nebulous claim. name 'em. because the head coach of both flatly pointed to michael jordan. as did assistant tex winter.
kareem abdul jabbar has never said that. in fact, kareem abdul jabbar has said that elgin baylor was better than tobe.
jerry west has never said that. jerry west HAS said that AT ONE TIME he THOUGHT tobe had the POTENTIAL to be the best. that was more than a decade ago.
post a link to where elgin baylor said tobe was "the best [he] ever saw".
please.
Just my 2 cents
Forgive Jerry West for being biased. The man who brought Kobe Bryant to the Los Angeles Lakers recently called the high-scoring, high-maintenance guard the best player in the NBA. West made his preference clear with all due respect to Kevin Garnett, though the Hollywood logic behind his choice will likely spark debate in advance of tonight's Celtics-Lakers game at the Staples Center.
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2007/12/30/west_in_kobes_corner/
............................
Link to the rest of the article is above. (no he didnt say best EVER, but he is saying that Kobe is that guy right now like it or not)
Most players, coaches, NBA GMs, basketball experts, sports analysts, sports columnists, NBA announcers, celebrities and worldwide polls said Kobe is the best!
I personally think MJ is the GOAT..but like all records and accomplishments someone can and will come and wipe them away..who's to say that Kobe wont be that guy?
Funny thing is that whatever he does, Kobe haters will find a reason to reduce the accomplishment..win an MVP..its not enough..win a ring post Shaq not enough, etc etc..He will never be able to please the haters and wont ever do any wrong with his supporters.
As to the comment about Gasol, yes he has certainly made it easier for Kobe but last I checked he wasnt doing ish in Memphis..Gasol is having a career year, and the misconception that Kobe Bryant dose not make his teammates better can be put to rest.
After all, even if Gasol made Kobe better, Kobe has made Gasol equally better.
Funny how that is a two way street.
Players and coaches who have said Kobe is the best Some of them are old but the point is made..NBA players (who compete against the guy and dont really have a reason to lie) say he's the best. Coaches say he's the best. If you cant believe them on this who can you believe?
(Guys that have never played against him? Cats that never played int he L?)
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Players
Amare Stoudamire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_hJuAyQkpI...
Lebron James
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wRZmwfy3ms...
Coach Pop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liIYL7YcePI&NR=1
Charles Barkley (only God can stop Kobe Bryant)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4fmvnI08tQ&feature=related
"To me, the best player in the game is Kobe Bryant," said TNT analyst Doug Collins, a former NBA player and coach. "He has incredible physical skills. He has an incredible competitive will. If I had to win a game tomorrow, Kobe would be the first guy I picked on the perimeter."
http://youtube.com/watch?v=EfoMvvqeBvg&feature=related...
Dirk Nowitzki
This is from
http://www.insidehoops.com
InsideHoops.com: Other than yourself and any of your teammates, who are the official Dirk Nowitzki candidates for the league MVP?
Dirk Nowitzki: That's tough. LeBron certainly has a case in the East. On the Celtics, KG has had a great year.
And in the West, to me it's been Kobe, the way he's been scoring, really setting the tone every night for his team, and to me he's the best player in the league anyway, scoring-wise and all-around player. I'd probably give it to Kobe. Those three definitely deserve it.
Don Nelson
"I thought we did as good of a job as we could defensively on him and he's my vote for MVP. He's the best of the best and deserves the award more than, I think, anybody else and I hope he gets it. He's a marvelous player, makes everybody else better. There isn't anything that he doesn't do. He's a pretty sensational player, I have enjoyed watching him all these years and I have enjoyed coaching him in one All-Star game when he got MVP."
KOBE #1 PLAY OF THE YEAR
Al Thornton on Kobe:
“He’s as good as advertised, said Thornton. “He’s amazing. There’s nothing he can’t do out there on that basketball court. Without a doubt the best I’ve seen so far.
Ron Harper (Former MJ teammate) :
"Kobe is the best player in the NBA"
http://broadband.nba.com/cc/playa.php?co...
Newble, former teammate of LeHYPE just said Kobe is the best today LOL!
http://lakers.freedomblogging.com/2008/0...
Newble, the former Cleveland Cav, signed his 10-day contract Friday and immediately provided great material for reporters when
asked to compared LeBron James with Kobe Bryant.
“You know what? Kobe’s better, and if you ask LeBron, he’ll tell you Kobe’s better,” Newble said.
Deron Williams after the Utah- LA game:
"He's the best player in the world,"
http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/963/pu...
Shawn Battier:
“I saw how good Kobe was in my rookie year when I was in Memphis, Battier said. “Everyone makes a big deal out of his 81-point game against the Raptors. But he gave me personally about 63 in my rookie year — in three quarters. And no one really talks about it. He’s unbelievable. Unbelievable. All the praise that he receives, he earns.
“(Kobe) never shows frustration, Battier said. “He’s the only guy in the league. That’s why I respect the hell out of him. He keeps coming at you wave after wave, just attacking you. So against him, you have to attack from the tip to the buzzer. Because the second you let up and lose your focus, he’s got you.
http://blogs.chron.com/franblinebury/200...
Chris Kaman just said Kobe is the best!
"They're a good team. They have the best player in the world [Bryant] on their team," said the Clippers' Chris Kaman, who scored 14 points and had 11 rebounds, but had only four points after the first quarter.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?game...
Corey Maggette
He was interviewed last night after the game, and he said, (quote) "Kobe is the best player in the world."
Dirk Nowitzki just said again today that Kobe is the best!
"He took the game over, and he won it," said Nowitzki, who finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds.
"To me, he's the best player in the league. They're the best team right now, so he definitely deserves it the MVP."
http://sportsreport.freedomblogging.com/...
SHAQ HAS SAID IT AGAIN THAT KOBE IS THE BEST!
“Kobe’s the best player in the league right now,” O’Neal said of his former verbal sparring partner. “He’s playing fabulous.”
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/1...
Caron Butler just said Kobe is the best a few days ago:
"Kobe's the best in the game right now, hands down,"Butler said of his former Lakers teammate. "When a guy like that gets rolling, you are trying to stop one of the best players ever, and we weren't able to. He had good rhythm going and all the other guys were hitting shots as well.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/...
Pau Gasol said Kobe is the best a few days ago!
"He (Bryant) is a top-class player, the best in the NBA," Gasol told Spanish sports daily Marca on Saturday. "We can do great things together and form a great partnership."
Chris Bosh said Kobe is the best a few days ago:
"They will be tough to match. It will be something once they put that all together," Toronto's Chris Bosh said. "When you can put Bynum, Gasol and Odom out there, you have two shot blockers, three rebounders and then the best player in the league. So it will be very interesting to watch that come together and watch them play."
Said Szczerbiak: "He's Kobe. There's a reason why he's the best player in the NBA."
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/so...
Kenny Smith of Yahoo
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ks...
CHRIS BROUSSARD an ESPN columnist said Kobe is the best!
http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/ind...
This is a quote from Maurice Brooks from Race to MVP in nba.com
Bryant injured his groin last week against the Warriors, but he stayed in the game and played in the Lakers next contest against the Clippers. The Lakers are playing their best ball of the season, having won five of their last six. Is this the season that the best player in the league finally wins the MVP?
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Aj...
Kobe Bryant: The best player in basketball.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?...
3. Kobe Bryant, Lakers guard -- Surprise, surprise. Kobe Bean has never won an MVP, and this year won't be any different, even though he's generally recognized as the game's best player at both ends of the floor. He's found a way to nurture and develop his teammates while still managing to score 27.7 points per game, second in the NBA. His production figures to pick up with the loss of Andrew Bynum for at least seven more weeks.
"He's the most electrifying, the best scorer in our game," Cleveland superstar LeBron James said. "He has won championships and he has made big shots throughout his career. Kobe Bryant is the best player in our league, to me
"I'm far away."
"I just think he's the best player in this league because of what he does on both ends of the court," said Hornets Coach Byron Scott, who is coaching the Western Conference All-Stars and played with Bryant in Bryant's rookie season, 1996-97. "I think offensively, there's nobody that can really guard him. Defensively, he loves the challenge of guarding the best guys on the (other) team."
"Kobe," Jazz forward Carlos Boozer said, almost before the who's-the-best question could be completed. "Kobe Bryant. He has everything offensively, and he has everything defensively. He has no flaws.
"If there's a guy in this league that doesn't have any flaws, it'd be Kobe."
if not players, coaches and GM's.
