Let's face it: Kobe's overrated. Historically so.
To start with, here's Kobe's stat line from last night's NBA Finals Game Seven: 23 points (6-24 FG, 0-6 3-FG), 15 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 4 turnovers.
Jordan would never, ever have dropped that kind of nuclear stink bomb in a Game Seven, that's assuming the Best Ever would have allowed a Finals series to get to a Game Seven (he didn’t), or lose a Finals (he didn’t).
He also never missed the playoffs with the Chicago Bulls (I’m ignoring his time with the Wizards).
Bryant, on the other hand, missed the playoffs in his prime (the 2004-2005 season), one of only two times in the last 34 years the Los Angeles Lakers have missed the playoffs as a team. He has lost two NBA Finals opportunities.
As he pointed out, he’s won one more championship than Shaquille O’Neal. Which would be impressive if Shaquille O’Neal weren’t fat and lazy.
He also has one championship less than Scottie Pippen. Well, I suppose you could argue that Pippen had help, but the point needed to be made.
Perhaps you’ve been awed by Bryant’s past playoff performance?
Let’s compare his playoff numbers against Jordan’s and, for a similar player type (albeit smaller and different position), Allen Iverson (courtesy of www.basketball-reference.com ):
Michael Jordan: 33.4 PPG (48.7% FG), 6.4 RPG, 5.7 APG
Kobe Bryant: 25.5 PPG (44.8% FG), 5.2 RPG, 4.8 APG
Allen Iverson: 29.7 PPG (40.1% FG), 3.8 RPG, 6.0 APG
That’s right, someone who is in the conversation for greatest of all-time has scored four points-per-game less in the playoffs than All...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
