Is Kobe still the best player in the NBA?

 but tell me who's better at HIS stage of their career.

I think Duncan at 36 years old is having as good a season as Kobe right now.  It is a very apples to oranges comparison since they do different things but Tim Duncan is ballin' this year.

"F'k you haters

Kobe at 34 is going to be better than Durant, Lebron, Melo when they reach that age"

Based on what? The fact that james is 28 and has improved every single year he has been in the league? Are you psychic? If so, please send me the list of who will win all of the games in this year's ncaa tourney. Thanks!

"He's reinvented himself getting his body to play at this level by working his arse off over the summer and watching his diet"

He reinvented himself by starting to work out in the offseason and eat right? Did Kobe not used to work out in the offseason? That's not good.

"The difference between Kobe is he makes players around him better. Gasol/Shaq is the perfect example. Before Gasol played with Kobe he had never won a playoff game and had only made 1 allstar game. With Kobe, Gasol wins 2 rings, 3 finals, and makes 4 straight allstars games..

Same with Shaq. Shaq had been swept out of the playoffs 5 out of 6 years before Kobe was made a starter. Then Shaq wins 3 rings, etc...

Lebron on the other hand makes everyone around him worse, since Lebron only cares about his own stats. Bosh, Shaq, Wade, Allen, Hughes, all had their stats immediate plummet once they teamed up with Lebron. Lebron's style of play doesn't work in the playoffs that's why every year has ended in disappointment including 2 bronze medals, the finals sweep, humiliating loss to dallas...."

I love how when you talk about Kobe's teammates you says they got better because they WON and when you talk about James' teammatess you say they got worse because their STATS went down.

Let's try apples to apples when you talk about winning:

Was Wade going to consecutive NBA Finals and winning the Title before James arrived? NO. So by your measure of Kobe, James has made him BETTER.
Was Bosh even in the PLAYOFFS in Toronto before he teamed with Wade? NO. So by your measure of Kobe, James has made him BETTER.
Was Shane Battier winning an NBA title with any of the other teams he played for? NO. So by your measure of Kobe, James has made him BETTER.

Shall I go on?

Now let's try apples to apples again when you talk about STATS:

Shaq with Orlando:      27.18 points and 12.51 rebounds per game
Shaq with Kobe in LA:  27.03 points and 10.60 rebounds per game

WORSE with KOBE

Steve Nash? WORSE stats with Kobe than before he joined LA
Pau Gasol? WORSE stats with Kobe than before he joined LA
Dwight Howard? WORSE stats with Kobe than when he joined LA
Antawn Jamison? WORSE stats with Kobe than when he joined LA

Shall I go on?

Steve Nash? WORSE stats with Kobe than before he joined LA

Nash is still a 50/40/90 guy this season. His 3P% is better than the last couple of season. His PPG are 0.3 less than last year. His APG are down as he doesn't have the ball as much as he used to in Phoenix.

Pau Gasol? WORSE stats with Kobe than before he joined LA

Pau was considered a good PF/C when in Memphis. People considered him a top PF/C when winning championships alongside Kobe. His best FG% was with the Lakers. Two of his top 3 PERs were with the Lakers. Good in Memphis. Great in Los Angeles. I'm sure playing alongside Kobe had no affect on that.

Dwight Howard? WORSE stats with Kobe than when he joined LA

Dude is coming off back surgery and tore his labrum during the season. He still leads the league in rebounding and shooting around his career average.

Antawn Jamison? WORSE stats with Kobe than when he joined LA

Jamison is having one of his best shooting seasons, percentage wise, this year.

Nash is still a 50/40/90 guy this season. His 3P% is better than the last couple of season. His PPG are 0.3 less than last year. His APG are down as he doesn't have the ball as much as he used to in Phoenix. 

All true points and the types of points related to efficiency that the sman will completely ignore when talking about guys who play with Lebron.

lakersrule:  I'm curious how you feel the Lakers should move forward with their player management.  Specifically, any thoughts on Dwight Howard signing or not?  Extending, amnestying, restructuring Kobe?  Trading Pau?  Biggest need in the offseason?  etc. 

With so many oblivious Lakers fans on here, I'd really like to see how a normal, intelligent, respectful Laker fan feels going forward (genuinely).

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With that said in my post above the one position where I feel less is more when teaming up with Kobe is the point guard position because Kobe is at his best with the ball in his hands.  Sessions did not work out well with the Lakers.  Payton did not really work out well for them offensively back in the day for them (although he was older).  The best match at PG for the Lakers along side Kobe is a guy who does not need the ball in his hands that much and is essentially not really a point guard at all and more of a smaller two guard.  A guy who can handle it a bit and distribute the ball a little bit and initiate the offense, but no heavy lifting.  Derek Fisher was perfect until he got old and his defense slipped.  To me, Steve Nash was not that great of a signing for them because of this.  Nash is a great shooter but can bring a lot more to the table then just being more or less a spot up tertiary shooter.  In other words, well he can do okay in that role offensively the team would have been better served getting someone who filled more of the Fisher role who can hit shots, play solid defense who you pay less money and use some of the money you save on a solid wing/perimeter defender to boot.

Sessions was very good during the regular season with the Lakers (47.9 FG%, 48.6% 3P%, and 6.2 APG). He flamed out during the playoffs though.

The idea of bringing Nash in was to allow Kobe to work off the ball more. Kobe said all the right things in the summer about looking forward to playing off ball with Nash facilitating. Well, it really hasn't worked out that way. So, in hindsight, maybe it wasn't the best signing. Nash did say he looked forward to not having to facilitate as much, given his age, in Brown's Princeton offense. That really wasn't given much of a chance to succeed. Regardless, the Lakers are stuck with Nash for two more years and $18 million or so.  

The idea of bringing Nash in was to allow Kobe to work off the ball more. Kobe said all the right things in the summer about looking forward to playing off ball with Nash facilitating. Well, it really hasn't worked out that way. So, in hindsight, maybe it wasn't the best signing.


That right there was my main reason for predicting they would win a ring.  When Kobe said he wanted Nash it seemed as if he understood what was going to be needed going forward to win it all.  I thought that was key.  Nash has played off the ball better than I thought he could but he would not have been my pick if Kobe was going to be the one facillitating.

lakersrule: I'm curious how you feel the Lakers should move forward with their player management. Specifically, any thoughts on Dwight Howard signing or not? Extending, amnestying, restructuring Kobe? Trading Pau? Biggest need in the offseason? etc.

I think it is imperative to sign Dwight. If he gets back to 100 percentish, I think he still a top 5 player in this league. He can have the biggest effect on defense compared to anyone in the NBA. Just check out the 4th quarter against the Hornets last night. You can see him getting close. The last few games he's been able to challenge/alter shots then recover quickly and grab the rebounds. These next few years for Dwight are typically a players prime years. Signing Dwight long term is of high priority.

I don't think you can restructure deals lower unless you are signing an extension. I don't think Kobe can go to management over the summer and ask to restructure the last year on his contract. I doubt he would anyway if it was even possible. I wouldn't do anything with Kobe. He is still playing at a high level. He still makes the Lakers owners a lot of money. I think the front office is resigned to the fact that they will have a serious luxury tax bill next summer. If Kobe still wants to play, I'd offer him a significantly discounted one year contract. If he balks, fine. The Lakers need to use their upcoming cap space to sign a younger star player, not get it tied up with Kobe again.  

If the Lakers continue with D'Antoni, then I'd trade Pau for some younger athletic players that would work better in D'Antoni's offense. There might be some takers out there for his large expiring contract. Deals for that reason don't usually get done in the summer though.

Basically, the Lakers need to sign Dwight long term, then sit somewhat tight until the summer of 2014 when the cap space opens up. They then need to hope that Lebron gets tired of Miami, opts out, and signs long term with the Lakers!
 

"Nash is still a 50/40/90 guy this season. His 3P% is better than the last couple of season. His PPG are 0.3 less than last year. His APG are down as he doesn't have the ball as much as he used to in Phoenix. "

So why do the Lakers suck so bad? By all accounts every Laker fan on here said that if Nash plays to what he did last year that the Lakers were the NBA Champ favorites.

Is Kobe still the best player in the NBA?

"Still"?  Uh, you do know its 2013, duh.

Yes. It's not even close.  Kobe is the best player in the world because he is the most fundamentally complete player in the history of basketball.  He has the complete package of finishing, post up, passing and one-on-one moves.  Combine that with his size, shooting, clutchness and average athleticism, and you have the best player in the league for the last 10 years.  Lebron and Westbrook rely on their athleticism too much, and their careers will be shortened when they lose that edge.  They won't have the skills to be effective beyond their prime athletic years.  Here's the scenario: if Lebron went 1 on 1 with his physical equal, he'd brick a lot of jumpers.  same with westbrook.  Kobe beats more athletic players all the time because he has the skills to create and finish.  If you are a student of the game, you are studying Kobe. 

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You do realize that Nash missed a major portion of the season due to injury, right? Their season has been derailed by injuries, lack of playing time together, etc. They were hitting on all cylinders until Gasol got hurt again. Without Gasol, they don't have a legitimate second big man, so there is no one under the basket to deter or block shots. Antawn Jamison is not a Center.

I don't think Kobe is number one but he is certainly in the top 5 especially the way he has played the last half dozen or so games. I think it is a close race between Durant and Lebozo for the top spot.

The idea of bringing Nash in was to allow Kobe to work off the ball more. Kobe said all the right things in the summer about looking forward to playing off ball with Nash facilitating. Well, it really hasn't worked out that way. So, in hindsight, maybe it wasn't the best signing. Nash did say he looked forward to not having to facilitate as much, given his age, in Brown's Princeton offense. That really wasn't given much of a chance to succeed. Regardless, the Lakers are stuck with Nash for two more years and $18 million or so.

 


This basically a string of bad decision after bad decision you are describing there.  Wrong coach.  Wrong offense to run.  Trying to teach old Kobe new tricks.  Signing Nash who can't defend for 9 million a year (could have traded for Jarrett Jack like GSW did and he is at about 4 million).  All bad moves.

I think it works better if either Kobe or Nash comes of the bench.  You always have at least one of these two guys on the court at all times and they both get a lot of minutes and overlap a good amount too.  Both guys are in at the end of most if not all of the tight games.  Whoever starts instead of either of these guys it is imperative that it be somebody who can play defense well (very unlikely scenario with this year's team at least).  So this year you continue to start both guys because it is already too late anyways to be messing around and none of their other guards can guard anyone anyway.  

Nash is an expiring contract the last of those years so you could likely swap him in that year for someone.  Same goes for Kobe in his last year to although he would likely veto the trade (or maybe not depending on how bad it gets).

You do realize that Nash missed a major portion of the season due to injury, right? Their season has been derailed by injuries, lack of playing time together, etc. 

Warriors have about the same amount of injuries (maybe more) this year and out of their top 9 guys in minutes played so they have a lack of time playing together as well.  But they are about 3-4 games up on Lakers.  If you are saying the Lakers are in the same league as the Warriors I agree with that.  I think they are better than the Warriors actually.  Point is though, neither one of these teams is winning a title this year.

Warriors have about the same amount of injuries (maybe more) this year and out of their top 9 guys in minutes played so they have a lack of time playing together as well. 

Above is one of the most retarded sentences I have ever written.  What I meant to say was this...



 Warriors have about the same amount of injuries (maybe more) this year and out of their top 9 guys in minutes played 6 of them were not on the team last year so they have a lack of time playing together as well. 

Great article in today's LA Times, penned by famed Kobe antagonizer Bill Plaschke...he must've really had to suck it up to get this one out!

In keeping Kobe Bryant, not Shaq, Jerry Buss made right call

The conflict between Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal years ago forced the Lakers owner to make a bold call that completed his legacy.

Bill Plaschke

6:26 PM PST, March 7, 2013

It was the summer of 2004, and an aging sports owner was faced with a decision for the ages. It was a choice between two small words with giant ramifications. It was a hurried selection that would last forever.

Kobe or Shaq?

The debate had raged for years, and now Lakers owner Jerry Buss felt he had to end it. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, filled with blatant animosity stemming from the deepest of jealousies, could no longer play together. Even three championships couldn't bond them and, at the first possible moment that summer, they both attempted to flee.

O'Neal begged to be traded. Bryant opted out of his contract. Buss felt he couldn't keep them both. He believed he had to pick one. This Hall of Famer or that Hall of Famer? This son, or that son? In today's era of corporate ownership, it was the sort of personnel decision that is rarely made by a single person.

Yet Buss alone made the call. It was one of the boldest calls in the history of Southern California sports. It became one of the most criticized calls in the history of the NBA. Yet Buss unflinchingly made it, and stood behind it, and, nine years later, on a Wednesday night in New Orleans, his choice could be seen storming downcourt for a clinching dunk and a gritted-teeth growl as the Lakers came from a 25-point deficit to win.

Even those of us who have resisted saying it for years can say it now, because a man's legacy has been completed by it.

Jerry Buss picked Kobe Bryant, and he was right.

Jerry Buss traded O'Neal in what this columnist called a "Shaqtacular mistake," yet Buss was right, and continues to be right, today more than ever, his mortality continually honored by a guy playing at the level of the immortals.

The uniform patch is sweet, the memorial service was moving, but less than a month after Buss' death, his memory is most alive every night through a scarred veteran whose 17th season might be his most impactful yet.

Buss picked Bryant as if he knew that not only would he win two more championships with some of his best teams, but that he would shoulder the Lakers' most disappointing team with dignity and strength through a season of uncertainty and loss.

Bryant will not be the most valuable player. But in some ways he's never been better. He has furiously pushed the Lakers through their dysfunction and chaos while chugging his legs at a level never seen by someone burdened by so many miles.

He has led them to a win while scoring 40 points and shooting 65%. He has led them to a win while making one basket and not taking a shot in the first half.

He led them to three consecutive wins with double-digit assists in each game. There have been 18 games in which he did not miss a free throw. And, oh yeah, just for grins, Wednesday night in New Orleans, he played the entire second half and scored 13 of the team's final 16 points.

He has been the scorer, the facilitator, the scowling tough guy, the hilarious tweeting guy and, against all gravitational odds, the slamming guy. Seriously, have you ever seen Kobe Bryant dunk like this? Not in the last five years, right? He slammed on Atlanta's Josh Smith while scoring the final six points in a Lakers victory. He soared on Brooklyn's Gerald Wallace while leading the Lakers to a short-handed win there.

Bryant is leaping higher now than he did five years ago — literally and figuratively — thanks to his off-season blood treatments in Germany and his year-round work ethic. Few saw this coming from a 34-year-old who has already played 192 more games than Michael Jordan played in his career. Hardly anyone believed this was possible from a man who last spring in Oklahoma City looked old and slow and on the verge of being done.

Nobody believed in Bryant like Jerry Buss.

Think about it. Buss chose an immature Bryant over O'Neal during a summer in which Bryant was facing sexual assault charges that eventually were dropped. Buss chose Bryant even though he had pouted his way through some games, shot his way out of others, and had even undergone knee surgery without telling the team.

Buss chose Bryant over a three-time Finals MVP when Shaq was seemingly still in his prime, and this column space read, "The weathered hands that built this tradition are still powerful enough to unravel it."

It turns out, Jerry Buss didn't unravel anything. He cemented it. He gave the franchise to a kid who has grown into a man who is carrying it brilliantly in his memory, a living last will and testament, an amazing grace.

So why do the Lakers suck so bad? By all accounts every Laker fan on here said that if Nash plays to what he did last year that the Lakers were the NBA Champ favorites.

Lots of reasons. Injuries, lack of chemistry(largely due to injuries), bad offensive schemes, lack of defense, and suspect coaching hires being the main ones.