Kobe's WCF opponents were better than any of MJ's finals opponents

[Vino24]

agree?

[Bawkish]

WCF during 2000's were the true NBA finals

East were never the same since MJ left

[SamuraiSWISH]

As best player, definitively, not helping prime / peak Shaq

Kobe:
2008 WCF vs Spurs 56-26
2009 WCF vs Nuggets 54-28
2010 WCF vs Suns 54-28

Jordan:
1991 Finals vs Lakers 58-24
1992 Finals vs Blazers 57-25
1993 Finals vs Suns 62-20

1996 Finals vs Sonics 64-18
1997 Finals vs Jazz 64-18
1998 Finals vs Jazz 62-20

So to answer, no, not even close. Mike beat 4x 60+ win teams in the Finals out the west and two other teams better than anything a Kobe led Laker team faced in the WCF.

Next.

[Mr. Jabbar]

Op trying to turn MJ fans against Kobe fans

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/AbsoluteBogusAlaskanmalamute-small.gif

[SamuraiSWISH]

Op trying to turn MJ fans against Kobe fans

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/AbsoluteBogusAlaskanmalamute-small.gif
:oldlol: :applause:

Jabbar is my guy

Not the play by any means, but the poster for sure.

[sportjames23]

Op trying to turn MJ fans against Kobe fans

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/AbsoluteBogusAlaskanmalamute-small.gif

The Kobe/MJ Family is too strong to let these miscreants tear it apart. :cheers:

[ImKobe]

Kobe had to beat Duncan FOUR times to reach the Finals. I think Pop and Duncan in their primes is a tougher out than maybe anyone MJ faced from 91-98. You could argue Stockton & Malone, but they were much older than those Spurs' teams Kobe faced and Duncan's better than either of them.

[RealSkipBayless]

Op trying to turn MJ fans against Kobe fans

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/AbsoluteBogusAlaskanmalamute-small.gif
Trying to recruit MJ fans :lol. So desperate for help just like their idol Lebron.

[Bawkish]

Kobe had to beat Duncan FOUR times to reach the Finals. I think Pop and Duncan in their primes is a tougher out than maybe anyone MJ faced from 91-98. You could argue Stockton & Malone, but they were much older than those Spurs' teams Kobe faced and Duncan's better than either of them.

Pop's Spurs had similar offensive discipline with those Sloan's Jazz. Though i agree Duncan is better than Stock & Malone but all of them thrive at their best running those offensive schemes. Im not sure what would be the outcome if ever those prime Duncan Spurs faced MVP Malone Jazz in a best of 7 series but i think it would be down to the wire

[PickernRoller]

There has been a concerted effort on the part of LeStans to drive a wedge on our alliance. Not gonna work...

[ImKobe]

Pop's Spurs had similar offensive discipline with those Sloan's Jazz. Though i agree Duncan is better than Stock & Malone but all of them thrive at their best running those offensive schemes. Im not sure what would be the outcome if ever those prime Duncan Spurs faced MVP Malone Jazz in a best of 7 series but i think it would be down to the wire

Spurs did play the Jazz in '98 and while the Jazz won 4 - 1, the first two games of the series were decided by one possession. That series really could have gone either way.

[Real14]

Give it up OP.:lol

[SamuraiSWISH]

Kobe had to beat Duncan FOUR times to reach the Finals. I think Pop and Duncan in their primes is a tougher out than maybe anyone MJ faced from 91-98. You could argue Stockton & Malone, but they were much older than those Spurs' teams Kobe faced and Duncan's better than either of them.
Duncan alone being the best player of the opponents faced doesn

[CAstill]

[QUOTE=SamuraiSWISH]Duncan alone being the best player of the opponents faced doesn

[SamuraiSWISH]

If MJ isn’t around the Sonics win in 96. Sonics would then been forced to pay Kemp and he would of never got fat thus not even allowing the Jazz to make the finals the next 2 years let alone back to back champs. No lockout either which really derailed Kemp. Anyways Duncan>>>Malone and as always 96 Kemp >>>> Both
Actually the 96 Magic vs 96 Sonics would’ve been one hell of a Finals match. Those are more evenly matched.

Penny vs Payton
Anderson vs Hawkins
Scott vs Shrempf
Grant vs Kemp
Shaq vs Perkins

Actually Orlando could take that with or without Grant.

Because in reality the Bulls should’ve swept Seattle. They went up 3-0 which in basketball has been an absolute kick for winning the series thus far in all its years.

MJ being the reason they won that road game 3, essentially the decisive game of the whole Finals. Then the Bulls took their foot of the pedal and got sloppy the next two games. But the series was already decided.

Kemp was nice, one of my absolute favorite players all time and of the 90’s in general, I agree. But better than Malone and Duncan? Come on bruh. You know he wasn’t.

[ImKobe]

[QUOTE=SamuraiSWISH]Duncan alone being the best player of the opponents faced doesn

[Bawkish]

Did MJ have to go up against Kobe and Shaq? How many times did Kobe prevent Duncan from winning/making B2B Finals?

Kobe was the best player on his team in 01, 02, 04 and 08 when he beat Duncan. Spurs could guard and even shut down Shaq in certain games, but they had no answer for Kobe, who was finishing over Duncan and D-Rob with ease.

How do you think the Spurs were able to completely shut down Lebron in 07, yet couldn't do anything to stop Kobe the next year? Kobe OWNED the Spurs like no other player.

2001: Kobe averages 33/7/7 over 50% shooting in the WCF, 4 - 0 sweep
2002: Spurs tie the series at 1 - 1 holding Shaq to 19 pts 7 reb on 44% shooting and get embarrassed in 3 straight losses, Kobe again leads his team in scoring
2004: Spurs are up 2 - 1 on the Lakers and have HCA, Kobe comes straight out of court and drops 42 in a dominating win and the Lakers close the series out again with 4 straight wins after being down 2 - 0. Kobe again leads all scorers
2008: Spurs are up in almost every game and Kobe dominates them in crunch time. 14 pts in the 4th in Game 1 when the Lakers were down 6 going into the quarter, 17 pts in the 4th quarter of Game 5 when it was a 1 pt Laker lead going into the 4th. No surprise that Kobe again leads all scorers.

Kobe led the Lakers in scoring in every single series against the Spurs from 01-08 with a 4 - 1 H2H record in the 5 times they met. The only time they lost was when Horry had an all-time worst Playoff series and missed every single wide open three, series should have gone to 7 games in 03. That Game 5 still haunts my memories, where Fisher, Shaw & Horry combine for 1/11 from deep in a 2 pt loss. Horry misses a wide open three that Kobe gave him that would have won the game after Kobe brought them back from down 18 in the quarter. That was one for the ages.

Well it seems like Spurs cannot contain an elite perimeter scorer like Kobe, in which i don't see them solving matters when they face a much greater & more unstoppable force in MJ

[ImKobe]

Well it seems like Spurs cannot contain an elite perimeter scorer like Kobe, in which i don't see them solving matters when they face a greater & unstoppable force in MJ

That is true, but it doesn't mean that Utah's better. The Jazz were average defensively while the 2004 Spurs had the greatest defense in modern NBA history. No other team in modern NBA history has had a better DRTG and only the '99 Knicks have held teams to slightly lower FG% (lockout season).

As far as winning 50+ games consistently and being in the Playoffs, no one comes close to the Spurs in the modern era. It's also laughable to compare Utah's 2 Finals appearances to Spurs' 6.

[SamuraiSWISH]

Well it seems like Spurs cannot contain an elite perimeter scorer like Kobe, in which i don't see them solving matters when they face a much greater & more unstoppable force in MJ
Exactly. Kobe had Shaq for the vast majority of those series anyway. And even then on factual merits those Spurs teams weren

[ImKobe]

[QUOTE=SamuraiSWISH]Exactly. Kobe had Shaq for the vast majority of those series anyway. And even then on factual merits those Spurs teams weren

[Bawkish]

Let's see.

Most titles won in the modern era

Lakers: 10 (16 Finals appearances)
Bulls: 6 (6 Finals appearances)
Spurs 5 (6 Finals appearances)

Spurs have the record for 18 consecutive 50+ win seasons (20, if we adjust the record for the lockout season, where they played at a 60 win pace).

So what argument is there for the Jazz, Suns, Sonics & Blazers? Did he face a better coach than Popovich? Did all the teams he face have a better player than Duncan?

Spurs were able to win the 3rd most titles in the modern NBA and have the most consistent run in NBA history, despite the fact that they were going up against the Lakers most of those years. Kobe denied them four Finals appearances and at least two championships (they beat Philly in 01, Nets in 02).

Those teams could've won titles if not for MJ, Utah could win back to back

Duncan Spurs had the luck that they've won after the Bulls dynasty. There's nothing the Spurs could've done to challenge MJ & the Bulls that they haven't faced before.

Pat Riley once said that no one can beat MJ in the Finals. This coming from the one who coached the Showtime Lakers and went against Bird's Celtics

[CAstill]

[QUOTE=SamuraiSWISH]Actually the 96 Magic vs 96 Sonics would

[ImKobe]

Those teams could've won titles if not for MJ, Utah could win back to back

Duncan Spurs had the luck that they've won after the Bulls dynasty. There's nothing the Spurs could've done to challenge MJ & the Bulls that they haven't faced before.

Pat Riley once said that no one can beat MJ in the Finals. This coming from the one who coached the Showtime Lakers and went against Bird's Celtics

"Luck"

Like they weren't a rebound/a miracle shot away from 6 - 0 in the Finals themselves. That's like if Jordan misses that shot over Russell and his team loses in a Game 7 on the road.

And I'm not saying they're better than the Bulls, I'm just comparing them to the Jazz. Spurs did beat Shaq & Kobe in 2003 and Duncan didn't have much talent around him offensively that year, what's to say that he couldn't have done a better job against MJ than the Jazz did?

Mid-2000s Spurs are a better team on paper and have the better player & coach. If you think that the Spurs dynasty is worse than the Malone & Stockton Jazz, you're either from Utah or you're just trolling.

[kennethgriffen]

portland/sacramento/sanantonio/minny/phoenix/denver all had big 3's and big 4's when kobe beat them tbh



so yeah

[Bawkish]

"Luck"

Like they weren't a rebound/a miracle shot away from 6 - 0 in the Finals themselves. That's like if Jordan misses that shot over Russell and his team loses in a Game 7 on the road.

And I'm not saying they're better than the Bulls, I'm just comparing them to the Jazz. Spurs did beat Shaq & Kobe in 2003 and Duncan didn't have much talent around him offensively that year, what's to say that he couldn't have done a better job against MJ than the Jazz did?

Mid-2000s Spurs are a better team on paper and have the better player & coach. If you think that the Spurs dynasty is worse than the Malone & Stockton Jazz, you're either from Utah or you're just trolling.

im far from being a Jazz fan i tell you, just saying that the Spurs weren't that better or worse than them as far as overall competition is concerned. They both have great coaches, both also have great offensive schemes that involved dominant inside presence as well as outside. We saw what happened to the twin towers Spurs when the Jazz faced them in 98, a year before they won their 1st title

[Phoenix]

[QUOTE=SamuraiSWISH]Actually the 96 Magic vs 96 Sonics would

[CAstill]

I've always said that Orlando likely beats the Sonics had they gotten past the Bulls. It's a pretty evenly distributed matchup for the most part with Shaq having too much of an edge inside.

Horse sh!t. Shaq could be contained at that stage he wasn

[SamuraiSWISH]

Horse sh!t. Shaq could be contained at that stage he wasn’t the big diesel yet until later Laker years. Kemp was the unstoppable one that year
No we couldn’t. Shaq was super dominant out the gates even as a rookie. The only person who gave him problems in his Orlando time span was peak hakeem and 96 rodman as well as the Bulls swarming perimeter defense. Shaq would’ve feasted on that weak ass center position for Seattle

[CAstill]

[QUOTE=SamuraiSWISH]No we couldn