Kobe is the most entertaining player ever.

[masonanddixon]

It's debatable. He was certainly on that level. I know Lebron stans will only care about box scores and they will disregard the game footage itself. Kobe from 05-07 hands down GOAT entertainment. We talk about his 60+ point games from that era, but check this shit out: 52 pts on 73% shooting (30 pts in the 3rd) against Utah(80%TS, 162 ORTG) on prime AK47

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax42Lbc-igs

04-05 he had that string of 40 point games
Then 05-06 he had 81 and then 63 against dallas (I saw that game at Staples).

Pretty much all the players were saying he was at Jordan's level at that point.

He could do it at all. Incredible footwork and fundamentals.

[K Xerxes]

It's debatable. He was certainly on that level. I know Lebron stans will only care about box scores and they will disregard the game footage itself. Kobe from 05-07 hands down GOAT entertainment. We talk about his 60+ point games from that era, but check this shit out: 52 pts on 73% shooting (30 pts in the 3rd) against Utah(80%TS, 162 ORTG) on prime AK47

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax42Lbc-igs

It's not.

You can drivel on about GOAT entertainment all you want, but peak Jordan was another few levels above peak Kobe in terms of actual ability and impact.

Ever notice how all of Kobe's worshipped high scoring games are in the regular season?

[aj1987]

From 2005-2007 Kobe was better than peak/prime Jordan.

Alt[COLOR="Black"]f[/COLOR]ag pretending to be a surgeon.

Peak MJ would've made Kobe cry, btw.

[ArbitraryWater]

04-05 he had that string of 40 point games
Then 05-06 he had 81 and then 63 against dallas (I saw that game at Staples).

Pretty much all the players were saying he was at Jordan's level at that point.

He could do it at all. Incredible footwork and fundamentals.

Kobe was shit in 04-05.. that string came in 03, youngin'

[Warfan]

It's not.

You can drivel on about GOAT entertainment all you want, but peak Jordan was another few levels above peak Kobe in terms of actual ability and impact.

Ever notice how all of Kobe's worshipped high scoring games are in the regular season?

I think bran has the same amount of 40 point games in the playoffs than bean. Kind of funny since lebron isn't considered a scorer by a lot of people while kobe is constantly praised for his scoring prowess.

[ImKobe]

It's not.

You can drivel on about GOAT entertainment all you want, but peak Jordan was another few levels above peak Kobe in terms of actual ability and impact.

Ever notice how all of Kobe's worshipped high scoring games are in the regular season?

Kobe plays more all-around in the Playoffs and doesn't attempt as many shots in general. Kobe had back-to-back 45+ point 10+ rebound games while playing with Shaq in the 2001 Playoffs. FOH with the Kobe hate.

30/6/6/2 for his 3 straight Finals runs from 08-10. Kobe could do what MJ did, impact is surely debatable because the eras & the rules are different, but Kobe was already balling before the handchecking rules were changed. The early 2000s was a tough defensive era and Kobe put up 33/7/7 on the 2nd best defensive team of that era in the Playoffs.

I never said that Kobe was better than MJ or that he had an identical impact. I just said he was the most entertaining player to watch during his prime, which I believe to be true because a) MJ's most entertaining games are from the 80s and early 90s, a lot of them are forgotten and many of the available are not in great quality and b) Kobe was a one man show during his full prime, we saw every bit of him and he had so many classic games

[ImKobe]

I think bran has the same amount of 40 point games in the playoffs than bean. Kind of funny since lebron isn't considered a scorer by a lot of people while kobe is constantly praised for his scoring prowess.

Half of Kobe's playoff career he shared touches with another 25+ ppg scorer, it's hard to have more 40+ point games when you play in a tougher conference and you have to share touches with another player getting a near equal usage rate. You're not going to score 40+ that many times.

Lebron has the luck of playing in a weaker conference, where he could chuck a lot of shots against poor EC teams in the POs. For instance, the 06 Lakers would have been at least a 5th seed in the EC POs, he would have certainly had many chances to score 50+ on those teams on the way to the ECF. I think the Lakers would have won 50+ games in the RS during that period because EC only had two good teams and you give LA more games against poor EC teams, they are going to win at least 5 more games than they did in the West.

[Mr Feeny]

Too bad you can't make a thread called "Kobe is the GOAT" otherwise you'd be quick labeled an Idiot... soooo you're left with "most entertaining" ..

[ArbitraryWater]

Half of Kobe's playoff career he shared touches with another 25+ ppg scorer, it's hard to have more 40+ point games when you play in a tougher conference and you have to share touches with another player getting a near equal usage rate. You're not going to score 40+ that many times.

Lebron has the luck of playing in a weaker conference, where he could chuck a lot of shots against poor EC teams in the POs. For instance, the 06 Lakers would have been at least a 5th seed in the EC POs, he would have certainly had many chances to score 50+ on those teams on the way to the ECF. I think the Lakers would have won 50+ games in the RS during that period because EC only had two good teams and you give LA more games against poor EC teams, they are going to win at least 5 more games than they did in the West.

This entire post is just.. ughhhhh

How about the fact that Kobe takes more shot attempts?

Damn, that burden playing among the most dominant player of all time.. what a shame. How bad would LeBron look next to Shaq?

[Mr Feeny]

Half of Kobe's playoff career he shared touches with another 25+ ppg scorer, it's hard to have more 40+ point games when you play in a tougher conference and you have to share touches with another player getting a near equal usage rate. You're not going to score 40+ that many times.

Lebron has the luck of playing in a weaker conference, where he could chuck a lot of shots against poor EC teams in the POs. For instance, the 06 Lakers would have been at least a 5th seed in the EC POs, he would have certainly had many chances to score 50+ on those teams on the way to the ECF. I think the Lakers would have won 50+ games in the RS during that period because EC only had two good teams and you give LA more games against poor EC teams, they are going to win at least 5 more games than they did in the West.

The EC? Like the Pistons and T.Prince who held Kobe to 38% shooting only to be torched by Wade and Kobe?

Or 2009 Magic, who again Lebron played much better against than Kobe did?

[alexd]

He literally gave you everything you'd want out of a player when it comes to entertainment:

- high-flying dunks
- fancy layups
- crazy circus shots you see no one else attempting
- 30-feet fadeaways
- complete post game, from Kareem skyhook to MJ's fadeaway to Dirk's one-legged fadeaway, Hakeem's dream shake
- clutch games - he will have 15-20 point 4th quarters, where he might dump three straight 3's in a row, they can be all contested and off-balance
- passing - probably the most underrated part of his game, he will give you 8+ assist games with crazy behind-the-back or between the legs passes
- dribbling - his dribbles are very deceptive, he can dribble with the best of them, some of his crossovers are just godlike
- drama - you know Kobe will always speak his mind and say things that will crash down the forums due to server overload, not a day goes by when you don't see another Kobe thread(hey-oh!)

You can watch his highlights for days, they are all spectacular:

Clutch shots/tough shots(that big balls dance on the Spurs )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us5QIvuahx4
Passing highlights from the 2012-13 season, when he played point guard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQljOAaAdrM
crazy dunks(the man can fly)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_lMX39ASls
crossovers(don't get no better than this), ankle insurance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF7sVsEgsp4
15 minutes of Kobe's defensive highlights (that perimeter D)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uglEL2GLnAU
Twelve 3-pointers & 45 points against Seattle in 03
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeKCkBQ1GWE

only nikka that can come close to this is MJ in terms of highlights & entertainment value.

although i m not a big fan of his i gotta say he had some amazing highlights.i still remember watching him vs the suns and the shot he made on G.Hill was freaking amazing
he has to be one of the best at making unbelievable shots.He can make you go wow but when he misses you are like wtf is he doing.He has a mentality of swings big misses big

[JohnMax]

How is Kobe more entertaining than:

Derrick Rose
Russell Westbrook
Blake Griffin
Kevin Durant
Steph Curry

[Uncle Drew]

Entertainment is subjective. I for one prefer fundamental plays over dunks, fancy layups and iso's.

[K Xerxes]

Kobe plays more all-around in the Playoffs and doesn't attempt as many shots in general. Kobe had back-to-back 45+ point 10+ rebound games while playing with Shaq in the 2001 Playoffs. FOH with the Kobe hate.

He's put up virtually the same numbers in the playoffs as the regular season, but in higher minutes. Meanwhile Jordan upped his production across the board in the playoffs, and has a lot more memorable scoring and all round games in the playoffs. This isn't even debatable. Kobe's lack of post season scoring outbursts isn't based on his sudden desire to play all round basketball; it's that he just wasn't good enough like Jordan when everything was on the line and defenses clamped down. No shame in that.

30/6/6/2 for his 3 straight Finals runs from 08-10. Kobe could do what MJ did, impact is surely debatable because the eras & the rules are different, but Kobe was already balling before the handchecking rules were changed. The early 2000s was a tough defensive era and Kobe put up 33/7/7 on the 2nd best defensive team of that era in the Playoffs.

On an average of 41%. Jordan put up an average of 36-7-8 on 53% in his first 3 finals (all wins), and you're telling me Kobe could do what MJ did? Please, anyone who watched both their prime and peaks knows this isn't a close discussion. And how did the rules and era hurt Kobe's production?

I commend Kobe for balling in 2001 and 2002, especially in the 2001 EC playoffs. But what happened in the 2001 finals?

Kobe doesn't have ONE series close to ANY of Jordan's first 3 finals. Statistically or impact-wise. And it's arguable these are not even the best Jordan series.

I never said that Kobe was better than MJ or that he had an identical impact. I just said he was the most entertaining player to watch during his prime, which I believe to be true because a) MJ's most entertaining games are from the 80s and early 90s, a lot of them are forgotten and many of the available are not in great quality and b) Kobe was a one man show during his full prime, we saw every bit of him and he had so many classic games

For sure, Kobe was one of the most entertaining players in the league, I won't deny that. No one in the 2000s really came close to the incredible scoring outburts he had, and he should be admired for that.

[Warfan]

Half of Kobe's playoff career he shared touches with another 25+ ppg scorer, it's hard to have more 40+ point games when you play in a tougher conference and you have to share touches with another player getting a near equal usage rate. You're not going to score 40+ that many times.

Lebron has the luck of playing in a weaker conference, where he could chuck a lot of shots against poor EC teams in the POs. For instance, the 06 Lakers would have been at least a 5th seed in the EC POs, he would have certainly had many chances to score 50+ on those teams on the way to the ECF. I think the Lakers would have won 50+ games in the RS during that period because EC only had two good teams and you give LA more games against poor EC teams, they are going to win at least 5 more games than they did in the West.

Im not trying to downplay kobes scoring ability or anything. I just think lebrons scoring ability is underrated, a lot of people think he's not that good of a scorer when the guy averages 28ppg (5th best all time, and he has played twice as many games as KD & AI who are ahead of him) on good efficiency in the postseason.

And Lebron has scored 40+ against very good defenses like 07 pistons, 08 Celtics, 09 Magic (I think 3 times), 12 Pacers and the 12 Celtics. So 7/12 of lebrons 40+ playoff games have come against very good defenses. And im pretty sure all those teams won 50+ games.

edit:

just to add, the only teams I can think of that kobe scored 40+ against that were good defensive teams were San Antonio, Orlando in the finals and Sacramento, which totals to like 4 games...