Comments on: Kobe says his USA teammates can’t teach him anything new

By: itsonlyaspeedbump

itsonlyaspeedbump — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 23:02:45 +0000

It would be silly to dismiss Kobe’s accomplishments by calling him a ball-hog or arrogant jerk. He has to be considered a top-10 player by almost any measure. The only thing that gets me is the ‘count the rings’ argument.

Bill Russell has ELEVEN rings. Does that make him the greatest ever?

Robert Horry has 7 rings, and hit numerous clutch shots in the playoffs with Rockets, Spurs, and of course the Lakers. But no one would be silly enough to argue that his rings, or even his clutch shooting would put him in the same hemisphere as Kobe as a player.

Kobe’s championships (3 of which he got as the 2nd most important player on his team) should not be such a huge factor in the discussion of his (or any basketball player’s) greatness.

By: diablito0402

diablito0402 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:04:44 +0000

@omnimusprime,
Dont be ingnorant, kobe got more rings than the rest of the team put together,he is in the same sentence with jordan, its like saying jordan can learn something from joe dumars or something, the best clutch player in this era, come on man WEAK SAUCE!!!

By: LogicalConsideration

LogicalConsideration — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 20:08:27 +0000

Lame argument. In the NBA, the superstar on any team gets elected captain if he wants it, because the superstar is the alpha wolf. That does NOT mean they are a good teammate. It just means they are the biggest dog on the block.

By: dls612

dls612 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 19:36:27 +0000

With a name like jimeejohnson I’ll be careful who I call a idiot!

By: cosanostra71

cosanostra71 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 19:11:24 +0000

Why do you think he’s such a horrible teammate? He’s been elected captain several times… Steve Nash said that Kobe was the one who convinced him to come to LA for less money than he could have gotten elsewhere.

By: omniusprime

omniusprime — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 19:05:40 +0000

Only a fool thinks he can’t learn something new. I thought Kobe was smarter than that but his overblown ego makes him sound so arrogantly stupid. Napoleon said he learned everything he needed to know about warfare before he ever fought his first battle, no wonder he ended up losing the war. The older I get, the more that I learn still teaches me there is still far more to learn. Kobe still has much to learn about sounding smart instead of smarta$$.

By: dougmanoh

dougmanoh — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 18:54:54 +0000

Add one hash mark to the Hate ‘em Column please.

By: borderline1988

borderline1988 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 18:26:45 +0000

He’s pretty arrogant. Those comments are not impressive in the slightest, and as a role model, Kobe is failing fans miserably.

And to let you know, arrogance and confidence are not the same thing. Often, arrogant people actually have real self-confidence issues underneath it all (not saying that Kobe has that issue, just making a point).

Regardless of how great of a player he is, he honestly seems like a total arrogant jerk when he makes statements like those. Maybe he is the closest thing to Michael Jordan after all.

By: infectorman

infectorman — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 18:25:10 +0000

3 of the rings were due in large part to the 3-time Finals MVP named Shaquille Oneal.
Why do you think it meant so much to him to surpass Shaq’s ring count?
He owes about half of his finals legacy to Shaq.

Jordan would never have to say that.
MJ was THE man for 6 titles and 6 Finals MVPs . KoME can never even claim that and isn’t even in the conversation with MJ

And, He is nowhere near the planet Bill Russell lives on.

By: infectorman

infectorman — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 18:19:39 +0000

“arguably the greatest player in the history of the greatest NBA franchise”

That would be Bill Russell.

Lets move on from that silly line train of thought

By: loungefly74

loungefly74 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 18:12:47 +0000

exactly. “pauly-shore-hargis” is coo coo for coco puffs. he makes no sense. “oh…i hate laker fans…blah…blah..blah…its all i say!” really? go back and re-read your garbage. i guess he is pissed that a good chunk of blogs here relate to laker stuff (hmmm…i wonder why? maybe because the lakers are awesome? uh yeah!). i’ll admit, i like seeing his posts because its like seeing a “trainwreck”. you cant help but gasp and gawk at the horror. and its always fun seeing someone put him in check…every time.

and seriously…we are talking sports. ph53 just needs to realize we all have teams we root for…heck, i hate the celtics…but im not going bat-sh*t crazy over every celtic-fan post/comment…how about using some of that energy to discuss his love for his team…what a novel concept…sheesh.

oh yeah…forgot about isujames…the trifecta…errr…tri-blunder…more like it. hehe! thanks!

By: jimeejohnson

jimeejohnson — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 18:08:28 +0000

You actually read these morons posts? Be careful: these losers can dumb you down if you read their hateful drivel. Ignore them and their kind (unhappy, stupid, first class pricks).

By: jimeejohnson

jimeejohnson — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 18:03:24 +0000

Haters and Losers: same thing.

By: jimeejohnson

jimeejohnson — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 18:00:50 +0000

Are you an idiot?

By: jimeejohnson

jimeejohnson — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 18:00:12 +0000

But you gave them credit, I hope.

By: obijuan13

obijuan13 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 17:56:05 +0000

Is it just me or didn’t Lebron have to start playing like Kobe for Miami to win? Passing is a good thing don’t get me wrong, but once Lebron took the game into his own hands the game was over. Even in the Olympics he had to take over a game like Kobe or Jordan to secure the win. If LBJ wanted the ball more like Jordan/Kobe when the game is close or on the line, he would probably have two rings instead of one.

By: qbantouch

qbantouch — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 17:23:43 +0000

Kobe is the best player in the NBA. Period.

By: lakerluver

lakerluver — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 17:18:25 +0000

@ph53
“Antagonizing” me? “Sending me running to a Thesaurus”? Dude, whatever. You’re a nut job!! If you’re in my head then it’s OBVIOUS to us all that Kobe is in your head. Like I’ve previously said, you troll the web looking for Kobe stories just so you can “get off” on posting stupidity disguised as wit. You claim to despise LAKER fans like me, but go back and read your 1st comment on this blog. You attacked the player not me or his fans. Anyone with a bit of basketball knowledge knows that Kobe is one of the elite of the elite. You may argue where he ranks but you can’t reasonably deny his greatness. Therefore, this “debate” is a waste of my time.

By: Pete Rubens

Pete Rubens — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 17:16:36 +0000

You send people running to thesaurus’, but cant spell education right… That’s the definition of irony, bruh. You need your NBA League Pass suspended & basketball discussion rights revoked.

I don’t even like Kobe, but he’s a top 3 player in NBA history & the best 1 on 1 player we’ve ever seen not named Michael Jeffery Jordan. Go write a blog or something.

By: stofur

stofur — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 17:14:31 +0000

I have hated the Lakers for 35 years, BUT I would be an ignorant fool to say that Kobe isn’t one of the greatest scorers to ever play the game. My beef with Kobe is that he doesn’t display confidence, he displays arrogance. That arrogance is what will keep him from ever being considered as the GOAT, at least in my personal opinion. His arrogance is why he thinks he can make every shot, contested or not. Unfortunately, to be considered the GOAT, you’ve got to have total confidence in your passing ability as well as your shooting ability. You’ve got to have confidence that your teammate can score if you make the right pass. You’ve got to have confidence that you can rebound if someone misses. Arrogance is standing around expecting to make every shot you throw up, then crying foul every time you miss.

By: dlb4180

dlb4180 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:58:53 +0000

If you take everything into consideration Kobe isn’t a top 10 all time player. You give him way to much credit for the 5 rings. He’s not even the best Laker ever. Magic, Karrem, Shaq, West, then Kobe. He is way overrated there are a dozen different players who could have put up just as good if not better numbers on the teams he was on and won championships and he isn’t a good defender and never has been. I respect his game and his competitive nature is all time but watch some old games before u start saying he’s closing in on Jordan. Remember it’s not just winning championships when you talk about all time greats, its how you win them. And I don’t hate Kobe I like him. I just refuse to let the media make me believe he’s some assassin when my eyes tell me he’s not. He’s a ball hog who doesn’t take advantage of the mismatches. He Plays his heart out and wants to be Jordan so bad but he just never could dominate consistently enough. Great player top 20 but not top 10.

By: slippyal2

slippyal2 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:37:28 +0000

I think he can learn how to be humble from the other guys.

By: changeup39

changeup39 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:35:17 +0000

Durant can teach him something: humility

By: eventhorizon04

eventhorizon04 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:31:56 +0000

With regards to the post game question, coming from a guy who normally criticizes Kobe for taking too many shots:

Statistically, Kobe has the best post game in the NBA amongst guards, in terms of points per post-up. Dwyane Wade is right behind him as #2. I tried looking up the ESPN article but couldn’t find it.

If he wants to learn more about scoring from the post, he could ask Carmelo.
If he wants to learn more about passing from the post, he could ask LeBron.

But otherwise, he actually does have a good post game for a guard.

By: eventhorizon04

eventhorizon04 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:28:25 +0000

Mixed feelings about this.
On the one hand – Kobe has accomplished a lot. Nobody can take that away from him.

On the other hand, unless he knows **everything,** then it’s possible if not probable that on a team of All-Stars, Defensive Players of the Year nominees, NBA Champions, and winners of scoring titles, at least *one guy* has something they could teach him.

By: mrpostman985

mrpostman985 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:25:56 +0000

Dude u r crazy !! U must not watch or understand basketball. It’s funny how people forget all those that were said about mike being arrogant and a ball hog ! Kobe can give two $h!ts of Wat someone like u has to say and that’s Wat makes him great !!! Once lebron learned that he became a champion !!

By: Mr. Wright 212

Mr. Wright 212 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:22:53 +0000

yup!

By: lakerluver

lakerluver — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 15:56:04 +0000

@loungefly 74, you forgot about isujames, the 3rd member of that trio of MENSA members. They never add anything of value to the discussion. Their only purpose for being on here is to disparage Kobe and the LAKERS. Jokers.

By: paulhargis53

paulhargis53 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 15:51:11 +0000

Laker sucker:

I don’t hate Kobe or the Lakers. I detest fans like you. That I have told you that time and again, just doesn’t seem to sink in.
Can’t seem to go throughone thread without bringing me up, can you?
I’m in your head, that must suck for you.

I find the audacity of you explaininga words meaning to me ludicrous.

I’ve sent you running to a thesaurus countless times already.
For your edification,Kobe is not “in the mix” for the greatest. He vary cracks top 10.
To reiterate, none of us “hate” the Lakers or Kobe. We dislike you specifically.
We enjoy antagonizing you, watching you get flustered etc.
That you continue to play into it is highly amusing. You really are an unlikeable dummy though.

By: passerby23

passerby23 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 15:41:48 +0000

I acknowledge the greatness of Kobe. You can’t deny he’s one of the most prolific scorers, solid defender, pretty good rebounder, and one of the most feared players in crunch time. I don’t think it’s the trash talk that rubs people the wrong way. After all, guys like Bird and Magic were some of the biggest trash talkers. What Kobe has going against him is a few things:

1. He is/was not nearly as efficient as some of the all-time greats. He’s a career 45% shooter, nowhere near the other all-time greats. He’s much more of a volume shooter than anyone else.
2. The ballhogging criticisms continue to plague him even late into his career, whereas those criticisms were early on in Jordan’s career.
3. Kobe hasn’t been able to win without a dominant big man. I get that you need other great players around you to win championships, but the years in which Gasol has been average in the playoffs, the Lakers have lost. When he’s been great, they’ve won.
4. Kobe is nowhere near the passer Magic, Jordan, or Bird was. Jordan, especially, as his career advanced, made other players better. I still can’t say the same about Kobe.
4. I think #2 all-time is a bit high. The consensus is still Magic in terms of all-time Lakers, and many still argue Bill Russell is the greatest of all-time (I don’t). Most would put Bird and Chamberlain ahead of him. Some would put Jerry West ahead of him. Tim Duncan and Shaq could be in the conversation. I think Kobe will be in around that top 10 conversation, but not #2 and not without his criticisms.

The thing about Kobe is you just don’t get those kinds of critiques for Jordan, Magic, Bird, or Russell. Kobe is in a league of his own when it comes to criticism.