Friday 2 March 2012

Kobe is the Most Overrated Player in the NBA

Kobe Bryant. Fierce competitor, a winner, and one of the top 10 scorers ever. But at the same time is one of the top ten most overrated players ever. Kobe is often in the "Best Player Ever" conversation which is absolutely ridiculous. Kobe has shot too much throughout his career, which has often hurt his team. At the same time though, Kobe has a competitive edge to him which people love, and which often intimidates opponents. Kobe's a great player, but has definitave and very important negatives and positives to his game.

Positives: Notable achievements: 5 nba championships, 2 nba finals mvp, 1 regular season mvp, 2 scoring championships, 14 time allstar, 11 time all devensive team, 81 points in a game.
There are many things to love about Kobe. He's a winner. There's no one in the NBA that wants to win more then him, and that will do anything to win like he will. Miss or make he'll always demand taking the final shot, and a lot of the time he does make it. Kobe has won two championships without Shaq, showing he can win without him. Kobe can shoot from anywhere on the court, making him very hard to stop. Lastly, and most importantly Kobe puts the team on his back and gets his team succes.

Negatives: Notable Stats: Career .45% shooter, career 4.2 assists per game, since Shaq's departure Kobe's averaged 22 shots per game
Kobe's problem has been different in different years. In the Shaq era his problem was he was not clutch at all. Every time the playoffs came around Kobe's production would decrease forcing Shaq to score more, which did end up happening. Once Shaq left another problem arose. Kobe's teamwork. From 2004 to 2007 the Lakers had no supporting cast, so the team was awful. Kobe seldom passed the ball, and took a ton of shots. No one had a problem with it in those days because Kobe had no good players to pass to. In the next few years the Lakers got Bynum (all-star) Pau Gasol (all-star) Ron Artest (all-star), Derek Fisher and Trevor Ariza. As well Lamar Odom started playing to his full potential. Even with all the star power on his team in the last 4 seasons Kobe has only averaged 4.4 assists per game. Kobe does not pass enough, and even when he does he's not very good at getting open shots for teammates.


Reasons for Being Overrated: Elite players make their teammates better. Kobe doesn't do that nearly as much as other of the best players in the league. He's a great shooter but plain and simply shoots too much. For example this season generally the more Kobe shoots the ball, the less successful the team has been. Kobe's lack of teamwork takes him out of the top 10 players ever, and the top 5 players right now. Kobe is an incredible player, but is not as good as people make him out to be. It also makes him one of the most overrated players ever.

40 comments:

  1. Sincerely, reader3 March 2012 at 17:50

    Your blog is a joke.

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  2. Sincerely, reader3 March 2012 at 17:53

    The first post I see is this? You must be kidding me.

    You titled it as "Kobe is the Most Overrated Player in the NBA" and you refute your own argument by saying he's 5 nba championships, 2 nba finals mvp, 1 regular season mvp, 2 scoring championships, 14 time allstar, 11 time all devensive team, 81 points in a game.

    Forget the negatives, he got not ONE but FIVE champs?

    You sir, are a joke.

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    1. Don't use all-star games to judge if someone is a great player or not. Fans vote for all-stars.

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  3. 1: Kobe doesn't pass/ Avg low assist= He played an offense his entire career that predicates kicking it out to the closest player (He's often double teamed) who then passes to a wide oped player. Put it this way KB avg the most assists on the team & In lebron's 9 years in the league, Kobe's teams have averaged more assists than lebron's in 7 of those seasons. Also, Kobe's teams have 5 top 10 apg ranking out of nba teams in those seasons

    2: Kobe doesn't make his teammates better= This one is just mind boggling. Almost EVERY player that has played alongside KB had there best career numbers w/ him. Smush Parker: Couldn't stay in NBA after LA dropped him. Ariza: Statistically fell off the face of the earth. Kwame: Best season #'s w/ KB. Walton: Actually looked like a decent player when he got floor time. Mutumbo: Best season #'s playing w/ KB. Shannon Brown & Jordan Farmer: Considerably fell off after the Lakers. Pau: Never won a single playoff game before going KB. Lamar: Where witnessing now & the list goes on

    3: Shaq errer not Clutch @ all: This is just laughable. Go check out youtube. Besides the first championship KB ruled the Western Conference playoffs. Second ring is when LA fans were talking about KB was just as crucial as Shaq. The third ring KB was the true MVP hence LA choosing KB over Shaq & the start of the animosity towards each other

    You were just owned on your own pathetic blog

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    1. Excellent reply to a near senseless article. Kudos.

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  4. And whose better than Kobe? Lebron? Kobe still has 5 championships more than him. Your blog is a literal joke

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  5. I understand your perception of KB but at least provided factual information you say he never averaged over 50% a game career ...neither did the beat player of all time MJ 49%.. you said he shoots too much by averaging 19.5 shots a game career the best player MJ averaged 22.9! If MJ says that KB has put in the work to be compared to him then I wouldn't label KB overrated. Lastly if you one of the top scorers in the history of the game yah you had to "shoot too much" thats how you get all the points you get lik being now the 5th all time scorer behing the greatest Mj who played less season than KB and scored more points by a whopping 4000 point. If you had said Kobe Is terrible at taking the best shots or making the right plays by the book I would respect it but saying a shoot guard who shoots too much and is consider to be the closest well ever see to a MJ is contradicting.

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    1. Hold on..Jordan has shot 50% or better in a season 6times. And he was a career 50% shooter untill his Wizard days which dropped
      him to 49.7%

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  6. you said ron artest is an all star. sums up how thoughtful your post is

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  7. Michael Jordan didn't shoot above 50% either he only gave 5.3 assists per game and MJ shoot the 22.9 times per game

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    1. Kobe has never had a season when he has shot 50% from the field, but Michael did. Michael has had a season when he average 8 assists per game, Kobe hasn't. Kobe's a great player, but the fans nowadays overrate him so much. I constantly see the only person better than Kobe is Michael and then there are those few who ruin it for everybody by saying that Kobe is the GOAT. Great article from someone who actually watches basketball,but facts never destroy the opinions of these fans.

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  8. Ron Artest was an all-star at one point in time, and a few years ago was a big part of the lakers team. Also MJ shot a much better percentage along with got more assists then Kobe. As well Kobe has led his team to just two championships.

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  9. the first three were more shaq than kobe

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  10. Please name me 10 players that are better than Kobe!! You can't be serious man...

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    1. MJ
      Magic
      Kareem
      Olajuwon
      Wilt
      Shaq
      Bird
      Malone
      Big O
      Rusell

      This article is still a joke but Kobe is not in the top 10

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    2. Alright buddy, Michael Jordan may have been a better player but...
      Magic-Great Player who happened to have a tremendous team around him (Kareem, Worthy). Still a great player but not better than kobe.
      Kareem-Not excellent defensively, didnt pass well out of doubles.
      Olajuwon- One of my favorite players of all time, not enough championships.
      Wilt- Are you serious? He was like 6 inches taller than everyone else and it was a different era. Wouldn't dominate nearly as much today.
      Shaq- Can't maintain the longevity kobe has. He dumped after age 30.
      Bird- Great fundamental player and a winner. He's white though.
      Malone-Made by John Stockton
      Big O, Russell- Different era, cant compare

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  11. Why is it always the amount of rings that is so important? Championships should not suggest greatness...Is Robert Horry then also one of the greatest of all time?? Kobe is a great player, don't get me wrong...But I also think he's somewhat overrated...Being drafted by the Lakers was probably the most important event of his entire career!

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    1. 1. Robert Horry was NEVER a first or second option on a championship team, therefore they don't hold quite as much weight as someone who won them as "the man."

      2. Kobe was drafted by the Hornets, theremore making your argument in void.

      3. You are an idiot. Good day sir and or madam.

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  12. Ewwwwww that's all I can say about this joke

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  13. Ignorance is plain sad. Kobe is a one on one assasin. and you using a 4 assist career avg as a negative is dumb he is a SHOOTING GUARD thats a rel. high assist avg for a 2 guard His airness number 23 only averaged 5 and no one ever called michael selfish. Stupid people upset me.

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    1. good point until the "no one ever called michael selfish" the truth is he was also called selfish until he won 6 blingblings.

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  14. I have never known anyone to share my last name other than family, but I am ashamed to share it with you because of this ridiculous post.

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  15. Kobe is extremely overrated, he's probably a top 20 player in NBA history but no higher. His only elite attribute is his scoring. The stats back this up, of course.

    http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/ws_top_10.html

    I find it very telling that he never placed higher than 4th in win shares. People always mention his championships, but he isn't even in the top 10 in that.

    Furthermore, back in Shaq's heyday if you would have replaced Kobe with a different star at the SG position, they would have had just as many championships. For example, what if Ray Allen had been on that team instead? Scary to even think about.

    For his other two championships, he was never going to win without a dominant big. For both of the Championship runs Gasol was the key, not Kobe. No Gasol and Kobe would still be stuck on 3.

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    1. What people seem to forget is that Kobe CAN'T win without a big man. Shaq gav him 3 championships and Gasol was CRUCIAL in the the other 2.

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    2. you are retarded... MJ is the only one who could really win without an actuall big man. Gasol wasnt shit till he came to LA. only one all star appearence till he came to LA. Kobe and Phil Jackson made him who he is

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  16. What are you smoking? The guy's got 5 titles, count em' 5. without him there less than a 500 team...WOW, Though you people were screened?

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  17. all those great stats and u call him overrated get the fuck out of here

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  18. It is not worth anyone's time to argue with the little blogger here. He/she is opinionated, ignorant, the type of person that believes he/she is ALWAYS correct, and is taking a stance that is highly contrary to the majority opinion (not to mention recent sentiments made by Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird).

    Whatever makes a person feel better about themselves without hurting others is okay with me -- even if it's another idiot with a blogspot account.

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  19. CAREER G 1,072, GS 1,039, MPG 38.3, FG% .497, 3PT% .327, FT% .835, OFF 1.60, DEF 4.70, RPG 6.20, APG 5.3, SPG 2.35, BPG .83, TO 2.73, PF 2.60, PPG 30.1 Michael Jordan's career stats

    CAREER G 1,142, GS 994, MPG 36.5, FG% 0.454, 3PT% 0.336, FT% 0.837, OFF 1.2, DEF 4.1, RPG 5.3, APG 4.7, SPG 1.5, BPG 0.5, TO 2.96, PF 2.59, PPG 25.4 Kobe Bryant's career stats

    So you are saying that someone's ability to make people better is something you can see in stats. You are obviously a fucking tool and only started watching basketball since Lebron has been in the league. I guess MJ was overrated because he only averaged 5.3 assists per game, you fucking retard...you child. Titles aside, all star games aside and all the accolades out the window, let's just go with stat's since that is all you know. Only a handful of players in NBA HISTORY have averaged more PPG over their career than Kobe, and they are already in the hall of fame and almost none of them can boast 5 championships, and I am not fond of Kobe or the Lakers. Only 4.2 assist per game as a negative for a shooting guard, boy you are a dumbass. 22 shots per game average huh, how else are you supposed to win if you don't score, and I didn't see anyone else on the team that wanted the ball, and by the way all great players in every sport tend to have coarse ego's that rub wrong on their teammates. And if you need I will be happy to straighten your ass out on the phone or in person. Just let me know. Sorry guys I just hate ignorant people.

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    1. i never said that kobe wasn't a good player, I'm just saying he's not top ten ever. He's on a team with two VERY skilled seven footers, and he always has the ball yet he doesn't get many assists.
      Also Jordan and Kobe may have similar assist numbers but Jordan had better shooting percentages, and wasn't taking up the ball as often as kobe

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    2. shooting percentage..? so youre saying wilt was better than MJ? he had a better shootin percentage and averaged as many points than him. Dumbshit

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  20. wow...your such a tool....sir. The point of being overrated is such a small minded position on this argument, frankly, its inconceivable to me that suckheads try to make this point. MJ actually took shots than Kobe, so that "ball hog" crap should be put to rest. Kobe led his team in assist more than Kobe, so that notion he didn't make his teammates better should go out the window. These are all facts by the way. Kobe score 81 points in a game and it took him 40 minutes to do it. If you take the point per minute count, and that Wilt played all 48 minutes and took 63 shots, yes, 63 shots, then Kobe would have score 103 points, but this is a just a reference point, but the fact is he out score Dallas by himself in 3 qtrs. These are things Jordan never did. He has broken some of Jordan records; Wilt records; West records; Kareem records; Baylor records and you sir say he's overrated, then what does that make all the players I just mentioned? Its okay not to be objective, but don't pretend that you are.

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    1. Michael Redd made 8 threes and scored 26 points in a quarter, and if he did that for the whole game he would have had 104 points. So he's better than kobe and mj? Obviously not. One game doesn't mean much, so you can't make an argument for kobe or wilt by saying they had a great game

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  21. For the love of God and basketball, please delete this blog. Delete this and pretend you never wrote this. Next, call a mental institute and seek help imediately. Look at your positives and negatives.. if you want to play this whole stats game, then you think wilt chamberlain is the greatest of all time. cuz he had a better shooting percentage than MJ and both averaged the same points per game. 1. MJ 2. Kobe. Now everyone wants to play the whole Kobe had Shaq. MJ had Pippen!! Even without Shaq, Kobe proved that he could still win. OHHHHH BUT WHAT ABOUT GASOL?? Dumbass people have to look for some reason not to give Kobe credit cuz they are afraid to admit hes second best. Gasol wasnt shit until he came to the Lakers where Kobe and Phil Jackson made him who he is today, and all star. He had one all star appearence before he came to LA. Why do you think you always hear Kobe is the closest thing the NBA has seen since MJ? Always comparing the 2. Yes MJ will go down as better but they wouldnt be comparing them if he was overrated. And these are former NBA players saying this and real analyists who do that for a living.

    I wish you the best of luck and hope you seek help soon but for God's sake this is sucha dumb blog that will never make sense so delete it and never write again. I could keep goin on but your obviously not gonna get it through your head if you made this blog. KB24. Better than youll ever realize dumbass.

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  22. everybody says kobe couldn't win without shaq. but shaq, obviously, couldn't win without kobe.

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    1. maybe you better tell wade that his champioship with shaq wasn't real then. you are a dumb shit

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  23. Your premise is flawed because you decided your hypothesis was true before examining the facts. You list Kobe's 45% career shooting as a negative. Would 50% career shooting be a positive? Hitting 5 more shots out 100 (about 1 more per game) takes you from greatest of all time to most overrated? Is shooting 45% poor compared to other shooting guards? Truthfully, because Kobe has played with low post players most of his career and poor to mediocre outside shooters, he has had to be the outside shooting presence, on ball defender, and facilitator. He did not have as many post up opportunities or clear lanes to the basket as players like MJ or Wade, despite clearly having a great post up game. Combine that with a system that walks the ball up the floor, and Kobe has fewer fast break dunk opportunities than some of these supposed "elite" players you like.

    You list Kobe's 4.2 assists per game (really 4.7) as a negative. I guess no center in the history of the NBA would make your top ten list. Wilt, Kareem, Shaq, and Karl Malone all averaged less assists than Kobe. I guess they didn’t make their teammates better either. The fact that you list the incorrect average for Kobe says plenty, but Kobe's assists average would be even higher if the first two seasons of his career when he was coming off the bench and playing far fewer minutes are factored out.

    You say Kobe was not clutch when Shaq was on the Lakers, but that could not be further from the truth. The truth is Shaq loafed for much of the regular season and believed he could "turn it on" during the playoffs, getting especially geared up for the finals. Kobe became known as a closer because Shaq's free throw shooting was so horrendous that he had to be taken off the floor for most of the fourth quarter. In the Lakers first championship, the Lakers had to face the Blazers in a game 7 WCF in Portland. In that game, Kobe led the Lakers in points, assists, rebounds, and blocks. THE LAKERS WOULD NOT HAVE MADE THE FINALS WITHOUT KOBE’S PERFORMANCE. In the finals, Kobe missed a game with a twisted ankle and Reggie Miller went from no show to game MVP. When Kobe came back for the fourth game of the series, Shaq fouled out early in the fourth quarter. Kobe hit a game tying 3 to send the game into overtime. Then he scored 8 points in overtime to lead the Lakers to a win and a 3-1 lead in the series. That was by far Kobe's worst final series

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  24. When Shaq and Phil left in 2004, Kobe had his best assists average of his career, despite what you’ve written. That was the only season the Lakers didn’t make the playoffs, and that was due to Rudy T. retiring mid-season and Kobe getting injured and missing the last few weeks of the year. You list Kobe's teammates post Shaq as if they are a list of hall of fame players. Bynum hasn't been an all-star (or even consistently healthy) until this season. Ron Artest hasn’t been an all-star in years. Pau Gasol wasn't a perennial all-star candidate until he teamed with Kobe. Ariza and Odom, who just happened to play the best ball of their careers with Kobe, have been poor to inconsistent both before and after playing with Kobe. Kwame Brown, Caron Butler, Smush Parker, Chucky Atkins, Luke Walton, Chris Mihm, Slava Mevedenko, Sasha Vujaciek, Jordan Farmar and even Derek Fisher have been no where near as good for other teams before coming to or after leaving the Lakers. Yet these are the starters Kobe had to play with post Shaq.

    This season, Kobe has kept the Lakers afloat offensively until the rest of the team and the new coaching staff could figure how to consistently score. Kobe has played more minutes than anyone in the league this season. He has been the Lakers only real perimeter threat. As the offense comes around, Kobe won't have to play as many minutes, won't take as many shots, and will likely hit a better percentage.

    Those who simply say Kobe shoots too much, neglect the fact that players like Wilt and MJ averaged more shots per game than Kobe. Those who say he doesn't make his teammates better base that judgment only on assists totals versus point guards, instead of whether or not his teammates actually played better on the Lakers than they did on other teams or on the team's success (7 finals in 14 years since Kobe has been a starter, 15 playoff years in 16 seasons). Those who say Kobe is just a high volume shooter, ignore how many times Kobe has made the all-defensive team. How many times did Magic and Bird make the 1st team all-defense? Can you say zero? I guess they're overrated too.

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    1. i agree this post is crap, but just my two cents, it's not all because of kobe why those players got better, it's something they call the triangle, my friend.

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