Kobe

[Tilted]

Kobe Bryant will play his last NBA game tomorrow night.

Where do you put him relative to all-time NBA greats?

Also, to the extent you cared either way, were you usually rooting for or against him?

 

[Grumpy]

Haven't really followed the NBA since Kobe came into it as a teen. Lots of accomplishments from what I've read but 2 things always stood out about him that made me not care that much for him. Basically forcing the trade of Shaq and the rape allegation. I imagine he is top ten, maybe top five.

 

[Monello]

Kobe is only 1 of 5 people to ever score 30K+ points in a career. Karl Malone has more career points than Kobe but I don't remember Malone as a big star in the league when compared to Bryant.

 

[Tilted]

Did anyone doubt that he'd go out like that?

 

[sockgirl77]

Haven't really followed the NBA since Kobe came into it as a teen. Lots of accomplishments from what I've read but 2 things always stood out about him that made me not care that much for him. Basically forcing the trade of Shaq and the rape allegation. I imagine he is top ten, maybe top five.

I'll never believe the rape allegation. That man had pussy thrown at him. Why would he resort to raping a girl? As far as Shaq, I think the man is hilarious but I'll always feel that he was highly overrated.

 

[Tilted]

I'll never believe the rape allegation. That man had pussy thrown at him. Why would he resort to raping a girl? As far as Shaq, I think the man is hilarious but I'll always feel that he was highly overrated.

If there was much reason to think she actually was raped beyond her claim, I'd be willing to hold that against Kobe. As it is, I think it's just as likely that she wasn't as it is that she was. I actually lean the same way that you do, I'd guess it was consensual (though I'm obviously not at all sure that it was).

As far as Shaquille goes, I didn't see Kobe as the bad guy (to the extent there was one) in that situation. And yeah, Shaq was a great player but perhaps a bit overrated. He could have been more dominate than he was, but I think he lacked the level of competitiveness that Kobe and Michael had (of course, almost everyone else does lack it). Shaq, from what I saw, just didn't care enough to be as good as he could be. I hold Kobe in higher regard than Shaq for that reason.

 

[sockgirl77]

If there was much reason to think she actually was raped beyond her claim, I'd be willing to hold that against Kobe. As it is, I think it's just as likely that she wasn't as it is that she was. I actually lean the same way that you do, I'd guess it was consensual (though I'm obviously not at all sure that it was).

As far as Shaquille goes, I didn't see Kobe as the bad guy (to the extent there was one) in that situation. And yeah, Shaq was a great player but perhaps a bit overrated. He could have been more dominate than he was, but I think he lacked the level of competitiveness that Kobe and Michael had (of course, almost everyone else does lack it). Shaq, from what I saw, just didn't care enough to be as good as he could be. I hold Kobe in higher regard than Shaq for that reason.

All of this is why I'm not fan of the NBA anymore. I love basketball, but prefer to watch college games. However, I'm sucked into NBA games because my son is hooked on pro sports. I am a proud Mommy though because he asked for a pair of Larry Bird socks that he saw at Dick's around Christmas time. That was when the NBA was great to watch. I found the specials on the Dream Team on Netflix or Hulu a few months back and had him watch them with me. He was in awe. I said "THAT's basketball. The crap you watch is just high dollar entertainment".

 

[Rommey]

Kobe is only 1 of 5 people to ever score 30K+ points in a career. Karl Malone has more career points than Kobe but I don't remember Malone as a big star in the league when compared to Bryant.

Playing in Salt Lake City versus playing in Los Angeles tends to make that happen. Playing for a team that was on national TV a few times a year to being on national TV virtually every week of the season does that as well.