Five Rings

[Kernewek]

Kobe is clearly 3rd as a player to those guys

Whether he is the greatest Laker is a different question in my view.  I actually think he is the greatest Laker in that he sits at the top of a whole bunch of their all time leaderboards (even though I have him behind Lebron, Kareem, Wilt, Magic, and Shaq on the all time list).  He is BY FAR, their leader in games, minutes, points, steals, FG, FT, 3's, etc.  He is 2nd in assists to Magic.  He is 3rd in rebounds to Baylor and Kareem (yep more boards than Magic, Shaq, and wilt). He is even 5th in blocks.  He has 10.1 more WS than West, just edges Magic in VORP. So as Lakers go, I think Kobe is the greatest Laker even though I have him around 15th best all time and behind a bunch of other guys that played for the Lakers.

I think this is a reasonable bit of nuance.

[SHAQATTACK]

Johnson
Duncan
Bryant

[smokeablount]

Rank these players who won exactly 5 NBA championships:

Magic Johnson
Kobe Bryant
Tim Duncan

Am I the only one who has Kobe has a clear number three?

Nope.

1) Magic Johnson
2) Tim Duncan
3) Kobe Bryant

Kobe is one of the most over-rated players in the history of the NBA.  Don't get me wrong, sure fire HOFer and well accomplished.  I just think the pedestal he is put on, especially by the younger generation, is absurd.

That's the same order I have, too. I've never understood people putting him asa top 3 or 5 all time player, he isn't even a top 3 Laker if you count Lebron

I actually think this one is neat and tidy. Don?t think it?s all that subjective. Magic, TD, Kobe.

[boscel33]

I'm not as sure it's cut and dry like a lot of people think. 

I have it TD, Magic, Kobe. 

People have overlooked TD throughout his career because he wasn't that flashy type of personality or player.

But here's a head-to-head to review...  One that jumps out at me is All Defensive 1st Team.  TD had 15, Magic 0.

https://www.landofbasketball.com/player_comparison/tim_duncan_vs_magic_johnson.htm

[green_bballers13]

Rank these players who won exactly 5 NBA championships:

Magic Johnson
Kobe Bryant
Tim Duncan

Am I the only one who has Kobe has a clear number three?

Nope.

1) Magic Johnson
2) Tim Duncan
3) Kobe Bryant

Kobe is one of the most over-rated players in the history of the NBA.  Don't get me wrong, sure fire HOFer and well accomplished.  I just think the pedestal he is put on, especially by the younger generation, is absurd.

That's the same order I have, too. I've never understood people putting him asa top 3 or 5 all time player, he isn't even a top 3 Laker if you count Lebron

Yeah, The inspiration for this thread was a social media post I saw where Kobe was being hailed as the best Laker of all time, and that seemed like a consensus pick by Laker fans.

How on earth have current fans forgotten about Magic Johnson?

I think NBA viewership skews to the younger side. I can think of so many guys aged 40 or over that carry the outdated (and wrong) view that the NBA has been ruined. You know, since a white guy named Larry was good. It?s actually embarrassing for these people.

Kobe?s untimely death contributes to his lore. Saying he?s third on that list isn?t a slight though. Duncan and Magic are def top 10, and maybe top 5 of all time.

[Moranis]

Kobe is clearly 3rd as a player to those guys

Whether he is the greatest Laker is a different question in my view.  I actually think he is the greatest Laker in that he sits at the top of a whole bunch of their all time leaderboards (even though I have him behind Lebron, Kareem, Wilt, Magic, and Shaq on the all time list).  He is BY FAR, their leader in games, minutes, points, steals, FG, FT, 3's, etc.  He is 2nd in assists to Magic.  He is 3rd in rebounds to Baylor and Kareem (yep more boards than Magic, Shaq, and wilt). He is even 5th in blocks.  He has 10.1 more WS than West, just edges Magic in VORP. So as Lakers go, I think Kobe is the greatest Laker even though I have him around 15th best all time and behind a bunch of other guys that played for the Lakers.

I think this is a reasonable bit of nuance.

Yeah. I mean take a guy like Haslem with the Heat.  Wade is #1, but I think Haslem could reasonably be #2 as Heat go.  I mean Haslem played 879 games for the Heat which is 2nd to Wade's 948.  Mourning is 3rd with just 593 games.  Longevity has to factor in on these things, much more so than ability in my view.

[SparzWizard]

My boss who is a Lakers fan but also huge fan of the OG players like Magic, Kareem, Bird, McHale and those guys...absolutely despises Kobe and calls him "Ko-ME" lol. Very different from the other delusional Laker fans that label Kobe the goat. Doesn't think of Kobe as the greatest player in Lakers franchise.

As far as five rings ranking goes, Kobe is def a #3 on the list.

[RMO]

Does Kareem not get enough attention as far as his place in laker lore (or NBA for that matter)?  The sky hook might not have been exciting but it was unstoppable and was a move that he was still able to effectively use even in his advanced age.

I say this even though he was one of my least favorite lakers (except in Airplane!).

[Moranis]

Kareem doesn't get enough respect in part because the last part if his career he was a role player and that part lasted a long time.  I think Kareem has a very good argument as the greatest player ever. Certainly right there with Lebron and MJ.

Sometimes when guys stick around awhile it hurts their legacy.  I think that is why Dwight didn't make the all time top 75. His later years made people forget just how good he was in his prime.  Other times, I think it helps the legacy like woth Carter. He has a poor reputation as a selfish ball hog, which I think he shed by being a role player off the bench so long at the end if his career.

[Wretch]

Kobe is the easy 3.

I think TD is #1. Kobe and Magic weren't even the best players on their early championship teams (Shaq and Kareem respectively) and TD was an elite defender.

[smokeablount]

Does Kareem not get enough attention as far as his place in laker lore (or NBA for that matter)?  The sky hook might not have been exciting but it was unstoppable and was a move that he was still able to effectively use even in his advanced age.

I say this even though he was one of my least favorite lakers (except in Airplane!).

Kareem seems firmly entrenched in the consensus top 3 all time.

What I wonder is how high Jokic gets, particularly and if they don?t win more titles but he?s still the best player in the world and it?s not his fault they?re losing. If not for MVP voter fatigue he could be something like a 7 time MVP in 4-5 years. MJ/Kareem/Lebron levels. And those are the consensus top 3 all time.