KOBE HAS NO RIVAL?????

[mister friendly]

Kobe Bryant says he hasn’t had any rivals to count amongst his contemporaries

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-b...754385.html;_ylt=Ai6KLICesnOz6uUNB6QCkkg5nYcB

Kobe Bryant drives to the basket past an unidentified
non-rival (Getty Images)

Kobe Bryant says he really hasn't had any "rivals" in his NBA career. That
his competitive instincts are going great guns no matter who he plays, and at
that saturation point that he couldn't possibly even add another gear to his
particular combustion engine even if he did have a one-on-one rival to go
against. Not that he has any rivals, he points out.


This could be Kobe the show-off, putting himself in a class above all. This
could be Kobe tsk-tsk'ing scoring guards of his generation, going after Tracy
McGrady, Vince Carter, and Allen Iverson for falling off too soon. Or Ray Allen
for never being as good. Or Dwyane Wade and LeBron James missing a chance to
knock Kobe off at his peak.


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Or, it could just be that Kobe Bryant is absolutely correct. Without any
pretense, ego, or self-aggrandizing. Not that those three things aren't part of
the package, and a possible inspiration for his honest words spoken to
Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles. But it doesn't mean that Kobe isn't
right. By his rules, using his math, he's absolutely correct.



Here's the quote, from
ESPN:

"At this point my rivals, in terms of what I have left to accomplish in my
career, (left the game) when Magic (Johnson) and Michael (Jordan) retired in
'98," Bryant said, referring to the second of Jordan's three retirements that
came after he won his sixth and final championship with the Chicago Bulls.
"That's it. In terms of what I'm looking to accomplish, that's about it."


[…]


"I've outgrown them all, from A.I. (Allen Iverson) when I first came in to
(Tracy) McGrady to Vince Carter and so forth and so on."



This is telling, even when you do the math in your head to determine that
Bryant is judging Magic Johnson as a "rival" even though he retired for the NBA
(save for a brief comeback in 1996) when Bryant was in eighth grade. Bryant is
looking at Magic's five rings as a Los Angeles Laker, and Jordan's six overall
championships, as he gauges his own legacy. And, stuck without a Larry Bird to
his Magic or a litany of contemporaries as Jordan had (Isiah Thomas, Clyde
Drexler, Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, Stockton/Malone, and we'll include
Reggie Miller so he doesn't cry about it), you can kind of understand why.


Because, on a statistical level (playing on crummier teams) both Wade and
LeBron James topped Bryant in terms of individual contributions several years
ago. Their all-around work and efficiency outpaces Bryant's, even though Kobe
worked longer in the playoffs than either of them save for 2005, 2006, 2007, and
2011. In terms of Wade, Bryant's seeming match at the off guard slot, he
had this to say:

"He's too young," Bryant said. "He's too young. When I came into the league,
he was in elementary school."



Which isn't exactly true. Wade is just three years younger than Kobe, who
often forgets about the relative ages of his NBA contemporaries mainly because
certain players came into the league long after him, after potentially going
through four years of college.


In terms of a one-on-one rival? Bryant just never had one at his peak.


Iverson came closest, battling it out with Bryant in the 2001 NBA Finals; but
Iverson's shot-happy ways made even the ultra-aggressive Bryant look tame by
comparison, and his bad off-court habits relegated him to an afterthought as a
player a few months after Bryant's Lakers topped Iverson's Nuggets in the 2009
Western Conference finals. Ray Allen has made more three-pointers than anyone in
NBA history, but he never shared Kobe's all-around gifts. Tracy McGrady was
actually outpacing Bryant about a decade ago, but injury issues dimmed his star.
And Vince Carter? As soon as he gets up off the floor, you can take that up with
him.


No, it's Bryant by himself. He's that odd combination of old school attitude
with the oddity of coming into the league during the high school player boom
between 1995 and 2005. He had a head start on a few of his would-be
contemporaries as a result, and the good fortune of being traded to the NBA's
most famous franchise (featuring a center, and eventually a coach, for the ages)
made it so Bryant could rightfully compare his work to that of a player in Magic
who entered the NBA 17 years before him.


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And he's correct in pointing out that, for whatever reason, that
Iverson/Carter/McGrady triptych failed him. Ray Allen played to the best of his
abilities, but he just wasn't in Kobe's league.


Dwyane Wade? I'm not so sure about that, because Wade is clearly Bryant's
equal at their best and when Wade is healthy, and not that much younger despite
entering the NBA seven years after him. The problem is that there haven't been
very many memorable duels between the two on a regular season stage, and unlike
Bird and Magic (or Jordan and his many conquests) the two have never met in the
playoffs.


That could change, of course, this year. The Lakers and Heat could meet in
the Finals, because though Los Angeles hasn't distinguished itself so far this
year, Bryant and his team are that good. And Wade and Kobe will meet up on
Sunday, just a week after Wade busted Kobe's nose with an unnecessary and
borderline-flagrant foul in the All-Star Game.


Dwyane Wade is "too young" to be Kobe's rival? That's for you to decide. Like
we said earlier, there's probably a bit of pretense, and a whole lot of
gamesmanship, in comments like these. And we love Kobe for that.


He's earned the right to that dismissive tone, and to attempt to shape his
own legacy in his heroes' mold.

 

Kobe is kinda right in that he doesnt have any rivals in the same age group( within 5 years of him) but Lebron has definitely been his rival but we missed the chance for a "peak" mismatch in 2008 or 2009

 

[menacin methods]

Kobe of 2006 vs Lebron of 2011

WOW

At this point in Kobe's career he really doesn't have any rivals.

 

[pmatic]

The battles between Kobe and Ray Allen since Allen spoke his mind about the Shaq trade. 

 

[shatterkneesinc]

different positions but
i would say dirk is the closest "rival" to kobe , both are around the same age group, both play incredibly well against each other, games usually go down to the wire when the teams meet, and they have a lot of respect for each other.

 

[IATT]

tim duncan?

 

[bean pie slanga]

McGrady/VC were supposed to be his rivals. Didn't work out though.

 

[night marcher01]

Originally Posted by itsaboutthattime

tim duncan?

This.

 

[10 piece nuggets]

Originally Posted by Night Marcher01

Originally Posted by itsaboutthattime

tim duncan?

This.

Nah, not really.


Finding a rival for someone shoudnt take too much though, it should be fairly "obvious". Kobe, with a quick thought, I cant think of anyone thats really his rival. You could say T-Mac in his Orlando days. VC too, which other people have mentioned. Tim Duncan? Naw, now thats just looking for someone logical.

 

[stackjaxx]

Michael Jordan's legacy is Kobe's greatest demon.

 

[night marcher01]

Originally Posted by 10 Piece Nuggets

Originally Posted by Night Marcher01

Originally Posted by itsaboutthattime

tim duncan?

This.

Nah, not really.


Finding a rival for someone shoudnt take too much though, it should be fairly "obvious". Kobe, with a quick thought, I cant think of anyone thats really his rival. You could say T-Mac in his Orlando days. VC too, which other people have mentioned. Tim Duncan? Naw, now thats just looking for someone logical.

T-Mac and VC hasn't even come close to accomplishing what Kobe has accomplished already. That's no rivalry!

 

[AZwildcats]

I'd say in the Western Conference Tim Duncan or Dirk

 

[ag 47]

Originally Posted by PMatic

The battles between Kobe and Ray Allen since Allen spoke his mind about the Shaq trade. 

I'd even include Paul Pierce. Those final appearances have to count for something.

 

[nycknicks105]

Originally Posted by StackJaxx

Michael Jordan's legacy is Kobe's greatest demon.

QFT

 

[buggz05]

Shaq.

Jkidd?

 

[Arthur Shelby]

Originally Posted by Bean Pie Slanga


McGrady/VC were supposed to be his rivals. Didn't work out though.

 

[PrisonerofDoom83]

well no one can ever be a straight rival compared to magic vs bird . but that was the greatests rivalry michigan vs indiana la vs boston white vs black pretty much same position also

 

[PRIME]

Kobe has no real 1 on 1 opponent. He doesn't have that one player to look at on TV or hear about post game and and "Oh how much did *insert rival name here* score? Did they win?" and have that fuel him for his next game to go out and top that. So in that regard hell yeah, Kobe is right. He has no true rival. The closest thing he's ever really had was AI and that didn't even last that long. 
But as far as teams go? Kobe has had a few rival teams. From the Sixers to the Spurs to the Celtics to the new Miami Heat. Kobe and his Lakers have had many teams as rivals. 

 

[laker4lifeman]

Ray Allen is basically his only rival since he joined the Sonics and then went to Boston. I also think Kobe was supposed to be in He Got Game.

 

[lynchpin33]

I can kind of see where Kobe is coming from.  There is really no one around to rival him.  Kobe is really a throwback to 80's and 90's basketball and there is really no one in the league right now with that mindset.  The only major rival right now I can see is Durant and LeBron, but going by how LeBron was all of sudden on Durant's team after the 60 point game during the summer, will see how that goes.  I thought about this when I read the article, i thought a rival for Kobe might be : VC, Tmac, AI, Ray Allen or Paul Pierce, but no one has stayed around at the level or won as much as Kobe.  Just to be clear when I say rival I am talking about someone who plays the same position as Kobe.

 

[mister friendly]

Yeah I think what they mean by a rival is  a player of a comparable position with the the same relative talent level and accomplishments....Wilt vs Russell, Magic vs Bird, Magic vs Isiah, The great 3 90s centers( Hakeem vs Ewing vs Robinson) Shaq vs Duncan, KG vs Dirk

 

[johnnyhardaway]

Originally Posted by PMatic

The battles between Kobe and Ray Allen since Allen spoke his mind about the Shaq trade. 

 

[ldj]

Originally Posted by Mister Friendly

Yeah I think what they mean by a rival is  a player of a comparable position with the the same relative talent level and accomplishments....Wilt vs Russell, Magic vs Bird, Magic vs Isiah, The great 3 90s centers( Hakeem vs Ewing vs Robinson) Shaq vs Duncan, KG vs Dirk

funny thing the same applies to mj, they both came in the league in that weird position where the greats of the prior era are on the decline and the future greats havent reached their greatness yet. Shaq was in that same boat as well his peak, akeem, ewing, etc... were in they latter years and yao was injure riddled, and all the other bigs of his era just didnt make it.

 

[crazy dav0]

KB 8 was such a problem ...

 

[Air273]

TD did more with less, i could get into more detail why TD has the better career, dont have time for that i'll just post a few facts
2 time MVP
one of 4 players to win 3 finals MVPs(MJ, Magic, Shaq)....award before Russell's time

 

[lubu1]

Lebron has no rival. Wade has no rival. Chris paul has no rival. Deron williams has no rival. Dwight HAS NO rival. What people fail to see is, you don't want anyone to be on your level. When you have no indiviual rival, then the entire league becomes your rivals because you want that damn ring. You don't want or need to like anybody because you will go through EVERYONE to get your rings. And thats what matters. Forget that 1 on 1 basketball because it clearly doesn't work. Its team vs team.