if Kobe never went down with a career ending injury. would he have been top 3 alltime

[fozi]

I have him 3rd/4th ..

I have LeBron 9th if he wins this year ..



Other active players to crack potential top ten or top 15 ?


NONE so far..

[STATUTORY]

I think you can make an argument for anyone in the top 15 but some of those arguments would be weak as hell. As great as Kobe is, I can't put him above Magic, Larry, and Shaq. I think Kobe is in the same tier as Hakeem and Duncan but I also prefer those 2 guys over him too.

have never heard a reasonable argument for those guys over kobe

[DixieNourmous]

enough with the trolling. the guys career is over. time to drop the "maybe top 10" garbage

Trollin?




Here is the truth on this injury

What does Achilles tendon surgery involve?
Surgical repair is typically the treatment of choice for athletes. Surgical repair usually allows for:

[WillC]

He's definitely in the top 10. Definitely not in the top 5.

I agree with this.

The top five is reserved for Jordan, Kareem, Wilt, Russell and one of Magic or Bird.

Kobe fits into the next group with Shaq, Duncan, Big O, West and Olajuwon.

An extra couple of years would have made very little difference to Kobe's legacy.

[fpliii]

I have him 3rd/4th ..

I have LeBron 9th if he wins this year ..



Other active players to crack potential top ten or top 15 ?


NONE so far..

What the hell? Duncan is clearly top 10. KG also has an outside case for top 15, but he probably falls just short. Wade/Dirk are also all-time greats, but likely aren't close to the top 15.

[9erempiree]

Greatest players of all time and always mentioned in the conversation, it will be in future and beyond:

Kobe
Lebron
MJ
Kareem
Magic

These guys are always mentioned when talking about the greatest players of all time no matter where people have them ranked on their list.

[Derka]

No. 8-10 if I'm making the list.

[arifgokcen]

Kobe can be ranked anywhere from 7th to 9th.At least thats why I have seen him ranked in general.

MJ magic kareem wilt russell shaq are definitely ahead of him.I would personally rank bird ahead of him too.

Duncan and kobe is very arguable their impact accolades are to close as a whole

[fpliii]

Greatest players of all time and always mentioned in the conversation, it will be in future and beyond:

Kobe
Lebron
MJ
Kareem
Magic

These guys are always mentioned when talking about the greatest players of all time no matter where people have them ranked on their list.

A lot of purple and gold. I like it.

[Rubio2Gasol]

I like Kobe as much as the next guy griff, but why are you citing public perception when constructing your list? You can produce your own top 10 without resorting to that, so why are you baiting?

Sadly this is always what it comes down to anyway?

-What Makes Magic a top 5 player now as opposed to at best a top ten player when he retired?

-What makes Hakeem a top 10 player now as opposed to whatever they ranked him (15-20) when he retired.

It's what it is. Their games didn't change, what they accomplished didn't change, just the degree to which their talents were appreciated.

[jcsrplumply]

It is always based on opinion (bias or not) but in my list so far he is #9.

[PJR]

The obsession for ranking players is so retarded.

[Dbrog]

the only guys who are legit ahead of kobe are jordan, kareem, russell, wilt

kobe can be argued with magic
kobe can be argued with larry
kobe can be argued with shaq
kobe can be argued with duncan

so depending on who you like more is how you rank those 5 guys

kobe is anywhere from 5th to 9th. most likely 6th behind magic or tied at 7 with bird

I guess it could be argued..those arguments are weak though. Kobe gets no higher than 8 in a top 10 list (9th on mine even though I think Hakeem was significantly better at his peak). All the dudes listed above dominated the league for a period (including playoffs)...Kobe just....never showed that he could carry a team like those other guys. Still, just being in top 10 is an AMAZING accomplishment!

[Rubio2Gasol]

I guess it could be argued..those arguments are weak though. Kobe gets no higher than 8 in a top 10 list (9th on mine even though I think Hakeem was significantly better at his peak). All the dudes listed above dominated the league for a period (including playoffs)...Kobe just....never showed that he could carry a team like those other guys. Still, just being in top 10 is an AMAZING accomplishment!

Carry a team and dominate the league are a couple different things - Kobe did both at a level comparable to anyone not outside of Hakeem,Wilt, Shaq(only in terms of dominating the league) and Jordan.

[Quintilianus]

Sadly this is always what it comes down to anyway?

-What Makes Magic a top 5 player now as opposed to at best a top ten player when he retired?

-What makes Hakeem a top 10 player now as opposed to whatever they ranked him (15-20) when he retired.

It's what it is. Their games didn't change, what they accomplished didn't change, just the degree to which their talents were appreciated.

Because casual fans bust their nuts to the all-around stats these days and stuff like PER or eff forgetting that the thing all players play for is a ring and that's what should matter over everything