Is mid 2000's kobe the greatest scorer of all time?

[Hit_Em]

I cant even hate on em that mf could flat out score that orange #respect

[OldSchoolBBall]

When he was hot, yes, probably. That was very rare, however. On a day to day basis (i.e., for anything more than a game or three), I'd have Jordan, Wilt, and KAJ definitely ahead of him and possibly Shaq/Durant as well.

[kennethgriffin]

nobody else could average 40 for multiple months, 35 on the year, drop 81, outscore a team by himself on good percentages *while taking the same shots he did*

if any other player tried his type of difficult routine shot selection... i dont care who it is. they shoot under 40%. especially over double teams 30 feet out



best bad shot maker of all time. most talented scorer ever. period

[stalkerforlife]

Kobe is the best "hot" player of all time. When he's rolling, there is nothing you can do.

[branslowski]

Yes he was...Imagine if Twitter and IG was back then as it is now when Kobe was scoring like he was?...Imagine seeing any player today scoring 50pts in 4 straight games? The media would be going insane.

Imagine a player today scoring 63pts in 3 quarters vs the Eventual champions?

I remember when Bron almost got that 50pt triple double vs Knicks and posters saying "Kobe could never score 50 and still have an all-round game, HAHA"...Then you realize this hater never watched NBA past LeBron cause we all then remember Kobe dropping 53pts 10reb 8ast vs Shane Battier and the Rockets.

Kobe was the greatest scorer the NBA has ever seen after Wilt. And Wilt played in a pusse era and he was stealing his teammates shots with Offensive Basket interferences. Kobe the GOAT in scoring....Just his playing too soon with the 7ppg Rookie year off the bench and that next low scoring first year f*cked his Points PER GAME avg up, but being 3rd All-Time in total points more than Jordan is fine by me.

[West-Side]

When he was hot, yes, probably. That was very rare, however. On a day to day basis (i.e., for anything more than a game or three), I'd have Jordan, Wilt, and KAJ definitely ahead of him and possibly Shaq/Durant as well.

[Dbrog]

Kobe is the best "hot" player of all time. When he's rolling, there is nothing you can do.

Best describes Kobe.

@branslowski - What are you saying man? It was only 9 years ago when Kobe was scoring out of his mind. Media was just as big then and he was getting SUPER hyped. Kobe definitely best scorer since Wilt.

[OldSchoolBBall]

Huh? If you extend a sample size beyond a few games, there are better scorers than Kobe. Like I said. Peak Kobe is not a better scorer over the course of a month, half season, or season than guys like KAJ, Wilt and Jordan and arguably a couple others.

[Kblaze8855]

Depends on if being a great scorer to you is about the points or the ability to score. Its not like Kobe was less capable in 2009 or 2005...than he was in 2003 or 2006. There are always health concerns that might slightly alter potential but when Kobe went crazy in 03 for the first time...its not like he actually got better for a month or two. And 05 Kobe when he was healthy....I gotta think that he could have scored more than he did.

Kobe like many people who are virtually(not literally of course) unstoppable is a massive skillset squeezed into the circumstances. Swap him out for Bird on his Celtics...no way hes scoring 35. Even if the era would have given him more chances...he has too much talent to justify it.

Bird had 40 point halves just to prove a point in 86 and 60 point games just to get the Celtics scoring record back from Mchale who just took it with 57. I dont think him scoring 21-29 a game means thats what he was capable of. Just that its what he did.

Like Hakeem. He was having 21ppg years then in his 30s puts up 33 a game on the way to a title. Not so much better....as focused on scoring with a team that supports it.

Id say Kobes scoring skillset is as complete as anyones.

But he was put in position to show more of it than most others who could be on the same level.

That plus that whole mid 2000s explosion. Past his prime AI puts up 33 a game with 3-4 months in the 34-35 a game range? Lebron 31...Redd and Kevin Martin doing like 26 a game? Arenas 30+ hanging 60 on the Lakers? Pierce and Ray Allen having career years scoring wise as they were at the end of their primes. Kobe on a shitty team scoring 35 doesnt seem that out of place.

Its clearly not by chance all that happened at the same time.

So I throw out most of the numbers on that question.

As I said...skillset wise? Hes as good as ive seen.

But hes not alone on the top of that mountain.

[Young X]

Huh? If you extend a sample size beyond a few games, there are better scorers than Kobe. Like I said. Peak Kobe is not a better scorer over the course of a month, half season, or season than guys like KAJ, Wilt and Jordan and arguably a couple others.

Where would you rank someone like Barkley?

[BigNBAfan]

If there was IG or twitter then he'd trend more than AIDS in africa

[West-Side]

Huh? If you extend a sample size beyond a few games, there are better scorers than Kobe. Like I said. Peak Kobe is not a better scorer over the course of a month, half season, or season than guys like KAJ, Wilt and Jordan and arguably a couple others.

Kobe Bryant averaged 43.4 ppg in 13 games in January, the highest scoring calendar month by an NBA player since Wilt Chamberlain averaged 45.8 ppg in March 1963. The Lakers went 9-4 in those games after losing their first two games of the month during Kobe's suspension for elbowing Mike Miller. Bryant also averaged 40-plus ppg (40.6) in February 2003, when he had nine straight 40-plus point games, the fourth longest such streak in NBA history; Chamberlain had two 14 game streaks of 40-plus point games and one 10 game streak. Bryant is the only player other than Chamberlain to average 40-plus ppg in two different calendar months; Chamberlain did it 11 times. Elgin Baylor had one such calendar month--and no other NBA player has ever done this even once: not Iverson, not Jordan, not Gervin, not Kareem, not Barry, not Oscar, not West.

Bryant's January average is the third best January scoring average in NBA history, trailing only Wilt's 50.0 ppg in 1962 and Wilt's 46.3 ppg in 1963. Notice the pattern here? Kobe is repeatedly doing things that have not been done since the days of Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor, something I first wrote about in my January 11 post titled "Kobe Goes Where Only Wilt and Elgin Went Before":

[branslowski]

When he was hot, yes, probably. That was very rare, however. On a day to day basis (i.e., for anything more than a game or three), I'd have Jordan, Wilt, and KAJ definitely ahead of him and possibly Shaq/Durant as well.

This post makes no sense to me...So you talk about multiple games in a row?...Can you show me a player aside from Wilt who scored 50pts in 4 straight games? And had Durant or Shaq scored 40pts in 9 straight games before? I don't even remember Shaq avg 35ppg for a season, Durant either...So talking about Kobe day to day when he avg 35ppg for a whole year and more 50pt games than ALL those players you listed asied from Wilt..

[branslowski]

You beat me to it

It's like posters who discredit Kobe (not really saying oldschoolbball, he use to be worst but now he's a moderate Kobe hater) didn't even watch all his games..

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

One of the greatest, not the greatest though.

KAJ and Jordan were better and MORE dominant in the playoffs. Guys like KD, Bernard King and Larry Bird, when they want to score, are definitely in that tier.