Kobe's GOAT Case

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Kobe is the 2nd greatest player of all time imo but only because he learned from Michael Jordan. If it weren't for that, I would have said he is the GOAT. But I still believe he has a case for GOAT. Yes, even over Michael Jordan.

Celebrating Kobe Bryant

Any GOAT list with Kobe in the top 5 let alone in the top 2 is met with a lot of criticism due to media false narratives. This post will hopefully lay out very simply and concisely why Kobe has a case for GOAT.

If you would like to make the GOAT case for your favorite player, let me know so that I may add you as a contributor.

The formula is...
Offensive dominance + Defensive dominance + 3 1B rings + 2 Alpha rings + Tough playoff competition = GOAT

We'll go through each component one by one. 
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1. Offensive dominance

Kobe's offensive ability speaks for itself. He averaged 40 ppg in a month four times, second to only Wilt. He outscored a team by himself over three quarters. He dropped 81 on Jalen Rose. Harden's amazing scoring feats this season and last are not something we haven't seen before. Kobe's 2003, 2006, and 2007 seasons were equally if not more impressive. Teams average 110 points today. When Kobe played, it was 97.
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2. Defensive dominance

Kobe had the defensive dominance of an Andre Iguodala/Thabo Sefolosha/Robert Covington type player. He has so many more defensive teams than those guys so does that mean those were undeserved. No! It's important to remember Kobe is a guard. There is less competition at the guard position for all-defensive teams. Also it is important to remember Kobe defended at the level of these player comps or close to it while dropping 60 on the other end. 


The video shows young Kobe's clutch defense in Game 7 of the 2000 WCF to avoid elimination. 
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3. 3 1B Rings

Kobe was not carried by Shaq. He won 3 rings as the 1B option. There were about three or four series where Kobe was as dominant as Shaq during the three-peat run. He was more dominant than Shaq in the 2001 WCF against the Spurs where he had one of his all time great performances. 

Shaq was more dominant than Kobe in every playoff series in 2000, but even then Kobe was not carried. He was more dominant than Shaq in Game 7 of the WCF against the Trail Blazers. And then in Game 4 of the Finals, he took over in overtime after Shaq fouled out to give the Lakers a 3-1 lead. 

Shaq claimed he carried Kobe back in the day when they were beefing. But he knows just how good Kobe was. He are some of the things he's said. 
O'Neal referred to Bryant as "[his] idol" and "the best player in the league, by far" following a victory in Game 1 of that year's Western Conference Finals.[53]
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4. 2 Alpha rings

Kobe won two rings by himself. Yes, he had a great team around him but he was in the wild, wild West and he was the lone superstar. Both championship runs as well as the 2008 playoff run are among the top in all time great scoring playoff performances.
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5. Tough playoff competition

Kobe played and beat the most 50-win teams in NBA history. No, he didn't beat a 73-win team like LeBron which is amazing and so on and so forth but we also have to give credit to Kyrie (30/4/4 over last 5 games) for cooking Klay and Steph non-stop in that series.

Here are some of the great players Kobe had to deal with in the playoffs.

  • Scottie Pippen (end of career)
  • Rasheed Wallace (prime)
  • Ben Wallace (prime)
  • Chauncey Billups (prime)
  • Tim Duncan (prime)
  • Paul Pierce (late prime)
  • Ray Allen (late prime)
  • Dirk Nowitzki (prime)
  • Dwight Howard (prime)
  • Steve Nash (prime)
  • Amare Stoudemire (prime)
  • Deron Williams (prime)
  • Carlos Boozer (prime)
  • Andrei Kirilenko (prime)
  • Carmelo Anthony (prime)
  • Allen Iverson (prime)
  • Manu Ginobili (prime)
  • Tony Parker (prime)
  • David Robinson (end of career)
  • Karl Malone (late prime)
  • John Stockton (late prime)
  • Jason Kidd (prime)
  • Chris Webber (prime)
and more...
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For these reasons, Kobe is the GOAT!!!

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