They play two completely different roles on the team. Duncan, Shaq, and Garnett all had physical advantages for this game. They are big. They are suppose to put up a higher FG%. They don’t shoot threes and jumpers as much if at all. Forwards and centers in general are going to get layups and alley oops handed to them a few times throughout a game. Is that the mark of a “great” player? Someone who can convert open layups? No. It’s not. So don’t let FG% fool you into just thinking someone was dominant.
Am I saying that Shaq wasn’t dominant? Fack no.
MDE
Kobe can take the lions share of blame for 04 if you guys want to say that. He didn’t have good looking statistics so you can come to that conclusion, but if you know anything, that 04 season was insane for the Lakers. So many rumors. New team mates (that are old and use to doing things that they can’t anymore.) No bench. Two Star players that both want the spot light. This team met…
One of the best defensive teams ever, that did many things that no team in history has done before. Prince, whether you want to admit it or not, was maybe the best ‘Kobe defender’ ever. Big Ben was without a doubt the best Shaq defender ever. Rasheed Wallace is great in his own right. Bilups was beast and earned a nick name for his series there.
What does this all amount to IMO?
Pistons for starters need another round of applause…
*slow clap initiated*
Job well done gentlemen! You have us questioning whether two top 10 players All Time are really all that good. LMAO…
As we know. All great teams do not and cannot stay together for consecutive years and just keep on winning year after year. There’s this disease that has been going around for years to great teams that want to stay together. It’s called the disease of more. This team was suffering in many reguards. Some parts due to Kobe, and some Shaq, some elsewhere. This is Holly Wood afterall…
But what I meant to say is…. “It’s Kobe’s fault.”

You do know that one of the knock on KG dating back to his Sota days was his tendecy to fall in love with his jumper, right? I understand the point you’re trying to make but you can not use that as an excuse as to why Kobe shot such a low percentage during that Finals.

Actually it was a tandem of Duncan and Robinson. My bad. Still that was the best anyone did on Shaq

Benjamin Wallace dammit how many times do I have to say it.
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LOL

Long time reader, first time poster. Just wanna say that everything that JTaylor21 says sounds incredibly arrogant. Lol that’s all I want to contribute.

Oh and Dwight Howard is not the pound for pound best defensive player ever. Russell, and Olajuwan and Nate Thurmond are 3 off top that are better pound for pound or any other way then Dwight.

lets not forget MJ won DPOY award in 1988 in the Bad Boy Piston era no doubt the better defensive and offensive player to kb24 lets leave the comparisons alone and let the Mamba be the Mamba.

NAP went all out