Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012 at 9:00 am  |  201 responses

Kobe Bryant Says This is the Most Talented Team He’s Been On


by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

Over the span of 16 seasons, Kobe Bryant has played alongside plenty of talented ballers in Los Angeles. Numerous All-Stars, current and future Hall of Famers have helped Bryant win five NBA championships, but he’s apparently never seen anything like this year’s Laker team.

According to Kobe, this is the most talented squad that he’s been a part of.

Reports the LA Times:

Kobe Bryant was also there in El Segundo, make no mistake, saying this was the best team he’d ever been part of “on paper,” the catchphrase for managing expectations uttered by almost everybody of significance Monday.

“On its face, it’s the best talent I’ve been around,” said Bryant, entering his 17th NBA season. “Whether that translates into winning a championship, that remains to be seen. But just on paper, you’re obviously talking about defensive players of the years, MVPs, All-Stars. You’re talking about a myriad of things where guys are on top of their position and have been at the top of their position.”

Talent and star power aside, chemistry is what will determine how successful these Lakers can be. And for what it’s worth, the team’s two biggest forces (Kobe and Dwight Howard) think they’ll get along swimmingly on and off the court.

As Kobe Bryant points out, there’s a big difference between talent and finding the secret sauce that leads to winning a title.

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  • rosoce

    To be fair neither will Bron bron or Kd careers ever compare to MJ…
    in my book Bron bron & kd both failed in the finals which dqs their @ss’ from ever being considered the greatest to play the game. How can you be the greatest if you failed on the biggest stage when someone else, ie MJ, never failed on that stage.
    As far as this era… total rings is all that counts. MVPs/Allstar selections/scoring titles/1st team honors don’t mean squat… half of those awards are life time achievement awards that look great on magazine covers, no offense slam.
    Welcome to the party.

  • roscoe

    it is more of a case of the LA circus-media asking probing-story generating-questions than kb24 putting a stake in the ground imo.

  • LakeShow

    Well they are good defenders and you don’t hear teams talking about fearing them. That’s the point.
    It was last year. It wasn’t a big dunk and some people wouldn’t say it was “on Dwight”, but the fact remains that Perkins and Mozgov are good to great post defenders and those dudes got demolished by Griffin. What does getting dunked on have to do with defense? Nothing. Sometimes great defenders get dunked on. You ever seen Shaq wave his finger at Mutombo after slamming it on him?
    It happens. Has nothing to do with good defense.

  • LakeShow

    “the LeBron”
    Awesome lol..

  • roscoe

    @Entelleckt | Mike wyatt: If you are going to be critical of nash at least analyze dh12 as a backstop w/ nash on the floor.

  • roscoe

    @drig:
    mbrown was one of Pop’s guys & if Pop stands behind mbrown idk why you can’t. The only challenge I truly see on the horizon for mbrown after having time to infuse his system is dealing with the LA media which has been known to crush players & coaches over the years.
    Go back and review what mbrown did with CLE & you will find he is an impressive coach. Not just anyone gets to coach the Lakers Drig.

  • Datkid

    LA would’ve won had Kobe just given the ball to shaq and stopped jacking up bad shots. Shaq was shooting a blistering 60-65% from the field while kobe shot like 4 more shots at like 43%. The pistons were a good team but they really should not have won that.

  • roscoe
  • TheWhiteMarkPrice

    Chris Douglas-Roberts wont make it outta camp. He will be cut

  • headlines

    No it’s not. That link said it would be Dwight’s team in 2-3 years, not NOW like ‘ByAnyMeansNecessary’ asserted.

  • robb

    Da Labron

  • robb

    Mike Brown can’t handle his own d*ck

  • LakeShow

    Most likely correct. Which goes to show the Lakers have a solid bench because CDR is a good young player.

  • Pais

    And it goes a little something like this…hit it…With Brown being such a weak personality, Kobe will easily set the standard for the tone and focus of this team. Nash is someone who’s capable of figuring out how to work with the larger than life #24, both on and off the court, effectively tempering the elephantine force that is Kobe’s ego. In fact the contrast of these two personalities is likely to be the biggest factor in the Lakers upcoming onslaught. Look for Nash to provide the Zen that Phil brought to the team previously, (Zen=special ingredient in championship secret sauce). Dwight will be more than happy to fall in line and be on the receiving end of countless highlights, meanwhile not have deal with the entire responsibility of his teams success. In conclusion, by the time thanksgiving rolls round we’ll all unanimously refer to this team as the greatest group of guys in the universe to ever play a sport, game, or participate in some sort of physical activity.

  • Pais

    You can’t look to the Kobe and Shaq experience for clues as to how #24 and Dwight will mesh. Too different, Kobe and Shaq being of relatively similar age with relatively similar years of experience and the same, Unicron planet eating type alpha charged egos. It’s a miracle it ever worked at all. Dwight will automatically defer to Kobe without question. Also let’s not forget, Dwight is the biggest kid in the league and kids don’t like responsibility, apparently it’s enough if people simply ‘like him’.

  • Willis

    Whatchu talking about?!? yes steve nash is all star but hes a grandpa, pau gasol is soft at times, so we got 2 legit starts kobe and dwight. Jordan had Pippen, then later on rodman… Jordan and Pippen, is basiclaly like Kobe and Lebron on the same team, so even though Jordan didn’t have as much “stars” around him, scottie pippen was one hell of a star.

  • Redd

    Lol shut up, mobile commenting:(

  • Redd

    Being old doesn’t matter if you’re playing we’ll genius, and since when was Pippen traded to the Bulls? Stop it, you sound lame.

  • Chaim Jesse

    Anytime u can get minutes in the clutch with Shaq and Kobe then you are not a bumb!

  • http://twitter.com/iskolares Edcel Ceniza

    MJ has bever failed on “that” stage? You mean to say for the years MJ has played, he has a championship year after year? WOW!

  • mark

    @REDD…Jordan didn’t have a stacked team? Tony kukoc, Scottie pippen, Steve kerr,Dennis rodman?? Yeah okay… Kobe bryant has carried the lakers many times, and without stacking a team. Lebron and Jordan can not be compared to Kobe bryant. Period.

  • http://entelleckt.com/exclusive-mp3 Entelleckt | Mike Wyatt

    @0108e7e2de2e38f4e946dc555b6799aa:disqus you are absolutely right. Dwight is a great defender. He defends the paint arguably better than anyone left in the league today. The 0.2 BPG difference b/w him and Bynum last season doesn’t do justice to their defensive differences.

    However, neither Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, Josh Harrellson, Mario Chalmers, Mike Miller, James Jones, Shane Battier, Chris Bosh, nor Norris Cole have problems taking the 22′-8′ jumper. Nash surely isn’t guarding Bosh or Wade. Ultimately someone will be open for the midrange or 3 point shot when Nash loses his man and Miami has plenty of ppl who can make that shot.

  • Haslem

    you can definitely make an argument that Shaq, Malone, Kobe, Payton was a better team ‘on paper.’

  • nick

    haha lake show has clearly seen Luke walton choke on a fat one haha

  • BrownJesus

    Kobe’s last championship team was arguably the least stacked of all the teams you are comparing.

    Yes Kobe’s injuries have made him a shell of the athlete he once was, and no he’s not as good as Jordan (no one is/was), but give credit where credit is due goddamn

  • pposse

    i highly doubt antwan jamison will do anything for the lakers. He always been good on bad teams, never was he good on a good team. The Lakers have a good team.

  • Salty

    Bravo sir

  • danpowers

    i think mj wouldnt cosign you on your point of view

    “I’ve missed over 9,000 shots in my career.

    I’ve lost almost 300 games.

    26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed.

    I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life.

    And that is why I succeed.” -michael jordan

  • Drig

    It’s the media trying to get things stirred up in Lakerland. I mean, which self-respecting media person would ask nash whether he showed off his two MVPs compared to Kobe’s one. And ask for his reaction? :

  • Drig

    There’s one problem there………Kobe was injured…….And yes, the team didn’t look good at all. It looked like it lost a gear with all that fatigue piling up on them. MikeB last year showed that he couldn’t manage the minutes of his starters ( mainly Kobe and Pau ) and put regular season wins and position over the Clips over building a bench in the regular season……which was a more pressing issue for last year’s Lakers’ team. Next, the triangle ( when it wasn’t brushed aside by Kobe ) did manage to create better spacing which was key. And while LAL’s D at hte start of the season was impressive as heck, he didn’t make the right changes in the POs IMO. And his substitutions did leave my head scratching many a time during hte regular season………..just like Phil’s TO. I’d be the happiest person in the world if MikeB proves me wrong and takes this team to the Title but so far, he has looked like an average coach who instills sound defensive principles. Ego handling? Not quite close.

  • Drig

    OKC has no bench??? Celts have no bench with Bradley and Green?? So you’re telling me 12 teams in the NBA from the 80s were better than the ’08 Celts?? Name me 10 teams that would take the Spurs or OKC.

  • Drig

    As long as Allen doesn’t have his knee issues that is. And it also depends on whether Lewis can return to playing like the Lewis of the old.

  • LakeShow

    You spelled bum, “bumb”
    Argument over.

  • LakeShow

    What good team was he on?

  • nick

    Jordan had pippen and rod an, and for a star, kukoc was the man of Croatia, led his team to the gold medal match……if pippen and rod an weren’t superstars, what were they?

  • nick

    i don’t think mj would Co sign you*
    Did you go to school?

  • shockexchange

    Pick the top 10 teams in the playoffs in any year of the ’80s and they would beat every one of those watered-down teams you mentioned. In the ’80s Avery Bradley would still be in college and Jeff Green would in the CBA.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Linda-Singleton/100000221405027 Linda Singleton

    Kobe knows what it takes to win a championship with the players he has had, so I wouldn’t sell him short on this new Laker squad. He is intelligent and knows how to relay what he wants to say without being cocky or over-confident. This newly assembled squad have “very hungry” guys that championships have eluded and barring any injuries, they are going to be mentally tough to beat. There is nobody, in my estimation, that is more mental than Bryant.

  • danpowers

    english aint my mother toungue, i also dont live in an english speaking country. so i apologize and do the best i can to improve it.

  • Willis

    i really didn’t mean it in that way. i never said pippen was traded to the bulls…. all i’m trying to point out is that jordan and pippen is more or equal to dwight and kobe. 2 reliable stars. nash doesn’t have the defense pippen had so nash is only reliable on the offense. pau, well idk about pau because he can be beast and sometimes be mediocre

  • romey rome

    i think the lakers should pick up iverson!!

  • Redd

    OH Rodman was on the Bulls with MJ & Pippen since the get go?! Didn’t know. The Bulls grabbed one All-Star & Kukoc was the man in Croatia, not a NBA All star, big difference.

  • Redd

    Nash is a superstar as is Dwight. They both joined Kobe, they weren’t made into stars with Kobe. That’s the same as the Heat…STOP IT lol.

  • black pinoy

    he had a great hairstylist

  • black pinoy

    this is so effing funny its not legal

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/K5AOM2HH6I23FLLLHVA3LE63KM Malcolm

    MIAMI will beat them. regular season and playoffs. lf LA can beat the thunder to get to finals.

  • Slick

    And then you woke up

  • wikipedia

    pippen was dafted by the sonics traded to the bulls for polynice.

  • wikipedia

    he was the 6th man of the year while playing for dallas

  • pposse

    aberration…plus that happened 10 yrs ago.

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