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So anyway it’s time to move on um because a couple of other things I want to get to before I get to your tweets as well there are few NBA players that I hold in higher regard than my boy Hall of Famer Allen Iverson um I’ve said this on many occasions he
Actually gets mad at me when I say this but it’s true I wouldn’t be where I am today if it were not for him um when you are in this business that I’m in it helps to have somebody to talk about and as nightmarish as he made my
Vacations on far too many occasions because he always got his ass in trouble when I was on vacation it was never when I was working when I was working he he played basketball and there would just be stuff that happened in the locker room or something but every single
Incident that he gotten into off the court is when I was on vacation I mean he was just famous for it it was just automatic I I couldn’t catch a break I I always mess with him for that because he always mess with me on my vacations but
Everybody knows that that he’s like my little brother I love him to death and um you know that don’t mean we always agree just like I said about my man Ryan Clark and Alan arvon opened his mouth and dare I say said something that was Blasphemous Blasphemous he’s being interviewed by my
Former colleague at ESPN Rachel Nichols who I wish nothing but the best for by the way and her future endeavors and he recently gave his thoughts on who he believes to be the greatest players in NBA history Michael Jordan was number one no problem there totally agree with them I get it Allen
Iverson does he have LeBron James number two uh no does he have Kareem Abdul Jabar a 19 time Allstar six time Champion the six time MVP does he have him as number two uh no who does Alan Iverson have that’s number two all time in NBA history it’s Kobe Bryant ladies and
Gentlemen Kobe and I did not have the kind of relationship that Allan Iverson and I have was pretty damn close for a media member if you knew some of the conversations that Kobe Bryan and I shared with one another you’d realize we were friends that was my man
I miss him every day I I love him to death and I’m so sad every time his name comes up because I’m reminded of the fact that he’s gone G but never forgotten but Kobe Bryan is not the second greatest player in NBA history that’s just not true it’s just not it’s just
Not and the points per game didn’t equal LeBron’s the assists didn’t equal LeBron the rebounds didn’t equal LeBron’s the durability didn’t equal LeBron’s um he’s got more ranks but we can’t ignore the fact that the first three came with Shaq in his prime meaning the most dominant force of
Our era and next to Wilt Chamberlain one of the top two most dominant figures in the history of basketball that dude the 71 350 PB diesel okay The Big Aristotle that dude all of that that dude Shaq three of Kobe’s Rings came with chaq now Shaq didn’t win without him
Shaq didn’t win with Co with Penny Hardway and Nick Anderson and Dennis Scott Those Brothers he win the T title with them he didn’t win when he initially arrived in LA and it was Eddie Jones and Brothers it took Kobe I get it I get it
And Kobe on a mission to prove his worth wanting Shaq gone and wanting the Reigns handed over to him by the late great Dr Jerry bus took the bull by the horn was given a garbage team led the league in scoring ultimately won a league MVP
Award and all by the way in the process to doing all of that went to three consecutive NBA finals and went back-to- back titles in 09 and 10 beating Orlando with Dwight Howard and then ultimately Boston with kg Ray Allen perk Rondo Paul Pierce the truth shall
Make you free not set you free make you free that’s the truth I know who Kobe is I know who Kobe was I know what Kobe me me meant and will forever mean to the game of basketball and top 10 all time no doubt about it but he ain’t top two come on
Y’all Kobe Bryant was second place to Michael Jordan he tried like crazy to bmj to ultimately beat MJ but couldn’t do it MJ had six rings he had five I know it’s one more than LeBron LeBron didn’t have Shack as a teammate Kyrie and Kevin Love okay DW Bosch Ray Allen
Okay but you ought to also look at the totality Kobe was a menace he was a killer like AI said that’s why AI gave him that love because that Assassin’s mentality that’s what AI loved so much that’s what he kept alluding to that’s what he brought up when he Pro spoke
About his support for Kobe Bryant as the number two player of all time because that’s what Iverson relates to you know why because Iverson was a killer wasn’t scared of anybody I mean if there is a class that Allan Iverson could give I got news for you it is not just in crossover
Dribbling it’s encourage this brother was scared of nothing land of giants he was coming for you that was Ai and it’s quote during the sit down with Rachel Nichols he says I’ve never seen anybody as competitive as him as in Kobe but Mike you know when people talk about the best players in
The world I say Mike and then I say Kobe and then everybody else because Iverson is talking about that Killer Instinct and I get where Iverson’s coming from you know why ladies and gentlemen can I ask y’all a rhetorical question what if Kevin Durant had Iverson’s Killer
Instincts do you think he would only have two titles I don’t Kevin Durant first of all he would have won well we can’t say the three p because that was the Achilles because he would have won three p anyway they to Toronto Raptors and koala and it took
Him out four games if if Kevin Durant had never gotten hurt but let’s take out those two titles I’m telling you right now Kevin Durant would have at least four titles if he had Iverson’s Killer Instincts if the Kevin Durant we saw in that game five where he dropped 49
Against Milwaukee when Kyrie Irving went down about three years ago in the postseason if Kevin Durant had if that Kevin Durant showed up on a night in Night Out basis they’d have more titles that’s right I said it it’s the truth I’m not throwing any shade on Kevin Durant
Because he’s one of the great ones mad love and respect for him I’m simply talking about not so much a desire to do things the right way but a desire to kill to annihilate to destroy that’s Kevin Durant that’s the Kevin Durant I know and love that dude right there if he was
That person on a night in Night Out basis if he had Allan Iverson’s demeanor about scoring the basketball because Kevin Durant could do it in the Sleep imagine what he would be that’s that’s why I say stuff like that I understand exactly where Iverson is coming from but he’s not right when
He says Kobe Bryant Kobe Bryant could defend Kobe Bryant could play point Kobe Bryant could do it all but his signature was scoring and being an assassin and oh by the way as much as he could shoot wasn’t a better three-point shooter than LeBron if you look at the totality of LeBron’s
Career didn’t go to 10m finals wasn’t the complete overall package on both sides of the ball that LeBron James is as a playmaker not just a scorer Kobe could do it but it wasn’t hiso you cannot put him number two over LeBron you cannot put him number two
Over Kareem Abdul Jabar you just can’t now after that bottom line is this here’s the bottom line Kobe was number two to m J as a two guard and he might be number two as a Laker to Irvin Magic Johnson depending on who you ask because here’s the difference let’s
Say Shaq was with magic magic and Shaq wouldn’t have would not have had that on court relationship that Kobe and Shaq ended up having Shaq would have wanted to stay and Magic would have wanted him to stay and they’ have made it work leadership’s a part of it now Kobe evolved into being
A great leader because he was big on accountability let’s pump the brakes now when we call him number two all time can’t give him that I just can’t
37 Comments
Loved Kobe but he's not even top 5. My list
Jordan
Bill Russell
Kareem
Magic
LeBron
Bird
Olajuwon
Wilt
Duncan
Kobe
Isaiah Thomas
How a media dude gon tell someone who played all 3 of these guys he’s wrong nah wtf is the world coming too
It's funny that nba players put Kobe over lebron but casuals don't who do we go with hmmmmmm
« Wasn’t the complete overall package on both sides of the ball » I mean damm my guy Stephen A or you blind ?? You just put the screen with titles comparison of those two at the same moment you were saying that… the mamba as TWICE all defensive selections that ALL Lebron !!!! 12 to 6 and he still not the overall package ??
Kobe is times better than Lebron. Anybody who knows basketball knows that.
Steohen A smith is an idiot
Put a sock in it. What a bore👎
If lebron had kobe's heart he would have 8, 9 rings
Any time an argument for a playoff starts with numbers you know the fix is in.
He said 3 rings with Shaq but is ok with LBJ with Kyrie Kevin Love DWayde and Bosh. He’s also ok with Magic and Worthy Kareem in an era where there’s only 4 team that’s good. Be consistent man
We don’t want to hear that shit 😤 #KOBE #2
I can name ten player better than Kobe all-time. You get penalized if you cahse away the guy that can get you 3 more rings b/c you wanted to be THE man. You get penalized for intenytionally NOT passing the ball in the NBA finals and losing to the Pistons when you had Shaq (prime) gary payton and Karl Malone on your team. You get Penalized because you won the First 3 rings as being second fiddle to Shaq in his prime who was the Most dominant player I have ever seen . Shaq could easily have won 4 rings with AIlen Iverson, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Dwayne Wade, Grant Hill, Reggie Miller, etc. Kobe would NOT have won the first three as being THE MAN, No Way. He was Great, Kobe was a great player and he's in my top 12-15 but not my top ten. I base it NOT just on career but how great the players were for at least 5-7 year strecth. Here are some name in my top ten: Kareem, Jordan, Wilt, Magic, Bird, Duncan, Lebron, Shaq, Russell, Hakeem, ( guys I didn't see that may need to be in top ten include Jerry West, Julius Erving, and Guys that may get in the top 15 soon are Jokic and Giannis, now here come Wemby (too early to tell but wow).
The Lakers actually wasted some of Kobe's most prolific years as a pro filling the team with a bunch of bums.
Kwame Brown and Smush Parker like names🤦🏾♂️
Kobe could've potentially ended his career with the same amount of rings or more than Jordan has.
People can rank any great wherever they want without it being "BLASPHEMOUS". People can have Lebron, Kareem, Magic, Bird, Russell, Shaq or even Duncan at number 2 and have a solid argument. There is no official way of evaluating the greatness of a player, it all depends on what we value most : scoring, IQ, athleticism, clutchness, even personnality.
I know its Stephen A's job to create talking points, but sometimes being so adamant shows disrespect. I think this is one of those times.
So Kobe is underappreciated because he played with Shaq but Jordan had Pippen for all his titles and Rodman for a few of them 😂
And Jordan aint win no titles without Pippen but Kobe did win without Shaq twice🤷🏾♂️
We aint saying Kobe is the Goat but I do believe for some reason people seem to slight Kobe and maybe that has something to do with his persona but the greats who played rank him near Mj and usually say exactly what Iverson said about him in comparison to the greats.
Lebron rings came with dwade and bosh. What are we talking about ? Let add Ray Allen . That’s why ppl use the work hate . You make no sense
Blasphemy and Kobe in the same sentence is why ppl say you’re hating . Kobe was and still is the closest thing to MJ
Dude contradicted himself this the same guy that made another video about Rashad McCants on Gil podcast taking offense to his opinion and what he said but then Steven is going at AI for him saying Kobe is number 2 GTFOH Kobe is number 2 go cry a river some more imagine if they never vetoed that Chris Paul trade how many rings Kobe would have that should tell you how much of a beast Kobe was that they had to do that that said it ain’t Lebum 6 losses on his resume team hopping being selfish flopping etc NOPE disqualified if AI opinion and view point is as you said blasphemous then you deserve what Rashad said about you and your opinion is blasphemous.
People and Stephen A seem to forget that Kobe was injured and missed a lot more time than Lebron, and after he won his 5, if Kobe stayed healthy, and had the teammates Lebron had when he actually won his titles, he could have won at least two more chips. Kobe is better than Lebron
Opinions and perspectives. Why is this a debate when it's all completely subjective?
Damn Right
Stephen A is a fool
Durability??? LOL
He actually is. When you score 81 points, you're the second greatest.
10 minutes and 50 seconds of nonsense
so dwade, chris bosh, ray allen isnt as good as shaq on a team? And kyrie, kevin love isn't anything as well? cmon now
My question is what makes bron better than kobe without going to stats. Because kobe was the better offensive player, better defender, more clutch, more heart, a killer, better leader, better handles. I can go on and on. SAS sound like a dude who don't know how to judge talent or character.
Mj Kobe Shaq… Ask NBA player.
yes he is
The hypocrisy is crazy. So Kobe didn't surpass MJ because he had 1 less championship. But Lebron having 1 less than Kobe doesn't matter? He keeps saying Kobe had Shaq for 3. But Lebron had the 3rd greatest shooting guard OF ALL TIME for 2.
Damm Steve you shocked me with this one am always on here defending you but it's 2024 you could of let Mr 24 go and let ai have that man and they way talking about how ai is crazy for evening saying that is disappointing RIP KOBE YOU MY #2 TO Then EVERYONE ELSE SHOUTOUT AI
Stopped at 3:43
I'm not even finishing this bs… You should be ashamed Stephen A…
MJ, Kobe then everyone else. Anyone who tries to downplay Kobe just doesnt watch basketball. Or possibly just wasnt born yet. Takes about "Career Totals" are bad ones.
Kobe beat the Celtics team that took LeBron, Wade, and Bosh 7 games to beat. LeBron had a top 75 player in Wade. Kobe didn't have any top 75 players. Didn't even have an All Star starter!! Just Pau, who was an All-Star reserve.
Now if LeBron is better than Kobe, tell me how Kobe beat the Celtics with FAR LESS talent than LeBron had on the Heat.
Proof is undeniable.
Stephen a smith you are talking nonsense because LeBron is a ring chaser
You're right, it is blasphemous. Kobe Bryant is #1 all-time and I said that before he passed. He's the most skilled player of all-time. Better handle, 3-point shooter, footwork and overall skill than Jordan. Even making unbelievable shots in single to triple coverage. You're also acting like Lebron didn't chase rings and have loaded teams everywhere he went. So it does matter that Kobe has more rings than Lebron. Kobe has won more championships with less than Lebron and Jordan had, especially in his last two championships. Look at the team he had that beat the Celtics. He also did it with a broken finger on his shooting hand. Please just stop, it's disrespectful.
Just the fact that Kobe made 9 first team defense & 3 second team should hold him much higher in the media but we all know their narrative.