The Lakers
When you play for the Lakers, you play for the greatest sports franchise in United States history (or second behind the Yankees). Wilt played for the Lakers. Karl Malone and Gary Peyton went to the Lakers to end their career. Magic Johnson, Kareem, Shaq, Etc. Probably a third of a fourth of the great players all time put on a Laker jersey at one time or another.
When you play for the best franchise with the biggest fan base in Los Angeles, you can often appear better than are. Above-average players become stars and star become superstars.
Few players have played their entire career with the Lakers. Kobe was the chosen one. And ever since Shaq left town, Kobe's been the best player on the team. In the minds of Laker fans (by far the biggest NBA fan base), the best player on the Lakers is also the best player in the world.Without a great team, he's had bad seasons.
"He has 5 championship rings." .... OK? Kobe had a ton of help those 7 years he got to the finals.
What did he do in the middle of his prime the three years in between Shaq and Pau Gasol? Missed the playoffs (finished 11th in the West), knocked out of the first round playoffs (finished 7th in the west) and knocked out of the first round of the playoffs again (finished 7th in the west). No other all-time great player ever did so poorly for 3 straight years in the middle of their primes.
He always had the best coach in basketball - Phil Jackson.
He wasn't the best player on his own team for the first 3 rings out of 5. Shaq won all three finals MVP awards. He wasn't even the "clutch" player on the team. "Big Shot" Robert Horry was making the game winners.
After Shaq won 3 rings for the Lakers, he was traded to Miami for Lamar Odom, Butler, Grant, and a first round pick. How did Kobe do without Shaq that first year? Missed the Playoffs. (Let me point out that a young LeBron James carried a worse team in 07 to the NBA finals.)
After missing the playoffs, they got Andrew Bynum in the draft. The Lakers has a great team. Still, Kobe could not have success. They lost in the first round of the playoff the next two years in a row.Now a Question. What happens when an already good team trades Kwame Brown for all-star Pau Gasol? Exactly. Despite Kobe, the Lakers went on to win two more championships.
3 - Kobe gets to (and chooses to) shoot the ball ALL THE TIME.
Kobe has a lot of career points. He has a lot of game winning shots.
Kobe also has missed a ton of shots. He has also missed tons of game winning shots. Of the top 10 scorers all time, he has the lowest FG%. And of all the Finals MVP's (he has two), he set the record for lowest FG% (both times). It took Kobe five extra seasons to catch Michael Jordan in the alltime scoring list (19 seasons to catch what Michael Jordan accomplished in 14 seasons).
In conclusion - Kobe is a great player. Take out Kobe and insert a different great player like Dwayne Wade or Russell Westbrook into the same situation. I truly believe that player would be considered just as good or better than Kobe. Had Kobe been drafted by a different team, he would be in the same group with Isaiah Thomas, Tracy McGrady, and Allen Iverson. Just "great."If you take any great shooting guard (Wade, Iverson, Thomas, Westbrook, etc.) and insert him into Kobe's situation; If you give him an entire career with the Lakers, give him Phil Jackson, Shaq, Jerry Buss, and everyone else, and let him shoot as much as Kobe has - Then that shooting guard would have been seen as just as good if not better than Kobe. (Insert shooting guard here) would have 5 championships at least and an easy 32,000 career points.
Links: Kobe is NOT clutch:
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