http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyKgaeAoa-g&feature=related

embed plz.

This post was edited by TerryWrist on Jan 2 2011 06:47am

he didn't transcend the game like jordan did. he'll be top 3 all time

i hear that entirely, and its a great point.

for me, i put them as a tie for greatest ever. its not like jordan is better in every aspect of the game than kobe
kobe's made the reverse dunk his signature, and throws down more 360's in a season than guys do in careers.

the thing that separates the two significantly as far as accolades, are mj's 6 finals mvps. he deserved every one of them.
but i still firmly believe kobe should have gotten at least 1 ( of the 3 ) finals mvp during the kobe-shaq 3peat. even shaq himself said kobe is the best in the league back then ( though that might have been an exaggeration and a way to motivate kobe )

i mean the game changes too... we'll never see anyone go 6 for 6 ( with 6 finals mvps again ) just like we'll never see a 100 pt game ( or 50 pt averaged season ) etc etc. it all depends how you perceive each era. and generally speaking each era transcends its predecessor. so in essence the greatest player of this era is better than the greatest player of the previous era.

comparing era is neva easy, for me personally, i look at the competition during that time and then how much the individual stood above his peers. but again with team sports u could say that jordan has less pressure since he had a great team, but that works both ways as hes the standout of his great team where as koby hasnt got that depth in his teams.

lets just hope i get some more votes, i used jordan as the pinicle cause hes prob the most widely reguarded as the best ever.

though kobe may never have had the depth like MJ, paericularly in the 2nd and 3rd best players on his teams ( outside of shaq )
hes always had rich and depth in talent ( outside of 2 or 3 seasons ). to put it more simply the top 3 on MJs teams were better than Kobe's, but kobe may have had equal or more after that

MJ kind of inheritied and became more commonly used for the term GOAT ( greatest of all time ) more so than the man who was 1st granted the name; Cashius Clay/Mohammed Ali

one thing with the eras: when jordan was in his prime, the game rules were so much more different. handchecks were allowed, different defensive rotations were put into play by coaches. now, any touch outside the perimeter can be called. if jordan played now, i'm pretty sure he would be going to the FT line 6-8 times more per game and it would totally alter the way teams played chicago. not taking away anything from kobe but he also gets soooooooooooooooooooo many calls, and if he doesn't, he just complains and gets a few make up calls. he's by far the greatest of the past 12 years now, but not better than jordan.

i understand this ofc, but you can't just nit pick 1 detail of the disparity of eras.
the game evolves, players evolve. the talent pool of the NBA is a lot greater and deeper now than it was during the 'hand check' era. not to mention the game is more appealing globally

and also on point about the hand check, while the contact from defenders was tolerated and given a blind eye more often during that era, it worked both ways, for the offensive player.
citing on MJs performances alone, you can look at probably a few dozen highlights that could have been negated / called offensive fouls in today's game.
for a glaring example, check his most famous jumper; the last shot as a abull vs jazz/hornacek

it was byron russell and yea i know what you're saying. you also bring in the global aspect of the sport. it was because of jordan that made that possible. jordan's impact on the world because of basketball is far greater than kobe's.

he raped that girl

lol.