So should Kobe be ranked in the top 10 or not?

[ade]

I’ve never seen a player have a rank varied to the extent that Kobe has. And this is before he passed. “Pundits” and fans alike both see-saw on this it’s kind of crazy.

Some people have him as high as 5 and some people have him ranked in the teens.

It shouldn’t be this complicated. Kobe is the consensus #2 SG of all time. Neither Shaq, Hakeem nor Bird can say they are consensus #2 at their positions and they all are generally ranked as top 10 players. Tim Duncan can actually claim he’s also at minimum top 2 at his position but he’s widely considered a top 10 player, so why the hesitation when it comes to Kobe?

 

[Jordan>>LeFrozen]

Kobe was polarizing most of his career so it’s not surprising. There was barely any in between. Either you loved him or disliked him. Very few found middle ground in his ranking. Yes Kobe should be top 10. I’d understand if you said top 12 even though I don’t agree, but some went as far as to say that he is barely top 25

 

[murksiderock]

Kobe was polarizing most of his career so it’s not surprising. There was barely any in between. Either you loved him or disliked him. Very few found middle ground in his ranking. Yes Kobe should be top 10. I’d understand if you said top 12 even though I don’t agree, but some went as far as to say that he is barely top 25

100%...

I don't think the fluctuation has to do with how much people like him or not, I think it's hard for people to weigh the "he was the closest thing to Mike"/"Mike of his era" ideology that has surrounded him long before he passed. For people who value those characteristics more, they tend to rank him higher, sometimes super high, and people who value that less, rank him lower, sometimes too low. He's the only Top 10 candidate who, while obviously not entirely true and he had his own unique trends to his game, he's the only guy who you can visibly see patterned his game so closely to another guy...

To some people, that's a drawback. To others, that underlines how great he is and how high we should hold him. I really think that's all it is bro, for as long as we can remember, and for as long as his name lives on, there will be that "closest to Mike" thing and it's hard for most people to evaluate him with that descriptive around him, for better or worse. That's why his placement varies so wildly...

That said, I agree with you, I think the lowest anyone should put him is 12, and that may be slightly low. He's Top 10 in my book. I think if cats take all emotion out of it, he just doesn't have a strong, objective case as Top 5, and no real case at all as greatest ever; nikkas can make whatever argument they want but it isnt objective if you start lining him with others and grading them all the same way. That goes both ways though--->there's no way anybody can objectively put Kobe out of the Top 15, and while I wouldn't think it's crazy if you had him 11 or 12, the further you get from 10 it starts looking flimsier...

So he's Top 10 I think, but the whole Jordan thing around him makes it difficult for people to grade him objectively...

 

[MJ Truth]

To be honest, outside of Jordan and Kareem, you could make an argument any of the top 11 players of all time could be the one to fall out of ten. That includes LeBron.

Personally I got Kobe in my top ten, and Olajuwon and Moses Malone at 11 and 12.

 

[steph_harden]

You can’t just rank based on where he ranked at his position....you’d fukk around and have Steph Curry in the top 10 based on that logic

 

[staticshock]

Yes

 

[Numpsay]

5 rings, second greatest SG ever. Eyeball test tells me he is at least top 5 let alone top 10. MJ and KAJ are the only 2 I can put in front of him without thought. I can tolerate Magic and Duncan, outside of them, nah man.

 

[Thavoiceofthevoiceless]

These same conversations get exhausting after a while.

 

[Techniec]

I see this GOAT shyt as being tier based

Tier 1 (GOAT)
1a-MJ
1b-Kareem

Tier 2 (Near GOAT)
No order
LeBron
Magic
Bird
Wilt
Russell

Tier 3
No order
Dream
Shaq
Duncan
Kobe

So that's eleven names right there. For my top ten, someone's gonna be the odd man out and it'll obviously be someone from Tier 3

At that point, bias will kick in, one on one comparisons etc. But me, I could definitely see Kobe out of the top 10. To be honest, for me...every day it's different...but most days I may have Kobe at 11, outside looking in. Take Duncan at 10 over him...but then again, you could easily argue the reverse

To me I can't put Kobe over Shaq or Hakeem....

 

[Remote]

If you care about rankings, sure.
I'm trying to get away from that and just appreciating players. Rankings breed too much arguing.

In terms of a global impact and inspiring others, Kobe is one of the top influential athletes ever, not just basketball.

 

[Negro Caesar]

Kobe was great. But he ain’t top 10

 

[West Coast Avenger]

I see this GOAT shyt as being tier based

Tier 1 (GOAT)
1a-MJ
1b-Kareem

Tier 2 (Near GOAT)
No order
LeBron
Magic
Bird
Wilt
Russell

Tier 3
No order
Dream
Shaq
Duncan
Kobe

So that's eleven names right there. For my top ten, someone's gonna be the odd man out and it'll obviously be someone from Tier 3

At that point, bias will kick in, one on one comparisons etc. But me, I could definitely see Kobe out of the top 10. To be honest, for me...every day it's different...but most days I may have Kobe at 11, outside looking in. Take Duncan at 10 over him...but then again, you could easily argue the reverse

To me I can't put Kobe over Shaq or Hakeem....

So Lebron is tier 2.........

 

[O.iatlhawksfan]

I see this GOAT shyt as being tier based

Tier 1 (GOAT)
1a-MJ
1b-Kareem

Tier 2 (Near GOAT)
No order
LeBron
Magic
Bird
Wilt
Russell

Tier 3
No order
Dream
Shaq
Duncan
Kobe

So that's eleven names right there. For my top ten, someone's gonna be the odd man out and it'll obviously be someone from Tier 3

At that point, bias will kick in, one on one comparisons etc. But me, I could definitely see Kobe out of the top 10. To be honest, for me...every day it's different...but most days I may have Kobe at 11, outside looking in. Take Duncan at 10 over him...but then again, you could easily argue the reverse

To me I can't put Kobe over Shaq or Hakeem....

Nah this ain’t it

 

[Techniec]

So Lebron is tier 2.........

Yes, although I will say that by the time he retires things will change

Maybe he joins Tier 1

1a-MJ
1b-Kareem/LBJ
1c-LBJ/Kareem

Maybe him and Kareem are Tier 2 and every other tier gets bumped down, who knows

 

[Techniec]

Nah this ain’t it

Kobe's peers legacy wise is Shaq, Hakeem and Duncan. In my opinion, Kobe isn't on Wilt, or Russell or Bird, Magic etc wavelength

But you could make an argument for Kobe being Tier 2, just like you could for the rest of the Tier 3 names