Just as players/careers ..... Who is better Kobe or Duncan?

[RetroVK]

Leaving the off the court stuff out of this thread for a serious discussion of pure basketball merits. I am pretty sure we know who wins the better human comparison anyway so it is pointless. Go

 

[RetroVK]

I think you can make a case for Duncan as greatest Power Forward of all-time.... the question being how many years is he considered a PF and how many years is he considered a Center.

 

[nbafan88]

I don't really know how you could compare the two. They are both top 25 all time greats.

 

[RetroVK]

Yup obviously the cross-positional aspect is difficult to compare since the skill sets are different. Can you name another power forward in the history of the league who was the focal point for a team as successful as the spurs have been though? It has pretty much been a Center's league and now a Guard's league. I can't really think of another PF that was the key cog to winning championships and with the regular season success of a Duncan-led-spurs. I think that makes him somewhat special. There are the Magic's, Lebron's, Wade's etc etc we can draw parallels to kobe with but we really don't have a comparative PF to Duncan in my opinion.

 

[nbafan88]

No. IMO Duncan is the best at his position of all time. I don't think you could find two players that transcended generations like Kobe and TD have done. They both have adapted their games to survive in the league. Truly exceptional.

 

[reNew Orleans]

http://www.cappingthegame.com/forum...-simmons-duncan-best-player-of-his-generation

 

[Lareux]

Kobe and it's not even close. Duncan is the best PF of all time too, but Kobe is all around a much better athlete, so has to be the better player. They just asked this recently, may have been on NBA TV, there were 3 former players on the panel who played against/with both Kobe and Duncan. Every one of them said it was Kobe and said it wasn't even up for discussion (and they all also agreed that Duncan is probably best PF of all time).

 

[divol]

You can't compare two absolutely different positions...

But, if one had to make a choice, I think that Kobe is the obvious answer.

Kobe is discussed in questions like is he the best player of all times and Duncan is discussed in questions like is he the best PF of all times...

 

[KowboyKarl]

Definitely Kobe, but, Duncan great as well... I think divol sums it up. Kobe is brought up in greatest player at any position of all-time discussions while Duncan is brought up in greatest PF of all-time discussions (and I think I personally might go with Karl Malone there), but, Duncan never is in greatest player of all-time discussions.

 

[crawdads]

I don't really know how you could compare the two. They are both top 25 all time greats.

Top 25?

 

[RetroVK]

No one seriously believes that Kobe belonged in that discussion of best of all-time though ... and I think in the case of Kobe that as time passes so will most of that discussion. It seems that a lot of the press and the fans and the league are so vested in wanting to see the best of all-time that they lose sight of just enjoying players for who they are ... Isaiah(SP?) Rider, Penny Hardaway, Kobe Bryant, Lebron before he was even a professional ..... all were talked about as the next Jordan or the next great one. Kobe was and for the most part still is a great player but I think as we get distance from his best basketball ( He will be back and playing ), I think those discussions disappear. Lebron hasn't yet accomplished half of what Kobe has and yet people are already saying that he has surpassed Kobe... it is the nature of modern culture living in the moment. I am not sure how you can give the nod to Karl Malone over Tim Duncan though. If Malone were in the East during the Jordan/Piston years then I would be more inclined to give him a pass ( As I do for Patrick Ewing ) but he hardly could even navigate the West and that was with a half of fame point guard and a hall of fame head coach ( Not to mention Honracek !!! ).

 

[Mo]

Kobe

 

[J Galt]

Kobe

 

[Toronto_Mike]

Kobe can create
Duncan is fundamentally sound, I'd like to see how Duncan would play if he had another coach? Part of Spurs success is Popp, each year we see how Popp installs a system that works best for what he's got

 

[RetroVK]

Hard to argue with what the triangle offense produces for the two guard position too, tmike

 

[nbafan88]

"No one seriously believes that Kobe belonged in that discussion of best of all-time though ... and I think in the case of Kobe that as time passes so will most of that discussion."



So what you are saying is that once Kobe has left the game, the general public will feel that he is wasn't as good as the general public feels right now or in years past?

 

[Lexington 125]

Kobe