Durant on Kobe "He's probably the best ever. You can't say that he's lost a step"

[crisoner]

Kid is entitled to his opinion.
Older cats argue with me all the time that Dr. J etc. was better then Jordan....I only seen dude on tape in his prime was a baby in the late 70's early 80's so how could I really know?

[OldSchoolBBall]

Yeah...

Playing head-to head against Rik Smits, over the hill Dikembe Mutombo and Todd MacCulloch.

And Kobe was playing against Jalen Rose, Aaron McKie, and Kerry Kittles, yet didn't dominate to nearly the same extent. Your point?

[Kingwillball]

Funny how all these laker Fans bringing up how OKC players saying Kobe is the Best when U all know Lebron is the Best..it is like they are trying to convince people on Ish to change there mind and Say Kobe is the Best..Problem is we watch the Games we Know Lebron is Better so Give it a Rest already.

[LA_Showtime]

If Durant was smart, he would say something like, "The Lakers are better when everyone involved. As great as Kobe is, it takes 5." That kind of comment could potentially cause a Kobe tornado, which would give the edge to the Thunder since he hasn't shot very well in April.

[icemanfan]

Kid is entitled to his opinion.
Older cats argue with me all the time that Dr. J etc. was better then Jordan....I only seen dude on tape in his prime was a baby in the late 70's early 80's so how could I really know?

whats up Cris! I made my first Spurs game in 1975. I think Ice is one of the all time best players in the game. Dr J wasn't better than Mike, Ice wasn't better than Mike. Kareem might be but no one ever gives him credit. I enjoyed watching Magic more than any other player ever. Even more than Ice and that is saying something. Magic is way under rated and is up there with Mike. IF Kobe had the love of the game that Magic did then I think he could pass Mike on the all time list. I do not see him at #1 right now though. Who knows what players were the best or not. Its all relative. No one could beat a good mid 80's series between the Lakers and the Celtics for great, enjoyable rivalry basketball IMO. I feel sorry for the folks that missed that decade of basketball because it was truly a great one. I am not saying the NBA today is not just as good or even better. I am saying those were great times for basketball fans.

ICE

[Juges8932]

whats up Cris! I made my first Spurs game in 1975. I think Ice is one of the all time best players in the game. Dr J wasn't better than Mike, Ice wasn't better than Mike. Kareem might be but no one ever gives him credit. I enjoyed watching Magic more than any other player ever. Even more than Ice and that is saying something. Magic is way under rated and is up there with Mike. IF Kobe had the love of the game that Magic did then I think he could pass Mike on the all time list. I do not see him at #1 right now though. Who knows what players were the best or not. Its all relative. No one could beat a good mid 80's series between the Lakers and the Celtics for great, enjoyable rivalry basketball IMO. I feel sorry for the folks that missed that decade of basketball because it was truly a great one. I am not saying the NBA today is not just as good or even better. I am saying those were great times for basketball fans.

ICE

Are you serious, lol? Kobe is widely regarded to have some of the best work ethic ever and certainly the best currently. He wouldn't be anywhere CLOSE to where he is now without that great work ethic. He wasn't nearly as physically gifted as MJ, but with equal work ethic (Though, even PJax says he thinks Kobe was a harder worker than MJ, and that's saying a lot). He is constantly looking at film, shooting, and working on his game. Even this past summer he worked with Hakeem to improve his post game, at 30/31. I don't think it matters what Kobe would have done, he would never be better than Michael Jordan.

[icemanfan]

Are you serious, lol? Kobe is widely regarded to have some of the best work ethic ever and certainly the best currently. He wouldn't be anywhere CLOSE to where he is now without that great work ethic. He wasn't nearly as physically gifted as MJ, but with equal work ethic (Though, even PJax says he thinks Kobe was a harder worker than MJ, and that's saying a lot). He is constantly looking at film, shooting, and working on his game. Even this past summer he worked with Hakeem to improve his post game, at 30/31. I don't think it matters what Kobe would have done, he would never be better than Michael Jordan.

you misunderstand what I said. When he was in his prime Magic would rather play basketball than do anything else. Pay or no pay. He simply loved the game. I am sure Kobe has worked very hard to get where he is. This brings up another point though. I believe Kobe ( and Kevin Garnet too) would have been better off with at least two years of college ball. There is a maturity of game that comes from this that allows players of his talent level to understand the team dynamics of the game better and faster. Just my opinion though. No proof one way or another.

ICE

[MakeHistory78]

Kid is entitled to his opinion.
Older cats argue with me all the time that Dr. J etc. was better then Jordan....I only seen dude on tape in his prime was a baby in the late 70's early 80's so how could I really know?

Are you kidding me?Please stop this...
Only an idiot compare or think Julius Erving was better or close to MJ...
Jordan was by far better than Erving even at his ABA days...
Have you ever watched Michael Jordan?
I watched both Dr J and MJ and Erving wasn't even close to the GOAT......

Erving isn't a Top-10 player..Even Kobe is better than him.

As I said before if Durant think that Kobe is the GOAT he is the biggest idiot of all time...
Kobe was never as good as MJ was..NOT EVEN CLOSE!

Only LeBron has a small chance to challenge Michael because he is young and he is one of a kind like MJ,Wilt,KAJ,Magic.LeBron is a Top-5 talent ever.
Kobe is a great player the second greatest SG ever but he hasn't GOAT potential and this is proven.

[Juges8932]

you misunderstand what I said. When he was in his prime Magic would rather play basketball than do anything else. Pay or no pay. He simply loved the game. I am sure Kobe has worked very hard to get where he is. This brings up another point though. I believe Kobe ( and Kevin Garnet too) would have been better off with at least two years of college ball. There is a maturity of game that comes from this that allows players of his talent level to understand the team dynamics of the game better and faster. Just my opinion though. No proof one way or another.

ICE

I do agree, particularly with Kobe moreso than Garnett, that he would have benefited a lot from going to college first. His career would also be looked at in higher esteem probably because he wouldn't of had those first two seasons in the league that people always point out as a weakness to Kobe's legacy, but that's a whole other topic.

[BlueandGold]

Kobe played with a guy for more than half his career who was better than he's ever been. Hell, Kobe isn't even one of the 2 best players Phil Jackson has coached.

Are you seriously the same shaq attack? If you are that's sad how bad your troll-like hate for kobe has evolved over the months on ISH.

[Poodle]

how many times does durant play kobe vs how many games do fans watch kobe?

its so stupid whenever i read posters here pretend nba players, coaches, and people in that business are such authorities over fans that are hardcore into the NBA and watch the games, because i'd bet those fans watch those players a hell of a lot more than the 'authorities' do.

this is why players are retards. any laker fan that isn't a blind homer, or any other observer that watches laker games with any regularity know kobe has lost a step, and he's wishy washy at this point from game to game.

[ILLsmak]

I dont understand why the putting the discussion in the box of the finals. IMO the discussion should be in comparison to every other series that is played and then you should factor un strength of team whatever. The Nets were garbarge and the games were never in doubt, it was a joke and not even worth watching. It was a foregone conclusin.

Do you realize the main reason that those series were a joke is because nobody in the NBA could check Shaq?

Did you even watch it? The finals every year was like the Shaq show. It was a joke, you're right, but that's a testament to Shaq's greatness.

I've never seen a player own the competition the way Shaq did. You are underrating what Shaq means to a team. If Kobe isn't hitting, what was he gonna do? Nothing. Shoot you out of the game, maybe... but Shaq was going to dominate the paint still and probably foul out the other front line.

-Smak

[Pha Q]

Kobe is nowhere to Shaq...Shaq at his prime was a beast and he had one of the three most dominant primes ever IMO with MJ and Wilt...

So Kobe is perhaps the second greatest Shooting guard ever but is nowhere to consider as the GOAT.He isn't even close.Shaq at least has a GOAT candidate prime.

Durant is 22 years old and his favorite player was Vince Carter...Are you kidding?He don't know anything about the History of the game.
Durant is an idiot if he thinks Kobe is the GOAT.
Kobe isn't even the best player in the league.LeBron James is by far the best in the game the last two years.Kobe isn't even close....

Dude...just STFU already about Lebron....dayum...you probably jizzed in your pants right now just talking about how Lebron can be the BEST EVER...LOL He cant be THE BEST EVER since HE DOESNT HAVE ANY FUKKIN RINGS YET.... your a clown

[Pha Q]

Are you kidding me?Please stop this...
Only an idiot compare or think Julius Erving was better or close to MJ...
Jordan was by far better than Erving even at his ABA days...
Have you ever watched Michael Jordan?
I watched both Dr J and MJ and Erving wasn't even close to the GOAT......

Erving isn't a Top-10 player..Even Kobe is better than him.

As I said before if Durant think that Kobe is the GOAT he is the biggest idiot of all time...
Kobe was never as good as MJ was..NOT EVEN CLOSE!

Only LeBron has a small chance to challenge Michael because he is young and he is one of a kind like MJ,Wilt,KAJ,Magic.LeBron is a Top-5 talent ever.
Kobe is a great player the second greatest SG ever but he hasn't GOAT potential and this is proven.

LOL....dude...your some guy behind a computer saying how lebron has a small chance blah blah blah...STFU ***....where were you when kobe was scoring 40 points 5-7 games in row? Scoring 30 points 10-15 games in a row? Has lebron EVER done that yet? Nope....just stop already..ur a joke...how can you say that NBA player is the BIGGEST idiot of all time when hes the one in the NBA and your the one behind a computer? Hes the one that faced Lebron and Kobe already...so he knows how they play....if he said that KOBE is the best...I would believe him more than your B i t c h @ss because he at least got to face them in a game...while you just watch it behind your T.V...lol your a joke...

[Kellogs4toniee]

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angele...ory?id=5142029

No disrespect to Durant at all, but this is clearly just an example of an idol lookin up and respectin a seasoned veteran. I think it's pretty clear to anyone who has been watching b-ball this year that Kobe has lost a step due to injury and age.