I dont think he is either over or under rated.
He is what he is. A great player. And not many players can be labeled great.
Kobe has surpassed his '96 peers and is still going strong.
Aside from DuncAn, players that were supposedly in their prime are DONE now. Tmac. VC. Iverson.
81 points? He ball hogged huh Longstroke?
First 3 peat? He coat tailed Shaq. Shaq played all those games 1 on 5 eh?
2nd repeat? 2 Finals MVPS as the clear cut first option. Thats really easy to do huh?
30,000 pts? Eh thats cake. Thousands of NBA players have done that.
Couple gold medals? 2012 Lebron was the man. In 2008 though it was Mamba that saved them in the championship game.
I'll stop here.
If Kobe had the same exact accolades wearing a different uniform...theres at least half a chance we wouldnt be having this convo.
Yeah, Im a Kobe fan. But I wouldnt follow dude like Bron nut huggers followed him to south beach.
Lakers first. Period. Name on the front of the jersey > name on the back.
What's underlined is what does not make you seem very objective.
I've already stated that I have Kobe in my top fifteen.
However, with respect to those who came before him, I think that it is only fair to them to consider the era in which they played, when compiling a legit top ten list.
Kobe Bryant has scored the most points, more than any player in his era. That does not make him BETTER than anyone else from any other era.
Barry Bonds does not get to replace Babe Ruth, just because he hit more home runs.
Was Mikan as good as today's players?
Nope.
But he was the best of his era, and you cannot deny him that.
We all consider MJ to be the best that we have ever seen.
But what happens twenty years from now, when the rules have been changed as they have been over the last few years with less hand checking, less physicality, less BIG MEN, and then someone comes around and does better than MJ statistically?
Should we then say,
Oh, this guy is better than MJ ever was!
?
It doesn't make any sense.
Babe Ruth was a serious ballplayer, but because he played in an earlier era, does not make his contribution any less relevant, just because Barry Bonds hit more home runs.
Babe Ruth is a top ten player all time. George Mikan should be considered as such as well.