JA Adande: "Kobe is the best option for a last-second shot in the history of the NBA"

[Soopa]

Kobe being the best today is a total opinion, and that is fine; however, the statistics would not support that for the last 6 regular seasons and the last 5 playoffs. People may feel that way because his game winning shots are covered more thoroughly than other players. When you talk about major market privileges, this may be one of them. LBJ has actually hit the most over the past 5 years and Melo makes them at the highest percentage. It's funny that D-Wade and Kobe often get so much hype for this particular feat, and their percentages of making them are very low. In addition, Kobe's assist to turnover ration is the worst on this list. Is he the best? Just ask the media.

FGM FGS % FTM FTA Ass TO
LeBron James 17 50 .340 14 20 6 4
Vince Carter 16 51 .314 10 11 3 4
Ray Allen 15 39 .385 4 6 1 2
Kobe Bryant 14 56 .250 12 15 1 5
Carmelo Anthony 13 27 .481 7 11 1 4
Allen Iverson 13 33 .394 6 8 1 2
Ben Gordon 12 34 .353 6 6 1 4
Dirk Nowitzki 12 37 .324 13 18 1 3
Joe Johnson 12 45 .267 2 3 4 2
Paul Pierce 11 32 .344 15 17 9 3
Dwyane Wade 11 40 .275 13 17 3 2

@ those bull shyt stats only math geeks would care about





Do any of you clowns actually watch games or do you just look at stats?

Kobe haters can't argue situations so they always put up numbers with no sense of context




this clown thought after he posted all these numbers, that he shut down this thread.

probably snapped his fingers 3 times, talking bout "i done told them girrrrlll"

*high-fives his homegirl*

[PleezeBelieve]

I HATE HATE HATE it when someone goes and posts stats that have little relevance to the actual topic. Those stats are based on shots taken with 24 seconds or less. Invariably they include half court heaves, full court heaves, and all manner of prayer type shots. Invariably the stats have no way of painting the full picture of the difficulty of each individual attempt. Why is that important you ask? Because in the mind of the basketball watcher, a shot taken that had little to no chance of ever going in isn't really viewed as a detriment to being clutch any more than a half court heave with a few seconds on the clock is viewed as a missed shot attempt (even though statistically it is). But whatever... stats cannot do everything... but the real reason the numbers above are not particularly relevant to the discussion is because of the caveat the only a few seconds (3-4) are left on the clock vs. 24. Those statistics are actually a much greater subset of shots that includes the relevant stats but really don't encapsulate them from the overall data. For all we know Kobe might shoot a better percentage in the 3-4 second range than every player on that list. And even if he didn't... as I alluded to before... statistics never capture what the naked eye captures. Spectators, fans, sportscenter watchers, coaches, players, analysts will all look at the situation of the shot... the difficulty level... the attention the player demands (did everyone know he was going to take the shot)... etc and then make a judgement based on that. It speaks VOLUMES that just about every coach, GM, and analyst would pick Bryant in these situations over any current player today as it is.

You know Kobe uses paragraphs when he writes, don't you?

I believe that alone should give someone like yourself the motivation to use proper sentence structure or what not.

And keep in mind, I wasnt going to bring Kobe up to make this point, but I sorta felt it would be the most effective tool to drive home this point.

[triangleoffense]

@ those bull shyt stats only math geeks would care about





Do any of you clowns actually watch games or do you just look at stats?

Kobe haters can't argue situations so they always put up numbers with no sense of context




this clown thought after he posted all these numbers, that he shut down this thread.

probably snapped his fingers 3 times, talking bout "i done told them girrrrlll"

*high-fives his homegirl*

Whoa there sonny show some respect. Those math geeks will be your boss one day, if not the boss of your boss.

[elementally morale]

Because Jordan no longer plays. Pretty obvious too. Do you think those same GMs would take 21 year old Kobe or 21 year old Jordan given the chance. One was the greatest winner the game has known since Bill Russell and the other is Kobe I will let you guess which one is which.

I still find it strange that you know this and GMs do not.

Why is that?

[ShaqAttack3234]

Why the hell is this thread still going after 10 pages? Nobody said Kobe is more clutch than Jordan in fact in the article he said that if you gave anyone 6 seconds to create a shot he'd choose Jordan. It's a perfectly valid opinion and nobody is saying Kobe>Jordan or Kobe>Bird.

Why can't Kobe get any credit without it turning into a huge debate? He's probably one of the 10 greatest players of all time, he's arguably the best player in the league and he's on the best team in the league. He'll be getting a lot more praise in the future. Get used to it.

[Disaprine]

When it comes to Kobe fans, they honestly just don't CARE about facts in these sorts of things. They ONLY care about hyperbole as far as he's concerned. Perception is reality, and the media machine has hyped Kobe into this untouchable clutch player, so evidence be damned. Now, has Kobe made a good amount of last minute shots? Sure. Is he on this super level, "best option for last second shot in this history of the NBA" and all that stuff? Hell no.

But trying to get through to your average Bryant fan is like telling a member of Jonestown that Jim Jones isn't God personified.

it must suck being a kobe hater nowadays

[Vragrant]

When it comes to Kobe fans, they honestly just don't CARE about facts in these sorts of things. They ONLY care about hyperbole as far as he's concerned. Perception is reality, and the media machine has hyped Kobe into this untouchable clutch player, so evidence be damned. Now, has Kobe made a good amount of last minute shots? Sure. Is he on this super level, "best option for last second shot in this history of the NBA" and all that stuff? Hell no.

But trying to get through to your average Bryant fan is like telling a member of Jonestown that Jim Jones isn't God personified.

I honestly starting to think its a possibility that by the time he retires theres a chance he'll be considered the GOAT, even if its not warranted. The hyberbole around this guy is THAT bad.

[sixer6ad]

@ those bull shyt stats only math geeks would care about





Do any of you clowns actually watch games or do you just look at stats?

Kobe haters can't argue situations so they always put up numbers with no sense of context




this clown thought after he posted all these numbers, that he shut down this thread.

probably snapped his fingers 3 times, talking bout "i done told them girrrrlll"

*high-fives his homegirl*

I really didn't say a lot...I only posted the stats. And...I watch a ton more NBA than you do, guaranteed. LBJ gets way too much press...way too much. When he makes a layup, the announcers freak...it's on espn...it's everywhere. I realize that. Meanwhile, some media head called Kobe the best clutch player in the NBA, and many people in the 2nd biggest market - and his world-wide fans - agree. So, because so many people hear that, they believe it. Would you believe that if you only were told that he actually shoots the 2nd lowest % in the Top 10 or that he only had 1 assist and 6 turnovers in this situation? I agree 100% with you that stats can only do so much; however, when someone says Kobe is the best clutch player or last-second option, people have the right to say, "Why?". When they do, the answer cannot be, "Because." There has to be some merit to it...it can't be because of all the hype and all the media attention. LBJ gets cracked (it's getting better) for his lack of last-second situations when, in reality, he has hit the most shots in the entire league over the last 6 seasons.

I'm not posting the stats to be a geek; I did it to pose a question. A true answer would not be presented in the form of a slam down; a true answer would have presented a reason.

[Simple Jack]

I really didn't say a lot...I only posted the stats. And...I watch a ton more NBA than you do, guaranteed. LBJ gets way too much press...way too much. When he makes a layup, the announcers freak...it's on espn...it's everywhere. I realize that. Meanwhile, some media head called Kobe the best clutch player in the NBA, and many people in the 2nd biggest market - and his world-wide fans - agree. So, because so many people hear that, they believe it. Would you believe that if you only were told that he actually shoots the 2nd lowest % in the Top 10 or that he only had 1 assist and 6 turnovers in this situation? I agree 100% with you that stats can only do so much; however, when someone says Kobe is the best clutch player or last-second option, people have the right to say, "Why?". When they do, the answer cannot be, "Because." There has to be some merit to it...it can't be because of all the hype and all the media attention. LBJ gets cracked (it's getting better) for his lack of last-second situations when, in reality, he has hit the most shots in the entire league over the last 6 seasons.

I'm not posting the stats to be a geek; I did it to pose a question. A true answer would not be presented in the form of a slam down; a true answer would have presented a reason.

People fail to realize how telling stats are. Stats aren't biased. Viewing a game, forming opinions (naturally), and debating all includes bias. Providing cold, hard facts, does not.

[KAJ=GOAT]

Why can't Kobe get any credit without it turning into a huge debate? .

Thats what lonely boys do.


They see the name, and just immediately get

[cotdt]

Adande liking Kobe the most is self-explanatory: Adande is a Laker fan, who happens to be a journalist. His profession is to like Kobe the most at the moment. It has no other meaning. This article was something to talk about. That was its purpose and it served it well.

So long.

Huh? Why would Adande like Kobe the most when it was Kobe who got Adande fired from the LA Times for an article he wrote on him? It was about Kobe being the problem and why Shaq left and Buss agreed. But it was proven false by Kobe and LA Times fired him. If anything, Adande does not even like Kobe.

[Skip Bayless]