if Kobe and Dirk were equals offensively and Kobe was LEVELS above Dirk defensively how the hell was the gap not big ? This is nothing about fooling younger posters . If anything that’s you trying to act like there was some debate between Kobe and Dirk where there wasn’t . in ‘06 you would get laughed at for saying some shyt like that. That was not the general sentiment . At least Nash had the MVP,Tim had the two way impact ,,,,fukking Dirk. If that’s the case KD was in “the Conversation “ with Lebron for years…are we gonna act like that means anything?
Steph changed the entire leagues playing style ,There are baby Durants everywhere and every 6’8 lanky nikka with long arms worships Paul George,we see what Jokic is doing at the Center position but nikkas will kick and scream that this is still Lebrons era . Dirk innovating a position doesn’t mean he was better than Kobe . If that’s the case we need to have conversations about the current era .
Was Kareem not the best player in the mid 70s when he was missing the playoffs?
Was Lebron not the best player on earth standing next to two top 5-15 nikkas and flat out choked away a finals ?
I don’t have Kobe ranked top 10 All Time like the nikkas you must be used to posting against…I’m just not gonna sit here and be some on some fantasy land bullshyt about Dirk and other nikkas around that time when it’s clear it’s some agenda play
I don't have an agenda, so either we can speak without you throwing a tantrum or we can just keep it moving...
Dirk's early career he was a unicorn and seen as innovative, but was also seen as finesse and soft when playing his peers at his position. The jokes in the first part of his prime was that he was a Soft Euro. This was in spite of him elevating one of the worst franchises in NBA history to respectability...
In the mid-00s he leveled up and everyone around The League noticed. Maybe you didn't but me and my friends did, NBA Media did. He never had the marketability of Kobe so he didn't get talked about the same way as Kobe, who was a revered figure. But people noticed when he rose from just another great player, to one of the best players in the NBA...
I've been very clear that I never thought that Dirk was THE best player in basketball, bit he was absolutely playing at that level and in that conversation for 3-4 years. I don't think he was better than Kobe, and I'm aware that almost no one in real time thought he was better than Kobe...
But I, and many others, noticed what he was doing in this same stretch of time. The thread title asks if Kobe was ever "clearly" the best player in basketball. It was never clear with Kobe, and when Dirk was dropping 50-balls, dominating playoff runs and leading a team to The Finals, the gap between he and Kobe was close...
Ultimately what happens with the passage of time is remembrance changes and people forget the details. Kobe was both America's favorite basketball player and public enemy #1 at the same time. He was the most polarizing player in the sport. He certainly had a claim as being the NBA's best player during that time, maybe even the strongest claim than his competitors...
Was it "clear"? No it wasnt, not during, before, or after the period of time we're talking about...
Just because you nikkas minimize Duncan and dont acknowledge Dirk doesn't mean I did or that I have to, so you can save your insults. They don't mean anything to me...
Kareem's run of dominance as the best player in basketball came mostly in the pre-merger NBA and there are people (my dad for one, who is 59), who will tell you Julius Erving was the best basketball player alive, he just wasn't in the NBA yet, and that he was that when he hit the NBA. Moses hit the NBA and it's documented how he used to bully Kareem in their h2h's. So for guys who actually saw that period, unless you're excluding ABA, it wasn't so clear cut Kareem, either...
The reality is that it's very rarely one guy with no competition for that title. Kobe always had guys in close range for that title, even if the lean is he was the best player in basketball...
I think he was the best player in the late 00s, but I've already said that numerous times. I do not think he was the best player in basketball missing the playoffs in his prime and blowing a 3-1 series lead, I do not believe ANYBODY is THE best player in the world, and is capable of those things in a sport as singularly focused as basketball. I'd hold anyone to this standard, but Kobe is the guy who did these things so he's who I'm talking about...
but we both know who You are a c00n on the coli who co-signs racists like @Sccit because you hate Bron.
