Saturday, October 23rd, 2010 at 2:00 pm  |  175 responses

Top 50: Kobe Bryant, no. 2

The definitive ranking of the NBA’s best players.

When Ryne built this Top 50 list and assigned writers, Ryne, Lang and I—relatively absent in this top 50 while our great cast of part-timers and freelancers held us down—decided it would be cool if we wrote the Kobe and LeBron entries. But Lang had to go out of town this week and we suddenly needed a Kobe writer. Obviously plenty of the SLAMonline regulars can write about Kobe, but I know that because they’ve all done it. So I decided to offer this slot to a non-professional writer. A friend of mine, a L.A. native, a former high school standout and DI player who happens to be the most loyal Kobe fan I know. Jason Rowley. And while I disagree with his view of Kobe as No. 1, as you can see in my LeBron write up, I think my man JR did a nice job with this piece. If you want more from Jason, follow him on Twitter @MixedProjects and leave some nice comments. Maybe he’ll be back…—Ben Osborne

by Jason Rowley

I am often amused when I hear people refer to LeBron James as The King. Of what? Cleveland? Have you ever heard of a King with no bling? He’s got no crown, and he moved to try and get a ring in someone else’s (Dwyane Wade’s) town. In my opinion, Kobe Bryant is way mKobe Bryantore deserving of the “King” moniker than LeBron.

There is no perfect way to define the best player in a team sport. For better or worse, in choosing the best player, we often look for the individual who combines top-level skill, has the best stats, and leads his team to the most championships.

You might recall that when Kobe Bryant was 25 he, too, was a free agent. Unlike the big names in the Class of 2010, he already had three (championship) rings. Perhaps he considered moving to the Clippers, but never a new town. When you’re the best player, they come to you.

The coaches go to you, too. Just like Coach K did in the final minutes for the final shots in the fourth quarter of the 2008 Olympic Gold Medal game against Spain. Players and fans know that if Kobe Bryant is on your team, especially when the game is on the line, the play gets drawn up for him. Why? Because he is the best player.

By the time he was 27, in 2005, Kobe had the best offensive skill set of any guard in the history of the League. I’d say it happened sometime before he dropped 81 on the Raptors, perhaps when he gave the Mavs 62 — in three quarters. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Kobe had 62 and the Mavericks (team) had 61. This was when the Lakers boasted such “talents” as Smush Parker, Devean George, Kwame Brown, Brian Cook and Chris Mihm, when a common but unfair knock on Kobe was that he didn’t make his teammates better. Do you know where those guys are now (without Kobe)? He has made the Double Nickel and 63 in the Boston Garden almost insignificant.

Now, just recently turned 32, Kobe has five rings. He has become a great teammate. He uses every competitive advantage possible, including speaking to his teammates in Spanish (Pau) and in Italian (Sasha) during games. Since that Gold Medal Game, he has won two consecutive NBA Championships (with a broken finger on his shooting hand and a bum knee, no less) and two NBA Finals MVPs. He is the best player on the best team in the League. That is beyond comparison.

Some argue that he is getting old, but at the same age Jordan had only three rings. And I’m pretty sure Kobe isn’t taking a break to play baseball anytime soon. Because he’s so fundamentally sound, and constantly adding new aspects to his game, Kobe has been able to dominate and will continue to do so, even as his spring and athleticism begins to wane. Five consecutive years on the First Team All-NBA and First Team All-Defensive Team doesn’t scream geriatric to me.

This is all stuff you probably already know, but would rather not admit. Just like years ago, back when people laughably tried to tell me that guys like T-Mac, Iverson and Vince were as good or better than Kobe, before people were willing to break the groupthink and admit that his talents deserved to be compared only to Jordan’s. When Kobe wins his sixth championship and passes MJ on the all-time scoring list (likely less than four years from now), it’ll be easier to admit.

When I hear or see someone say that a player other than Kobe Bryant is the best in the League, I want to ask, what else does Kobe have to do? I think the reason people (detractors) say that has to do with a dislike of his attitude and personality, particularly when he was younger, and the misconception that he was the problem that led Shaq out of town. But keep in mind, this criticism came way before we had the time and perspective to watch Kobe mature and see how Shaq leaves every team — and no one ever wants him back.

While Kobe meets all of the objective measures, he is also a player who exceeds expectations everyday — not once in awhile, but hour after hour, day after day, and in the midst of high expectations. Kobe wants it more than anyone else and constantly proves people wrong.

Think about how and when you first saw or heard about Kobe, before you started hating. He might have been taking Brandy, an R&B Star at the time, to the prom. Flexing in the dunk contest. Shooting air balls against the Jazz in the Playoffs. Getting sucker punched by a grown man (32-year-old Chris Childs) when he was 21. On trial in Eagle County.

Kobe’s is the story of a 6-6 guard who never got cut from his high school team. Instead, he broke Wilt Chamberlain’s state high school scoring record by scoring a total of 2,883 points. He outplayed all of his contemporaries and has amassed more rings than any of the other top players of his generation. He is already considered by many to be the greatest Laker ever. His motivation, clearly, has always been to achieve and surpass what anyone thought was expected.

“To be the best, you have to win… and that’s what drives me.” — Kobe Bryant

Recently, Kobe was asked who would win in a game of one-on-one between him and LeBron. In case you missed it, here was his response: “I’d win.”

Seems like LeBron agrees with me. You might have heard his response to a similar question as heard in a soundbite on Weezy’s song, “Kobe Bryant”:

“I’ve been quoted as saying Kobe is definitely the best player in our league…to me, in my eyes, the best scorer in our league, there’s not another guy in the League that can accomplish what he is doing…”

My point is that if you measure the best player by who would win in one-on-one, who wins the most games or titles, who scores the most, what he has already accomplished, proving haters and doubters wrong, by what the best coaches and players show and say, or exceeding expectations, it is clear that Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player in the world. And it’s not even that close. (KD is on deck.)

Now, if you think the best player is simply the most dominant athlete — the guy who is the biggest, strongest and fastest — with the most future potential, then the best player in the League would be someone else: Dwight Howard.

Kobe’s unique drive and determination have taken him further than most people anticipated. Go ahead and compare him to, or rank him beneath someone else. Watch all the other All-Stars assembling like Voltron, come through to the Staples Center, see the guy who never left, and maybe kiss the real king’s rings.

To be the best player, you have to beat the best, and I think Kobe will be king for a while — no one has the combination of attributes to knock him off his throne anytime soon.

SLAMonline TOP 50 PLAYERS OVERALL RANK POSITION RANK
Player Team Position 2010 2009 2010 2009
Ray Allen Celtics SG 50 36 10 9
Gilbert Arenas Wizards SG 49 34 9 8
Lamar Odom Lakers PF 48 33 14 10
John Wall Wizards PG 47 NR 13 NR
OJ Mayo Grizzlies SG 46 46 8 12
Al Horford Hawks C 45 NR 6 NR
Jason Kidd Mavs PG 44 45 12 10
Joakim Noah Bulls C 43 NR 5 NR
LaMarcus Aldridge Blazers PF 42 39 13 12
David West Hornets PF 41 31 12 8
Monta Ellis Warriors SG 40 NR 7 NR
Andrew Bogut Bucks C 39 NR 4 NR
Yao Ming Rockets C 38 NR 3 NR
Brandon Jennings Bucks PG 37 NR 11 NR
Zach Randolph Grizzlies PF 36 NR 11 NR
Stephen Curry Warriors PG 35 NR 10 NR
David Lee Warriors PF 34 NR 10 NR
Brook Lopez Nets C 33 NR 2 NR
Gerald Wallace Bobcats SF 32 NR 7 NR
Manu Ginobili Spurs SG 31 29 6 7
Tony Parker Spurs PG 30 15 9 3
Kevin Garnett Celtics PF 29 13 9 3
Rudy Gay Grizzlies SF 28 44 6 9
Josh Smith Hawks PF 27 40 8 13
Andre Iguodala 76ers SG 26 26 5 6
Al Jefferson Jazz PF 25 23 7 7
Russell Westbrook Thunder PG 24 NR 8 NR
Chauncey Billups Nuggets PG 23 19 7 5
Tyreke Evans Kings PG 22 NR 6 NR
Danny Granger Pacers SF 21 21 5 5
Carlos Boozer Bulls PF 20 32 6 9
Paul Pierce Celtics SF 19 17 4 4
Joe Johnson Hawks SG 18 20 4 4
Rajon Rondo Celtics PG 17 27 5 8
Amar’e Stoudemire Knicks PF 16 16 5 6
Steve Nash Suns PG 15 22 4 6
Tim Duncan Spurs PF 14 6 4 1
Chris Bosh Heat PF 13 13 3 4
Derrick Rose Bulls PG 12 18 3 4
Brandon Roy Blazers SG 11 10 3 3
Pau Gasol Lakers PF 10 14 2 5
Dirk Nowiztki Mavs PF 9 9 1 2
Deron Williams Jazz PG 8 11 2 2
Chris Paul Hornets PG 7 4 1 1
Carmelo Anthony Nuggets SF 6 7 3 2
Dwight Howard Magic C 5 5 1 1
Dwyane Wade Heat SG 4 3 2 2
Kevin Durant Thunder SF 3 8 2 3
Kobe Bryant Lakers SG 2 2 1 1
LeBron James Heat SF 1 1 1 1

Notes
• Rankings are based solely on projected ’10-11 performance.
• Contributors to this list include: Jeremy Bauman, Maurice Bobb, Erildas Budraitis, Sean Ceglinsky, Ben Collins, Bryan Crawford, Sandy Dover, Adam Figman, Manny Maduakolam, Eddie Maisonet, Ryne Nelson, Doobie Okon, Ben Osborne, Charles Peach, Branden Peters, Quinn Peterson, David Schnur, Todd Spehr, Kyle Stack, Adam Sweeney, Dennis Tarwood, Tracy Weissenberg, Lang Whitaker, Eric Woodyard, and Nima Zarrabi.
• Want more of the SLAMonline Top 50? Check out the archive.

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  • 7 Mile Style

    I pose a few questions about this debate between Kobe and LeBron…could Kobe have led that 06-07 Cavs team to the Finals…Could he have won 66 games with that team from last year? not even close

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    Co-sign IHaveADream… Which is why I’m leaving it alone.

  • The Philosopher

    Dream:
    Kobe was a role player on those Laker teams.
    His role was just bigger than the average role player’s role.
    Shaq was the mechanism that kept that machine oiled.

  • http://www.need4sheed.com Tarzan Cooper

    kobe was very important to those shaq teams, but he was clearly no2 to shaqs 1. if you cant see that, then youre just dumb. im not saying he was a role player like lou amundson, kobe was/is great, just not as important as shaq on those teams. …. im no one to say whether kobe deserved those defensive awards? and who the fukk are you? check kobes defense numbers and compare them to wades, then slap yourself. just like jsmoove should have been on over bron. how does second dpoy not make first team? defense teams have been mostly politics for a while now.

  • lalala

    one of the 10 guards ever??? you kidding me mf.
    kobe is the 2nd best player to over play this game. F this no2 ranking

  • lalala

    screw this… screw slam for this ranking man. NONSENSE. Kobe is the 2nd best player to ever play this game, and has been the no1 guy in the nba for many years. Kobe no1. This ranking is insane

  • The Philosopher

    Tarzan, be nice.

  • Sigurdur Einar Iceland

    1. KOBE he is the best basketball player.

    One more thing. some have been talking about Kobe was just Robin in the 3peat.
    I can take that in the 2000 season(remember game 4 in the finals and game 7 in 2000 west finals).

  • Sigurdur Einar Iceland

    But in the 2001 playoffs KOBE was MVP(okey Shaq was great in the finals but kobe was the man against Spurs).
    And in 2000/1 and 2001/2 it was Kobe and Shaq team

  • JTaylor21

    When one player is put up 35/15/60% and the other puts up 22/5/5/41%, there’s a MAIN guy and a role player. Shaq was the BIG kahuna while Kobe was a salmon, important but not as VITAL to the team’s success.

  • IHaveADream

    @The Philosopher
    By that description, Shaq was also a role player. Each player on every team has a role. Shaq and Kobe had dominant roles while the other guys had background roles.
    @Tarzan
    1-1A and 1-2 are basically the same thing. The way you type, it seems evident that if there’s a dumb one here, it’s you. But I will not resort to personal attacks when I can keep it 100% basketball with you. That clearly shows a lack of substance on your part on this topic. Politics are in most things regarding the NBA. The MVP voting mainly, All Defensive Teams, All NBA teams, All-Star appearances. That’s a given. And defense isn’t just about numbers.

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    ’99-00 Shaq: 29.7ppg/Kobe: 22.5ppg
    ’00-01 Shaq: 28.7ppg/Kobe: 28.5ppg
    ’01-02 Shaq: 27.2ppg/Kobe: 25.2ppg

    These are the regular season numbers during the Lakers 3-peat. Here are the playoff stats from those same years.

    ’99-00 Shaq: 30.7ppg/Kobe: 21.1ppg
    ’00-01 Shaq: 30.4ppg/Kobe: 29.4ppg
    ’01-02 Shaq: 28.6ppg/Kobe: 26.6ppg

    So to say that Kobe was not “as important as Shaq on those teams,” is woefully incorrect and shamefully inaccurate. The triangle may have run through Shaq, but to sit there and act like Kobe was just collecting scraps and was a virtual non-factor in the offense is just patently false, quite absurd, and makes anybody who either says or co-signs on such ridiculous statement completely misinformed and “distorting reality.”

  • IHaveADream

    @The Philosopher
    Every player is a role player…each player has different roles. So by that definition, Shaq was also a role player. He and Kobe had dominant roles. That’s an undisputable fact.
    @Tarzan
    I would prefer to keep it 100% basketball with you, so you can call me dumb if you choose to. That proves that you lack substance on the topic. But you can keep the personal attacks coming if you like. Politics are a part of a lot of things in the NBA…MVP voting, All-Star votes, All-Defensive Teams, All-NBA teams, etc. And numbers don’t mean everything with defense.

  • IHaveADream

    @ Bryan
    Thank you, sir. I just looked at those same numbers the other day.

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    And here we have more false statements from JTaylor21 in an effort to 1. Make a point and 2. Discredit Kobe. This game is so old…

  • Sparty’s Law

    Absolutely the best and most convincing write-up in the top 50. I don’t really like either Kobe or LeBron, but Kobe is definitely the best basketball player in the world. As Jason said in his piece, it’s not even that close.

  • AZ

    @ Bryan and that waas in a loaded west…not a watered down east

  • AZ

    @ Bryan and that was in a loaded west…not a watered down east. Playing against mostly all top teams through the year

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    It’s kind of stupid when you have the internet at your fingertips with so much information that can be used as a reference point and people still like to guess and make inaccurate statements while not using the information that is readily available to educate themselves and more importantly, FACT CHECK before they speak.

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    Now watch, even in the face such of obvious evidence, there will be a select few who will refuse to accept it, disregard it, and take the conversation in a different direction to try and support their argument when in actuality, they don’t have one. At least not one that’s “legit” when it comes to the importance of Kobe Bryant on those championship teams.

  • http://www.need4sheed.com Tarzan Cooper

    “to sit there and act like Kobe was just collecting scraps and was a virtual non-factor in the offense”………… who said that? all i said was kobe wasnt as important as shaq. its by a small margin, but its there. to act like its not is absurd.

    …………..

    …..
    “you are no one to say whether Kobe deserved the All Defensive team awards that he has received.” ………….. wasnt trying to get personal. just asking who are you to say i am no one?

  • BigJump

    Why can’t some people just learn to accept that their former basketball gods have been taken by some of todays finest stars? JT21 you have got to be the most BIASED person ever. To say that MJ has the best skill set is accepted worldwide, but the best OFFENSIVE skill set is just plain hogwash to nearly every NBA fanatic that watched the past and today.
    Long debate shortened: MJ is the greatest in terms of overall skill and prowess while Kobe is at the top of offensive options and efficiency

  • http://www.need4sheed.com Tarzan Cooper

    back to all nba defense, how does second place in dpoy voting not make first team?? gerald wallace HAD to be on there. smoove should have had brons spot. bron only avg 1.0 blocks. and josh def played better defense than bron all season. same with wade over kobe. bean deserved his defense team awards earlier in the decade, but the last few years, theyve been gifted to him. wade is setting defensive records for short guards, and kobe is letting ron do the dirty work, yet somehow, kobe still gets first team?

  • thegfunk

    Isn’t it stating the obvious to say Kobe plays and has played on championship caliber teams with all stars? because those teams did win championships like any other championship caliber team. Kobe has caused so many upsets and shot so many cold blooded daggers at crunch time. It’s fantastic he’s a killer!

  • IHaveADream

    It’s completely driven by people who just don’t like Kobe personally. It has to be. Because basketball wise, the man is legit. You cannot deny that if you have watched him over his career. The symbol of hard work. How else could a skinny 17 year old kid go from playing behind Eddie Jones to being considered one of the top 10 players of all time by some? That’s something to admire. Yet, we get people who disregard the hard work and discount his accomplishments. They don’t hand out Championships for popularity. I don’t dislike LeBron. I’m actually a fan of his (not a whole lot of respect for him off the court, but I don’t need to because he’s not someone I come in contact with every day). But I cannot remember ever hearing Kobe Bryant say that he wants to be a billionaire basketball player…there is a difference between mindsets with these guys. LeBron is a great player, but I don’t know if I would put him in the Magic Johnson conversation let alone the MJ-Kobe conversation. His athleticism is unequal, but his basketball skill…just pure basketball skill will need a lot of work if he’s supposed to be a top 10 player when he’s done. At some point, there will be faster players. What is he going to do when he can no longer get up in the air like he currently can? He will need some post moves. He will need a better jumpshot. If he does not develop those two things, then he will bow out when his legs start to go. Kobe’s hops left a few seasons ago, yet he is still a top 3 player in the League and skill wise, he’s still number one. Let’s see what LeBron develops into when he turns 30.

  • http://www.need4sheed.com Tarzan Cooper

    ^^^i agree we shouldnt hand lebron what he hasnt yet earned…. but there is no MJ-KOBE conversation

  • JTaylor21

    BCrawford, you’re right but when did I ever say that kobe was just a role player and collected scraps. Looks like you’re the one that needs to FACT CHECK people’s comments before attacking them. Of course Kobe was a BIG factor but to attack like he was the MAIN reason for the Laker chips is downright foolish. Just look at Kobe and Shaq’s finals numbers to see who’s really the BIG Kahuna. Also when a player only improves his regular season scoring average from 24.8 to playoff averages of 25ppg, is he really “STEPPING UP” his game like people claim as the pressure increases?

  • Black Mamba

    Couldn’t agree more. LONG LIVE THE MAMBA, the so-called “self-proclaimed king” (props Dan Gilbert) is nothing compared to this killer and I’d LOVE to see a one on one game to shut everyone up.

  • http://Www.slamonline.com Negative kreep

    Kobe>Duncan.

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    I didn’t say that you said that he was a role player collecting scraps. That was just a general statement, but I don’t need to “Fact Check” when what you said was obviously incorrect. Your 4:25 statement was this: “When one player is put up 35/15/60% and the other puts up 22/5/5/41%, there’s a MAIN guy and a role player. Shaq was the BIG kahuna while Kobe was a salmon, important but not as VITAL to the team’s success.” Unless somebody typed on your keyboard and pressed “Submit Comment” while your head was turned, you said that, and based on the stats, you were wrong.

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    @Tarzan: Your comment is about what I expected from you. But you keep holding on to your “theory.” Some people just really have a hard time admitting being wrong, that much is not a theory.

  • Bruno

    the first paragraph of Jason said it all … case closed

  • IHaveADream

    @Jtaylor
    You conveniently ignored the stats that Bryan put up a few posts ago…but I understand why.
    @Tarzan
    The MJ-Kobe conversation as in LeBron-MJ and LeBron-Kobe. LeBron will NOT be and should not be compared to either one because his mindset is not of a lethal nature and he is not capable, as of yet, of putting teams away single handedly. That game against the Pistons a few seasons ago was great, duly noted. But let’s be honest, he just caught fire that night. Those are shots that he probably couldn’t hit again if he had to on a consistent basis. When it’s time to win, everyone in the arena knew that MJ was getting the ball and they feared that he would win the game. Same with Kobe now. But with LeBron, that fear isn’t there. The only thing with him is don’t let him get to the basket. If he makes a shot, even he is surprised…it’s expected from Kobe and it was expected from Michael.

  • IHaveADream

    @Jtaylor
    You conveniently ignored the stats that Bryan put up a few posts ago…but I understand why.
    @Tarzan
    The MJ-Kobe conversation as in LeBron-MJ and LeBron-Kobe. LeBron will NOT be and should not be compared to either one because his mindset is not of a lethal nature and he is not capable, as of yet, of putting teams away single handedly. That game against the Pistons a few seasons ago was great, duly noted. But let’s be honest, he just caught fire that night. Those are shots that he probably couldn’t hit again if he had to on a consistent basis. When it’s time to win, everyone in the arena knew that MJ was getting the ball and they feared that he would win the game. Same with Kobe now. But with LeBron, that fear isn’t there. D-Wade has garnered more of that kind of attention than LeBron. The only thing with him is don’t let him get to the basket. If he makes a shot, even he is surprised…it’s expected from Kobe and it was expected from Michael.

  • JTaylor21

    BCrawford, I was talking about the finals, I don’t know the exact one but Shaq put up 35/15 compared to Kobe’s 22/5/5, it might have been vs the Pacers but I’m not 100% certain. Anyways I will give Kobe his props for being a BIG factor especially during the Western conf. playoffs but when the Finals rolled around Shaq was the BIGGEST factor. Shaq dominated the Finals while Kobe was great during their western conference playoff runs. Now which one would you rather have a player that dominates the conference playoffs or one that domiantes the finals?

  • mAMba

    ^+1

  • mAMba

    that was to ihaveadream

  • TR

    GREAT writeup. Was never the biggest Kobe fan, but the dude is ice cold from preseason to championship parade

  • namik

    Thanks for not letting Ryan Jones f*ck this up for the third (?) year in a row.

  • http://Www.slamonline.com Negative kreep

    Jtaylor: The Pacers were “good” but Do you really think they were better than the TrailBlazers? Matter fact were any teams the Shaq/Kobe Lakers beat in the finals better than the Spurs or Kings?….In those days the WCF was the REAL finals. So yeah coming up big and clutch in the WCF was bigger.

  • Blackphantom

    “To be the best, you gotta beat the best.”
    That’s all the proof I need to really prove how Kobe’s better than Lebron. Lebron left a good team, don’t deny it. Kobe literally had a s*** sandwich of a squad (Kwame Brown was a starter on that team for goodness sake) and he stayed, sure he demanded a trade, but that was to actually get someone really good to play with(Who wouldn’t demand that trade if it meant swapping Kwame for an All-Star in Pau?)

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    @JT21: 1. Then you need to be more specific. Don’t wait until you get called out to correct yourself because your initial statement was very blanket. 2. I’d rather have a player that goes hard in all 4 rounds of the playoffs and not just 1. As Negative kreep pointed out, by the time LA got to the Finals, it was easy. IND, PHI, NJ… nuff ‘sed. Yeah Shaq put up ridiculous Finals numbers, but Kobe carried the team through the first 3 rounds AND did his thing in the Finals. Especially the last 2 years given how close their Playoff averages were. Here are Shaq’s averages in the Finals in the order of the championships: 38ppg, 33ppg, 36ppg. Yes, that’s dominant. But how come there isn’t much difference between Kobe and Shaq’s averages in years 2 and 3 (ESPECIALLY in year 2)? If Shaq was able to dominate in the Western Conference Playoffs like he did in the NBA Finals, the number wouldn’t even be close. You have to win 4 rounds to get a title. Not just 1.

  • PlanetAsia14

    The REAL king.

  • a_whiteman

    3 complaints about this article…1. Mj>>>kobe…2. Kobe when its all said and dobe will have played 18-20 seasons so I would hope someone who shoots that much and plays that long will score more than a man who played 15 yrs, 2 of which were as a 40yr old…and 3. Made the double nickel and 63 insignificant???? Has this guy lost his mind. The man was out of the game for a season and a half, and within a couple games drops 55 on a very tough knicks d like he nevef left! And don’t get me started on the 63 IN THE PLAYOFFS, on arguably the greatest defensive team ever, in a buildinv they lost 1 TIME all year, a couple weeks after coming back from a BROKEN FOOT, with a poor outside j and DAVE FREAKIN CORZINE in the middle? Come on man dallas d is not even close to EITHER of those teams and the raptors D was not even close to that dallas teams d. Other then that I like the write up.

  • Blackphantom

    @a_whiteman minus Larry Bird they were one the best defenses of all-time. Don’t beat around the bush, Larry Legend was not known for great defense. But I agree than MJ is better, and the double nickel performance was BEAST

  • AZ

    81>63

  • a_whiteman

    Check the numbers ppl mj shot 50% almost every season he was in the league and did so when he average 37 a game lol. Not to mention, he has the single greatest individual season ever. Averaged almost 33ppg 8 assists 8 boards MVP ASG MVP dunk contest win defensive player of the year (where’s kobes) AND lead the league in steals.

  • a_whiteman

    63 in the playoffs in boston against that years conference champs>>>>81 in the season against a team that didn’t even make the playoffs and was in the bottom 5 defensively all day

  • http://twitter.com/smileyoufckers Bryan

    I take Kobe every day as number one until he proves to me that he doesn’t have it anymore.

  • http://kb24.com DreXnaW21

    Black Mamba!!!

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