Kobe Bryant's athleticism is severly underrated because of his skills.

[tgan3]

I have people always telling me his an "average athlete" or at most "above average athlete" and not a "freak athlete".

For one, almost every NBA starter HAS to be at least an average athlete in the first place to condition themselves in games. Anyway, classifying Kobe as just "above average" is very wrong, look at some of the dunks he does, the one on steve nash and howard both had me jumping out of my seat.

Guys let me recap you with some of his dunks:

Dunk of the year candidate vs Hornets(Reverse pump dunk):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVGEB8EfHu4

Incredible alley oop from fisher(even the commentators say that it was a sh1tty pass by fisher yet Kobe somehow got it)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv2xMQEqlCI

Dunk on Howard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJpANQxfSuQ

Show me videos of Pierce or Roy(pretty good athlete) doing a reverse pump dunk in the game.

Kobe isn't tier 1 freak athlete (Lebron James, Vince Carter, Jason Richardson, Josh Smith, Desmond Mason, Shannon Brown) but his tier 2( Iguodala, Jr Smith, Wade)

Anyone still unconvinced please watch this top 100 kobe dunks and refresh your memory:

top 100 dunk mix:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6LChpQ2N9Q

[bdreason]

He's definitely athletic, but it's something you can tell he really worked for. He has also lost a step since his early days, but so does everyone. The fact that he continues to be one of the top players in the NBA despite his loss of athleticism is a testament to his incredible will to always get better.

[bleedinpurpleTwo]

he WAS extremely athletic...top shelf.
today, he is somewhat less so...as should be expected of someone with that much mileage.

[Indian guy]

I'd love to know who these "people" are, because I've never heard anyone call Kobe an average athlete. In his physical prime(00-05), he was a Top 3-5 athlete to ever play at his position.

[TheLogo]

Kobe was sick back in the days. I have him as one of the best in-game dunkers in history.

Just go youtube his dunk videos and you will see what I am talking about.

Too bad people failed to see this.

[tgan3]

I rank Paul Pierce as a Slightly Above NBA caliber athlete....so....

From the other thread. WHAT???!! Pierce a better athlete then Kobe?

[jstern]

He was never a freak like a Lebron or Jordan, but very stylish none the less. I think his genetics past comes more from the side of Africa where the marathon runners come from, rather then where the slaves came from.

[laronprofit9]

In Kobe's physical prime, he was the 2nd best in-game dunker in the league.

Only VC was a better in-game dunker.

Kobe imo was a more creative dunker than a prime TMac.
A better dunker than D-Wade ever was.
J-Rich didn't have as many great in-game dunks as Kobe, while Kobe was in his prime

In terms of creativity, Kobe was arguably the best in-game dunker along with VC.

1. Behind-the-Back 360 Dunk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOqVm-cKHjk

2. Baseline Windmill Reverse Dunk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=007Sw-mmUgU

3. Baseline Windmill Reverse Dunk (again)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaYTvH4xUxk

4. Baseline 2-Hand Reverse Dunk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD0EjndPFqI

5. Baseline Double-Clutch 180 Reverse Dunk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urV5eelT_EE

6. Double Pump Reverse Dunk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVGEB8EfHu4

I really don't see many players today pulling off those type of dunks DURING A GAME.

In terms of creativity, Prime Kobe was the 2nd best in-game dunker behind Vince Carter.

[tgan3]

He was never a freak like a Lebron or Jordan, but very stylish none the less. I think his genetics past comes more from the side of Africa where the marathon runners come from, rather then where the slaves came from.

Just a notch below them, but because his footwork and offensive awareness is so great. People tend to think of him as a "skill player" rather then someone who dominates through athleticism(which is true), though he is a very good athlete.

[KobeDaMamba]

[Swaggin916]

Roy could do those dunks if he wanted... but his wingspan and reach are probably at least 3+ inches shorter than Kobe's... so that's something to think about. Peirce just slat out could never do those... he just isn't that explosive.

To be a great offensive player tho you don't need to be a freak... you just need to be very smart, have good footwork, fakes, etc. To be a great defensive player you need to have that athleticism... but you can be a good/very good one with good instincts/quick hands (Ron Artest).

At this point... Kobe is probably like equivalent to the guy at the park/gym who doesn't really jump that high or move very fast, but always seems to score. I mean that's kinda at the level Kobe is right now.

[New York Knicks]

Nah, it always looks like he has to really extend himself to finish dunks where guys Josh Smith, Vince Carter, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, etc...made dunking look easy. I've never classified Kobe as a freak athlete.

[tgan3]

In Kobe's physical prime, he was the 2nd best in-game dunker in the league.

Only VC was a better in-game dunker.

Kobe imo was a more creative dunker than a prime TMac.
A better dunker than D-Wade ever was.
J-Rich didn't have as many great in-game dunks as Kobe, while Kobe was in his prime

In terms of creativity, Kobe was arguably the best in-game dunker along with VC.

1. Behind-the-Back 360 Dunk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOqVm-cKHjk

2. Baseline Windmill Reverse Dunk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=007Sw-mmUgU

3. Baseline Windmill Reverse Dunk (again)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaYTvH4xUxk

4. Baseline 2-Hand Reverse Dunk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD0EjndPFqI

5. Baseline Double-Clutch 180 Reverse Dunk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urV5eelT_EE

6. Double Pump Reverse Dunk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVGEB8EfHu4

I really don't see many players today pulling off those type of dunks DURING A GAME.

In terms of creativity, Prime Kobe was the 2nd best in-game dunker behind Vince Carter.

Nice find mate.
You don't even see Brandon Roy putting up this kind of dunks..Yet theres another poster saying Pierce is a better athlete then Kobe..

[New York Knicks]

Just a notch below them, but because his footwork and offensive awareness is so great. People tend to think of him as a "skill player" rather then someone who dominates through athleticism(which is true), though he is a very good athlete.

Not saying he's not a good athlete, but he's not a freak athlete.

[New York Knicks]

And btw, I'm talking about by NBA standards. By NBA standards he is NOT a freak athlete, but obviously he's a freak athlete compared to us mere mortals.