Jerry West: LeBron has surpassed Kobe

[Showtime]

I thought every non-laker fan knew this was true since 2006.

[oh the horror]

Ever notice how the league always needs that difinitive ONE GREATEST PLAYER IN THE LEAGUE, ever since Jordan left?


Or were they doing that before MJ?


It just seems like SUCHHHH an issue now. Who really cares?

Does this fact bother some people?

[Cedar]

i think jerry west is saying this because he is one of the very very few people who gets to kobe. he's seeing how kobe has regressed in the playoffs and he's not playing with any fire. west knows kobe needs to be kobe to carry the lakers to a win in the next round. this comment will piss off kobe and he will come out with a chip on his shoulder. west is a genius, he made kobe into the player he is today and now he's playing mind games with kobe to fire him up for tomorrow night. why else would he make this random comment at this specific time of the year?

btw if anything wade has surpassed kobe. lebron got the mvp only because he has better teammates than wade.

[Lebron23]

i think jerry west is saying this because he is one of the very very few people who gets to kobe. he's seeing how kobe has regressed in the playoffs and he's not playing with any fire. west knows kobe needs to be kobe to carry the lakers to a win in the next round. this comment will piss off kobe and he will come out with a chip on his shoulder. west is a genius, he made kobe into the player he is today and now he's playing mind games with kobe to fire him up for tomorrow night. why else would he make this random comment at this specific time of the year?

btw if anything wade has surpassed kobe. lebron got the mvp only because he has better teammates than wade.

LeBron led the NBA in PER, Roland Ratings, Win Shares, Best Record in the NBA, and last year he was clearly robbed of the MVP trophy because the Cavs only won 45 games in the Regular Season.

LeBron will have more Regular Season MVP, and Finals MVP Awards than Kobe Bryant before he retires in the NBA.

[justin43]

i think jerry west is saying this because he is one of the very very few people who gets to kobe. he's seeing how kobe has regressed in the playoffs and he's not playing with any fire. west knows kobe needs to be kobe to carry the lakers to a win in the next round. this comment will piss off kobe and he will come out with a chip on his shoulder. west is a genius, he made kobe into the player he is today and now he's playing mind games with kobe to fire him up for tomorrow night. why else would he make this random comment at this specific time of the year?
btw if anything wade has surpassed kobe. lebron got the mvp only because he has better teammates than wade.

I can see how this can be the case. Anyway I have a feeling that this debate will be resolved at the finals.

[K.Koscik]

They are both great, great, players. We don't need a single best in the league. What we need is competitive rivalries to restore this league. Lebron is probably more effective, as Kobe is much more skilled than him offensively, and it's close defensively. Lebron is just so gifted athletically that his size and speed allows him to lock up opponents more. Lebron is probably better, but why do we all worry about it so much? Let's all just shut up and look at each player as a single player and stop comparing everybody.

[vert48]

I agree with Jerry.

[konex]

I love it. Eveyone's so ready to bury Kobe right now

[nbastatus]

still hard for me to say that.

[shaoyut]

Lebron > Kobe

[Fatal9]

Tough being Kobe right now. 2 of his 3 idols (Magic/West) have already jumped on the Lebron bandwagon. MJ is the only one left and if he comes out with something along the lines of "Lebron > Kobe", it'll be absolutely soul-crushing for Kobe.

[bdreason]

Most people accept the fact that LeBron is the best player in the NBA.

[Showtime]

Tough being Kobe right now. 2 of his 3 idols (Magic/West) have already jumped on the Lebron bandwagon. MJ is the only one left and if he comes out with something along the lines of "Lebron > Kobe", it'll be absolutely soul-crushing for Kobe.

MJ already said Kobe is the best right NOW, but Lebron could be the best EVER.

[bdreason]

I love it. Eveyone's so ready to bury Kobe right now

I don't think saying Kobe is the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th best player in the league is trying to "bury" him.

Everyone acts like being the 2nd best player in the world is an insult or something.

[Eldrunko247]

It's funny how this article and any threads posted about it has been removed from all Laker boards. Hilarious and sad at the same time.