GOAT is settled, Kobe says it's him

LarkinCollector

2 Jordan
3 LeBron

ETA: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/kobe-declares-g-o-t-ranks-lebron-jordan-080331828.html

So two of these three have declared themselves the GOAT.

JoeBanzai

Yup, Chamberlain was a bum.

Kobe=idiot.

craig44

while I dont think Kobe was #1, I do realize elite level athletes think differently than we do. I can understand how someone with Kobeś competitiveness would never think anyone was ever better than him.

DIMEMAN

I would put Kobe ahead of Lebron, but not Jordan.

JoeBanzai

Man, I really miss the old days.

Why don't they just take the word "humility" out of the language.

I'm sure all the top athletes in any era think they are unstoppable at some point.

Put your richard back in your pants guys.

Coinstartled

Certainly deserves to be in the discussion.

JoeBanzai

OK I am not a basketball fan.

I looked at Bryant's numbers and it looks like he took a lot of shots and missed a lot of shots. He made quite a few too.

Anyone who shoots the ball up to 2,000 times a year had better score some points.

GOAT? I don't see it. He missed more shots than anyone all-time.

I guess if you are just looking at shooting guard/small forwards he's pretty good.

Wilt, Jabbar and Malone look to be the top three, don't big men count?

Mike Jordan and Julius Erving both look better.

Please explain it to me.

craig44

I think the big men are slighted in most GOAT conversations. Jabbar and Wilt for sure. I think a highly under rated player was Hakeem the Dream. He was dominant on both sides of the court. an amazing shot blocker and the Dream shake was practically unstoppable. Now I do think Jordan was the best, but I would very seriously consider taking Jabbar or Olajuwon over Lebaby.

erikthredd

@JoeBanzai said:
OK I am not a basketball fan.

I looked at Bryant's numbers and it looks like he took a lot of shots and missed a lot of shots. He made quite a few too.

Anyone who shoots the ball up to 2,000 times a year had better score some points.

GOAT? I don't see it. He missed more shots than anyone all-time.

I guess if you are just looking at shooting guard/small forwards he's pretty good.

Wilt, Jabbar and Malone look to be the top three, don't big men count?

Mike Jordan and Julius Erving both look better.

Please explain it to me.

I wouldn't rank Kobe higher than Jordan,Wilt or Kareem on the Goat list but Kobe is ranked 3rd all time in career points scored.

JoeBanzai

@erikthredd said:

@JoeBanzai said:
OK I am not a basketball fan.

I looked at Bryant's numbers and it looks like he took a lot of shots and missed a lot of shots. He made quite a few too.

Anyone who shoots the ball up to 2,000 times a year had better score some points.

GOAT? I don't see it. He missed more shots than anyone all-time.

I guess if you are just looking at shooting guard/small forwards he's pretty good.

Wilt, Jabbar and Malone look to be the top three, don't big men count?

Mike Jordan and Julius Erving both look better.

Please explain it to me.

I wouldn't rank Kobe higher than Jordan,Wilt or Kareem on the Goat list but Kobe is ranked 3rd all time in career points scored.

Yes he is, and he should be with him being #1 in shots attempted.

I looked at a whole bunch of those charts today trying to figure out why Kobe would be ANYONE'S GOAT and the more I looked, the more guys I would put above him.

Even I know there's more to the game than scoring. Looked at assists, steals and a bunch of the "new" stats.

If you like "win shares" and "value over replacement" and "player efficiency rating" he's not even in the top 15 in ANY of these stats.

Hell, Kevin Garnett looks better than Kobe in everything except scoring!

Oscar Robertson was better, so was David Robinson. The list goes on. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird and Tim Duncan and Shaq.

I still don't see anyone who dominated like "The Stilt" several years leading the league in both scoring and rebounding. Oh yes, I forgot, he played against a bunch of 5'8" guys. LOL

erikthredd

@JoeBanzai said:

@erikthredd said:

@JoeBanzai said:
OK I am not a basketball fan.

I looked at Bryant's numbers and it looks like he took a lot of shots and missed a lot of shots. He made quite a few too.

Anyone who shoots the ball up to 2,000 times a year had better score some points.

GOAT? I don't see it. He missed more shots than anyone all-time.

I guess if you are just looking at shooting guard/small forwards he's pretty good.

Wilt, Jabbar and Malone look to be the top three, don't big men count?

Mike Jordan and Julius Erving both look better.

Please explain it to me.

I wouldn't rank Kobe higher than Jordan,Wilt or Kareem on the Goat list but Kobe is ranked 3rd all time in career points scored.

Yes he is, and he should be with him being #1 in shots attempted.

I looked at a whole bunch of those charts today trying to figure out why Kobe would be ANYONE'S GOAT and the more I looked, the more guys I would put above him.

Even I know there's more to the game than scoring. Looked at assists, steals and a bunch of the "new" stats.

If you like "win shares" and "value over replacement" and "player efficiency rating" he's not even in the top 15 in ANY of these stats.

Hell, Kevin Garnett looks better than Kobe in everything except scoring!

Oscar Robertson was better, so was David Robinson. The list goes on. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird and Tim Duncan and Shaq.

I still don't see anyone who dominated like "The Stilt" several years leading the league in both scoring and rebounding. Oh yes, I forgot, he played against a bunch of 5'8" guys. LOL

I'd personally rank him closer to 10 than 1 in the NBA Goat debate but he's better than you give him credit for. Third all time in career scoring to go along with nine times on the All-Defense First team and three times All-Defense Second team. I agree the guy shot alot and his off the court issues (sexual assault case and Shaq relationship) led many to hate the guy but he's arguably one of the top 5 two way players ever.

illini420

For anyone who thinks the GOAT is anyone other than Jordan...

LarkinCollector

There are reasonable cases to be made for the GOAT not being Jordan (though I'll likely personally disagree ), as great as he was, Kobe should not be in the GOAT discussion.

erikthredd

Jordan & Russell will always be 1&2 to me but rounding out my top 10 in no particular order would be Wilt,Magic,Bird,Lebron,Kareem,Shaq,Duncan and Kobe.

SanctionII

I remember that Olajuwon played soccer in Africa as a kid and did not start playing basketball until he was 16 or 17. His first year at Houston I saw him play. He was uncoordinated and very raw because he did not know how to play the basics of the game. He was fast, quick and could jump very high, but he lacked basketball skills.

Once year later I saw him play again and it was like night and day. He picked up basketball skills and was fantastic.

I can only imagine what Olajuwon would be like if he was a kid today. Start him playing team basketball in elementary school and progress from there. Playing today would result in him not being a low post player. He would play anywhere on the floor and would light it up from three point range.

I can imagine an Olajuwon of today being a quicker, faster, stronger and more dominant version of Kevin Durant.

erikthredd

This may sound crazy but barring injury I think Giannis has a chance to be the most dominating NBA player ever. The things he can do as a 7 footer like both playing point guard and also covering them is like nothing we've ever seen before. He's only missing a legit 3pt shot in his game right now and the way he's improved his game every year since coming into the league you just know he'll add that three to his repertoire soon enough. I think the only question regarding his future will be does he stay in Milwaukee and try to win a title as a Buck or does he eventually try to win elsewhere? He seems like a pretty loyal guy and there may be a possibility that staying with the Bucks hurts his chances to ever win a title.

thisistheshow

OT: Just imagine if Shaq could make his free throws.