Who You Got Wilbon!?!?!

Da Realist:

after reading jamele hill's article, i was a little surprised there are people out there that really think kobe is an overall better player so i wanted to see what some other people's arguments were like. i consider myself open-minded (although decidely less so with this topic :-D ).

this is the most interesting debate i've read about the comparisons. most of these debates end up sophomoric and juvenile with name-calling and close-minded conclusions. this one is a little different.

these guys use calculus, probability and statistics, and a little linear algebra to prove their points. it's comical -- and interesting.

i didn't change my opinion and you probably won't change yours. but i love *how* these guys debated their opinions.

I'm linking page 6 of the argument, but in my opinion page 7 is even better.

Gangsta D:

Kobe is not better than Jordan. The most ardent Laker fan with a brain will tell you that. The thing is, he COULD get there. He's only 28 and has 4-5 years of supreme performance left. He won't win 6 titles without Shaq, unless Bynum turns into the second coming. But what if he wins three more? Is the discussion made more rational at that point? Probably not. But my thing is, why try to analyze it? He's the best in the game RIGHT NOW. Why can't we just enjoy what we're seeing, instead of picking apart every little nuance in his game and comparing him to this and that person? Once he retires, there's plenty of time to reminisce.

Da Realist:

"Who's the best? Pac, Nas or Big? Ain't no best." -- Nas from Ether

i don't really try to get into who's the best of all time. i can say jordan is my favorite, but i can also acknowledge others that might have been just as good at what they do. magic johnson is, incredibly, underrated by most hoop fans. isiah thomas too. most jordan fans don't seem to have any problems with any of these comparisons to jordan. read any discussion on oscar roberston (who has better stats than jordan), magic, jerry west, etc... those discussion boards are full of respect, even when they disagree.

but kobe is different. he's seen by a lot of jordan fans as being an imitation, albeit, a pretty good one. they see kobe go out of his way to personify jordan then chafe under those higher expectations. note: I AM DELIBERATELY NOT INCLUDING MYSELF IN THIS DISCUSSION BECAUSE I'M CONGESTED AND DO NOT HAVE THE ENERGY OF BEATING TWO DIE-HARD LAKER FANS OFF MY BACK RIGHT NOW. i am the messenger in this email. don't ask me to either justify or support this argument because i won't.

anyway, nothing brings up more bile to a jordan fan than a comparison with kobe bryant. don't believe me? type "jordan vs kobe" or "kobe is better than jordan" in any search engine. trust me, you will want to wash your monitor after reading the hate. :-D

Waldini:

Why bother cuz it would be the same as arguing when the Lakers were winning titles earlier this decade. Both of you made great points about the current debate and the leaving out of other players. They are only bringing up this now b/c Kobe went off on his recent scoring binge. Just two years, they were debating who was better or who you pick first Kobe or Lebron? The votes were overwhemingly in Lebron's favor. Now, he's not even mentioned. So what does that tell you, it's all hype.....

3 yrs ago Nash was considered "done" and fast forward to today, he's got 2 MVPs and everyone's on his bandwagon as the best PG in the league (deservedly so). I dont put as much stock on the short term as I do on the entire course of work. Let's see what else Kobe does before we consider him the new MJ. He has the potential to be the best player of his generation and that's what he should focus on....

FYI, I'm with you realist so I wouldnt spend an hr writing responses back to your jabs :-)

Gangsta D:

You can't beat us off your back after being pumped full of HGH buddy!!

What would happen if in ten years, Kobe is still playing at a very high level (26/5/4), and has won 3-4 more titles, and Jordan says "I think when you look at it as a whole, Kobe was better than me." The sound of people jumping to their deaths would sound like a sonic boom. It will never happen, but I would rub that in so hard, it'd leave a permanent mark:)

Da Realist:

no, agent kujan. no rise today...