[VIDEO/Discussion] Jerry West... is he a better all around player than Kobe?

[Owl]

At least players have to play REAL DEFENSE instead of dropping the pretense of defense altogether and just elbow people in the face.

Regarding this.
Jerry West took a lot of knocks and got his nose broken A LOT (just checked NBA.com which says at least 9 times). Now Kobe has been impressively tough at playing through injuries (Occasionally, I would argue, against the long term interest of his team and perhaps himself). Still Jerry West might be the toughest player in the history of the game. He's certainly up there as far as playing through and coming back from injuries.

I haven't watched this mix yet (crummy slow connection) but saying players couldn't use their weak hands back then is misleading. The conventions back then was to pivot back to protect the ball when changing direction rather than crossing over. I don't know how much it's how reffing has changed, or coaching or whatever but I rather suspect Jerry West would have been fine in any era.

[1987_Lakers]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMp7c2bcfkk

1:57 mark

[Poetry]

Textbook pick and roll to Imhoff, - West is so versatile on offense I'm only like half way through my archives and I'm tellin you the more footage I find of this guy the more complete and varied his game appears. I wanna know what can't this guy do.

The footage is pretty amazing man. You're doing great work.

He can get by on quickness and fluidity or create space with his shoulder and protect the ball to get to the rim.

Notice how far the ball is from the defender at 3:34 (Rondo-like)...



...and 3:38 notice how he protects the ball, it's practically hidden away (you can't steal what you can't see).

[blacknapalm]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMp7c2bcfkk

1:57 mark

man, exactly what i said

and that was a game 7. there's nothing about rule restrictions that force him to do that.

clyde frazier steals it at 4:29

[SuperPippen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMp7c2bcfkk

1:57 mark

3: 57 mark.

Quit being so narrow minded.

[1987_Lakers]

3: 57 mark.

Quit being so narrow minded.

4:25 mark

[DKLaker]

He couldn't dribble with his left hand and I severely doubt he had the post moves of Kobe.

THIS!!!!!

I was a HUGE Jerry West fan......but to even compare is idiotic!!!
Unlike anyone else on ISH, I was at every home Lakers game from 1960 on through the end of his career.
As a scorer you want to look at Elgin anyways.

[Hank]

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kobe

[Vienceslav]

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kobe

I know,but West might be better than Jordan though , i don

[pauk]

I would say so, the stats dont lie in this case.

[SuperPippen]

4:25 mark

What does this prove? West had the ball stolen by Frazier, one of the greatest defensive guards ever, when he had the ball in his right hand.

As the 3:57 mark proves, West could easily go to his left hand. Him getting the ball stolen does nothing to negate that.

[General]

I would say so, the stats dont lie in this case.

Kobe, West > Lebron

[b1imtf]

>Defense
>In the 70


About that Cavaliers..

The thread ended quickly

[DatAsh]

Scoring - Kobe Bryant
Superior outside shot, much better ball handling skills allow which allow him to penetrate better, and better footwork and post game. West probably has the better close-midrange shot and certainly had better shot selection, but no doubt Kobe is the better scorer.


Defense - Jerry West
This guy's defense is drastically underrated on this site. He definitely has a case for top 5 perimeter defender of all time. Their respective defensive peaks are probably close, but Kobe was only at that level for about 4 years; Jerry maintained that level for the majority of his career.


Passing/Playmaking - Jerry West
This one is easy. One of the first true combo guards that truly looked to get the whole team involved on a night in, night out basis. West's edge here is larger than the edge Kobe has over West in scoring IMO. Jerry West averaged a 35.1 Asst% in the 71-72 season


Rebounding - Kobe Bryant
This one was really easy for me as well. Kobe averaged as many rebounds in the 2000s as west did in the 60s-70s. Kobe's TRB% is much large as well and almost twice as large in some instances.



Intangibles - Kobe Bryant?
Only reason I'm hesitant with this one is because I haven't really read much about West's leadership/intangibles. Reason I went with Kobe is that I have read/heard enough about him to know that he really is a true leader.


Overall- Kobe

[Jacks3]

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