NBA legends discuss LeBrons legacy, Kobe says LeBron has no excuses, needs to be a better leader

[KOBE]

Exactly. The same Kobe who obviously gave up in a playoff series against Phoenix, telling someone with a comparable roster too figure out a way to win.

Did you just say the 06 Lakers had a comparable roster to this year's Cavs?

Y'all do not watch or understand basketball.

 

[panopticon]

Kobe out here like Pusha T

No prisoners

No innocents

Straight ether

 

[10bandz]

Let's be clear about one thing here.

Kobe has never played on a team that would beat these Warriors.
And that includes his years with Shaq.

The Shaq teams would match up the worst. A third scorer who averages 10 points, their two best players not stretching the defense, an offense not designed to shoot 3’s, and their best player being a poor P&R defender who is horrible at the foul line and takes almost all his shots within 10 feet of the rim? That’d get ugly fast.

these boys are miserable

 

[10bandz]

This is what I’ve been wondering since I read this article this morning. He used to regularly throw teammates under the bus in public and would regularly tell Phil he needs to stop giving minutes to guys or pull them off the floor when they’d say or do something that shows him they ain’t shyt (Kwame brown telling kobe not to pass him the ball because he’ll get fouled and miss his free throws comes to mind). If anyone on that list should relate to playing with offensively inept teammates against a high powered offense in the playoffs, it should be Kobe. Both the cavaliers starting guards were miles worse these playoffs than smush was at any point, there was a forward on the bench who shot 28% from the field, and they even had a guard off the bench shoot 10% from the field in the finals. I don’t care who you are, you aren’t winning when your teammates play as bad as those guys did. I lost count of how many open shots they missed. I think LeBron created 45-50 shot attempts for them during the first two games of the series alone, and they made about 20-21 of them.

This wrote a rant about how he spent his whole morning wondering about Smush


Smush had ONE RELEVANT YEAR IN THE NBA EVER.....and it was thanks to Kobe and PJ but hey let's pretend Jr Smith and Kevin Love and Rodney Hood are Smush Parker

 

[Ron Mexico]

 

[Bilz]

what the fukk is this nikka talking about

Kobe spit fax and nikkas can't take it!!

Kobe's quotes were filled with braggadocio. He speaks as if he was a player who had all the cards stacked against him so he put all his efforts into empowering his teammates and getting the most out of what he had. It's laughable.

 

[Chris Cool]

keep dreaming

Forgot one.

 

[Mʀ2ᴋDᴇᴇᴢ]

Kobe not giving a fukk

 

[Chris Cool]

which coli poster is Eric?

 

[threattonature]

You keep using this term

It is lame af

What are you? A Sexual Warrior? A Bandwagon Bottom? Let it go bro

The people who root for LeBron root for LeBron. The people who root for KD root for KD. This, shockingly to you, is standard.

Anybody who supports LeBron and admires his game -including me- and has an issue with Kobe’s answers is delusional.

If you couldn’t see that his leadership is the one skill that he THOROUGHLY needs to work on you’re blind as a bat.

Kyrie won a ring with him and STILL walked.
He used to treat Chalmers like an intern.
He can mess up the whole energy of the team with his open disdain after every little mistake
His mixed messages of wanting it to be a team (same suits) BUT wanting it to be all about him and each player to be perfect..
His handling of coaches...
Etc etc

Sure, the Warriors are hyperstacked.. that’s the challenge. We got it.

Instead of throwing your players under the bus, lead them and show them what you expect AND back them up when they miss.

Missing is fine, not putting in 100% is not.

Kobe is a 5-time champ, more than anybody on that panel. He thinks 180o differently than anybody on that panel. I wonder why he has more rings.

LeBron’s #1 job is figuring out

‘Why did Kyrie leave, was it me and if so what did I do wrong?’

‘Why does Hood go from 17 in Utah and Clarkson from double digits in LA to completely disappearing?’

Once he can drop his ego and his ‘I’m the best in the world’ we know you are but MJ was too and he was tough on his team BUT he lead them AND trusted them (Paxson, Kerr, Wellington with key game winners).. THEN we can have the conversation about his legacy.

If nobody, except Kobe, is willing to open their mouth - expect more of this.

In the real world you don’t motivate only with fear, you need to give support and truly lead the way for each player

Kobe said it best:

Bryant: You've known me long enough to know what my answer is.

My "hate" for Lebron is because of how talented he is. I really do think do is the most talented basketball player I've seen. He can do any and everything on the court. I just want to see him take that next step to learn it's not all about how huge the numbers you put up are. It's not about teammates being there as supporting players in your game. I look at him as a more talented and efficient Westbrook in the manner that they never seem to be part of the team, everything has to revolve around them. Yes they'll get their numbers, yes they'll get wins but it leaves their teammates as onlookers and less as participants. When going against a great team they'll come up short because one man won't beat a great team. I think if both managed to take a step back and empowered their teammates to do more it would work wonders. Unfortunately the basketball world has become stat obsessed in determining greatness. Obviously Lebron is an all-time great regardless but there is still a slightly higher level he can reach IMO like you laid out here.

 

[Ron Mexico]

Kobe not giving a fukk

Bron groupies and the excuses for their hero are the worst.

Can't blame him for checking these clowns.

 

[Reece]

God, how I wished we had got that Kobe/Lebron finals

Wouldn’t have mattered. All Bron Stans would’ve said was Kobe had more help.

 

[Buck Seventy]

Kobe's quotes were filled with braggadocio. He speaks as if he was a player who had all the cards stacked against him so he put all his efforts into empowering his teammates and getting the most out of what he had. It's laughable.

It is if you consider the fact that he was aloof towards many of his teammates and wasn't open to mentoring the younger ones.

 

[IllmaticDelta]

Forgot one.

I didn't forget

Isiah Thomas: I think it all matters. You also have to take into account again the teams that he's lost to. He's been to nine Finals, and in seven of the Finals his team has been the underdog.
Chauncey Billups: I'm not charging LeBron for some of those losses in the Finals. He wasn't the favorite every time. He's rarely the favorite in the Finals. So how can you expect him to really win? It's the NBA Finals. It's the two best teams in the world.
Dennis Scott: The 3-6 [record], I don't buy into it, because Jerry West is the logo. And he was 1-8 in the Finals. And we still revere him as Mr. Clutch, right? I want to let LeBron finish doing what he's doing.
Jon Barry: I think it's very unfair to put it solely on LeBron James, six Finals losses. In 2011, I think he had a lot to do with that [loss]. But all the other ones, he got a lot of inferior teams to the NBA Finals. It's not his fault that the Eastern Conference was as weak as it was.
Vince Carter: At the end of the day, he's given himself an opportunity to win nine times. Everybody can't say that. I salute him. That's an unbelievable feat.

 

[Mantis Toboggan M.D.]

Did you just say the 06 Lakers had a comparable roster to this year's Cavs?

Y'all do not watch or understand basketball.

Yeah they were just as bad, if not worse

2005-06 Lakers playoff averages (7 games total):

Lamar Odom:
19 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, shot 50% from the field, 20% from distance, 66.7% at the line

Kwame Brown:
12.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1 block, 52% from the field, 71% at the line

Luke Walton:
12.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 46% from the field, 36% from distance

Smush Parker: 9 points, 3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 33% from the field, 16% from distance, hit all his free throws

Here’s the 2018 cavaliers supporting cast (22 games):

Kevin Love: 14.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 39% from the field, 34% from deep, missed 1 game

George hill: 9.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 45% from the field, 31% from distance, missed 3 games

JR Smith: 8.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 35% from the field, 37% from distance

Jeff Green: 7.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 41% from the field, 30% from distance

Kyle Korver: 8.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1 assist, 42% from the field, 41% from distance, shot 10% from the field in the finals

Tristan Thompson: 6 points, 6 rebounds, 59% from the field, missed 3 games

Jordan Clarkson: 4.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists, shot 30% from the field.