January 7, 201610 yr Can't choose West because he was long before my time. Can't choose Kareem because while he was clearly dominant, the end of his career just seemed like a guy trying to accumulate. When you ask Joe Fan for the best big of all time, most would name 4 or 5 before even getting to him, so he is out. Kareem shot 56% 53% 47% his last three years against a career 55% Kobe has shot 42% 37% 34% his last three years against a career 44%...and you say Kareem was just accumulating? Granted Kobe got hurt in 2 of those seasons...but he looks more like the guy trying to "Get his" than Kareem did. Anyone that doesn't consider Kareem a top 3 Center (head to head argument can be made that he was the best over Wilt or Russell), was either born after 1980 or blind.
January 7, 201610 yr Author Wilt Chamberlain? He played there for 5 years. :idunno: Elgin Baylor, for several reasons, only played 7 full seasons there. Missed a lot of games due to injury, but certainly was a stud when healthy.
January 7, 201610 yr Author Kareem shot 56% 53% 47% his last three years against a career 55% Kobe has shot 42% 37% 34% his last three years against a career 44%...and you say Kareem was just accumulating? Granted Kobe got hurt in 2 of those seasons...but he looks more like the guy trying to "Get his" than Kareem did. Anyone that doesn't consider Kareem a top 3 Center (head to head argument can be made that he was the best over Wilt or Russell), was either born after 1980 or blind. I'm neither of those, so I guess there has to be a 3rd option. I'd take Olajuwon over him. I realize Kareem averaged 24 and 11 for his career, and Hakeem only averaged 22 and 11, but I'd still feel good about my selection.
January 7, 201610 yr What does Best Laker mean? -Most Talented -Most Dominant -Most Athletic -Best Leader -Best Teammate -Most Iconic -Best Scorer -Most Prolific Winner Depends on how you want to evaluate it...you could go with any of the Top 4.
January 7, 201610 yr Kareem shot 56% 53% 47% his last three years against a career 55% Kobe has shot 42% 37% 34% his last three years against a career 44%...and you say Kareem was just accumulating? Granted Kobe got hurt in 2 of those seasons...but he looks more like the guy trying to "Get his" than Kareem did. Anyone that doesn't consider Kareem a top 3 Center (head to head argument can be made that he was the best over Wilt or Russell), was either born after 1980 or blind. Agreed. And I have never bought into the story of Russell being a "great" center. He was a good center (very good defensively, average/limited offensively) on a great TEAM. If you look at individual matchups, Chamberlin completely dominated Russell head to head when they met...his TEAM just wasn't as good. Everyone points to his 10-11 rings (can't remember off the top of my head which it is). Well, Steve Kerr has several rings too, but I don't hear anyone touting him as one of the greatest 2 guards ever in the league.
January 7, 201610 yr I'm neither of those, so I guess there has to be a 3rd option. I'd take Olajuwon over him. I realize Kareem averaged 24 and 11 for his career, and Hakeem only averaged 22 and 11, but I'd still feel good about my selection. Olajuwon is one of my 3 favorite players of all time...but Kareem was better...both in their prime would have been fun to watch but Kareem could take over and dominate a game offensively in ways Hakeem just didn't or couldn't. But we can just disagree on it.
January 7, 201610 yr I'm neither of those, so I guess there has to be a 3rd option. I'd take Olajuwon over him. I realize Kareem averaged 24 and 11 for his career, and Hakeem only averaged 22 and 11, but I'd still feel good about my selection. To me, at each of their peaks (Kareem and Hakeem) Kareem was the more dominate player, and personally I don't think it's all that close. With that said, Hakeem was a great player and one of the best at his position ever and brought a dimension rarely...maybe even never seen at the center position before he arrived.
January 7, 201610 yr Olajuwon is one of my 3 favorite players of all time...but Kareem was better...both in their prime would have been fun to watch but Kareem could take over and dominate a game offensively in ways Hakeem just didn't or couldn't. But we can just disagree on it. ^^^Great minds think alike^^^
January 7, 201610 yr Kareem is the greatest, but my dad says he didn't work hard enough on defense. And he says that lots of times, he didn't even run down court. And that he didn't really try, except during the playoffs. Joey, have you ever been in a... in a Turkish prison?
January 7, 201610 yr Magic. Intangibles are a HUGE part of a player. If you have a great PG with intangibles, your really good team can go to historic. That's what Magic made Showtime. Additionally, he did leave the NBA as the All time leader in assists. He had 138 career triple doubles, second only to Oscar's stupid 181. He left (I AM NOT COUNTING 1995-96) over 20 plus ppg, 7 rebounds, 11.2 assists...those are all time great #s .
January 7, 201610 yr This is a super hard question. For reference I never got to watch Jerry West play but I did watch Kareem and Magic growing up and we all know how I feel about Kobe. That being said...... I go with Kobe. Out of all them he did more with less at one point. He went to the NBA Finals with Pau Gasol as his right hand man. He's arguably the best athlete to ever wear the purple and gold and he is easily the better athlete amongst these four choices. Kobe is the best scorer out of all of them and arguably the best defender out of all of them. If Kobe doesn't have the first 15 years of his career where he was hated then I bet Kobe wins this argument. Too many people just started liking him this year. Magic had Kareem, Worthy, Byron Scott, AC Green, Rambis and Michael Cooper coming off the bench, Mychal Thompson and Jamaal Wilkes as teammates while he was there winning titles. I also think his career being cut short makes a slight difference. It would be easier for me to choose Magic had he played a couple of more years. What's really crazy is saying that overall Kareem is a better player Han Kobe but not a better Laker. :lol2: I believe this to be true. In the first few titles, Magic's cast wasn't that great. Kareem was the centerpiece in '80 and '82. But the help was Norm Nixon, Jim Chones, Landsberger, a crippled Kupchek, and a very youthful Cooper.
January 7, 201610 yr Magic has 5 titles. These are are the Hall of Famers he played with: Kareem Spencer Haywood Jamaal Wilkes Bob McAdoo James Worthy Kobe has 5 titles. These are the Hall of Famers he has played with. Dennis Rodman Mitch Richmond Karl Malone Gary Payton Soon to be Shaq
January 7, 201610 yr Wilt Chamberlain? Elgin Baylor? Yeah, I know, I'm old! Elgin is too often overlooked. But no titles hurts the discussion for some. Wilt was at the end of his career in the Lakers days and really was not the scoring option of the team when he was there.
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