[Speedy88]

Listened to a great discussion on Mike and Mike on my way to work this morning. They had a really good discussion on who is the greatest player of this generation, Kobe Bryant or Tim Duncan.

Kobe has 5 championships (3 with Shaq, 2 on his own), and Duncan currently has 4 championships and is working on getting his 5th championship ring. Both players came into the league around the same time and both had great careers.

My lean would be to Kobe just because I don't think people realize how hard it is to average 30+ points for an entire season, and Kobe did it a few times. However, I don't think there is a right or wrong answer to this quesiton. Both players will go down in history possibly as top 10-15 players of all time.

[Bigitaly42]

Duncan. More league MVPs, more Finals MVPs, also Duncan has never lost in the Finals, when he gets there, he gets it done. Plus Kobe shoots an insane amount of shots per game to get to his 30 pts. He outshot Durant this year by a huge margin, but Durant is much more efficient with his shots. Duncan hands down.

[Speedy88]

Duncan. More league MVPs, more Finals MVPs, also Duncan has never lost in the Finals, when he gets there, he gets it done. Plus Kobe shoots an insane amount of shots per game to get to his 30 pts. He outshot Durant this year by a huge margin, but Durant is much more efficient with his shots. Duncan hands down.

Agree on a lot of your points, but making it to the NBA finals is better than not making it at all. Meaning the two years Kobe made it to the finals and lost is still better than all those seasons Duncan never even made it there.

Here are their career stats:

Kobe 25ppg, 5rpg, 4apg, 45% FG
Duncan 20ppg, 11rpg, 2bpg, 50% FG

[TehSharp]

Kobe but barely. If Duncan wins this season, he will surpass

[SparJMU]

I would vote Duncan by a small margin. Duncan is a better all around player. Kobe is the best scorer of our generation, and a top tier perimeter defender when he was in his prime. Duncan scores, passes, rebounds, defends, and leads. Kobe is more exciting, but Duncan is more consistent. And that is from a fan's perspective. If you asked the players and coaches who truly know best, "Which player would you rather have for the 10 best years of their prime?", Duncan would win in a landslide.

[shadymcgrady]

it's a tie on a microscale, but on a macroscale or looking back duncan is the leading candidate for best power forward ever while kobe is certainly not due to his airness.

while i think they are both the ultimate standards for players from the 2000s, building a team around a once in a generation shooting guard in kobe was alrdy done a la michael. building a championship team around a power forward however, was a first considering duncan didn't have stockton throughout his entire career like malone did.

[t-wizzle]

20 years from now when I look back on this era I will think of Kobe before anyone.

[shadymcgrady]

in terms of this generation it's splitting hairs considering both could get their numbers (20+ and 10+ for duncan and 25+ 5+ 5+ for kobe) even against the refs and still win while playing all world defense

[shadymcgrady]

20 years from now when I look back on this era I will think of Kobe before anyone.

and yet duncan will be the best PF of all time while Kobe isn't best SG but yeah like he said

[Speedy88]

and yet duncan will be the best PF of all time while Kobe isn't best SG but yeah like he said

But that is unfair. SG is one of the most loaded positions of all time, not to mention the greatest player of all time played the SG position. Who is the next best PF behind Duncan....Elgin Baylor? Shaq may not even be a top 3 Center, but his legacy is pretty similar to Duncan's, only problem is Shaq is competing with Chamerlain, Kareem, Russell and Olajuwon.

[convick]

and yet duncan will be the best PF of all time while Kobe isn't best SG but yeah like he said

Better than Malone? I dont think so. Only reason you consider him to be better is because he has 4 rings. Duncan played with a hell of a supporting cast most his career. Did Malone make Stockton or was it the other way around? Also, Malone really got a bad break playing his prime during the peak years of Jordan and Olajuwon.

Kobe - 7 Western Conference Titles. Duncan, only 4 (as of this moment).

[Speedy88]

Better than Malone? I dont think so. Only reason you consider him to be better is because he has 4 rings. Duncan played with a hell of a supporting cast most his career. Did Malone make Stockton or was it the other way around? Also, Malone really got a bad break playing his prime during the peak years of Jordan and Olajuwon.

Kobe - 7 Western Conference Titles. Duncan, only 4 (as of this moment).

No matter how you compare Malone to Duncan, Duncan will always be ahead of Malone because of the championship rings.

[Reedeman]

Duncan.

He got it done playing for a small market team in a league that caters to the big $$$ markets. If you look @ the favorable calls towards Kobe compared to Duncan throughout their careers, the results would be skewed towards the Lakers quite heavily..

David Stern on the ideal finals matchup: "I'd love to see the Lakers vs. the Lakers"

not hating, just stating

[PurpleJebus]

Wow, The mailman was a great player and one of the best. Better than Duncan not a chance. 0 rings alone proves that and Tim Duncan also has 3 finals MVP's with his 2 league MVP's.

[Roadtrip635]

Kobe is flashier, but i would rather take Duncan

13: Consecutive seasons to begin his career in which Duncan was named All-NBA and All-Defensive team, six more than anyone else in league history.


.702: The Spurs' winning percentage during the Duncan era, the best 15-year run by any NBA team in history.


0: Number of teams in the four major pro sports with a better winning percentage over the last 15 years than the Spurs.

[BigDofBA]

Kobe.

Next question.

[nux4thecup]

Kobe hands down. Pure scorer. Clutch.

[j37hr0]

Stockton made Malone. Karl didn't show up when it mattered. And I'm not just talking about the Jordan steal. There were playoffs against Seattle, Houston, Portland, where he wasn't the best player on the court. God I hate being a Jazz fan.

[RAVENSFAN]

Kobe.

Next question.

So Fckn THIS

[oldscho0led]

20 years from now when i look back on this era i will think of kobe before anyone.

this

[Speedy88]

Kobe will have more productive years than Duncan because he didn't go to college. I think you have to think of that as well when comparing the two.

[j37hr0]

Duncan didn't lose half his shit to his wife.

[lunchbawks]

Duncan for sure. It's unfair though because SA always has a great supporting cast

[migz]

Kobe will have more productive years than Duncan because he didn't go to college. I think you have to think of that as well when comparing the two.

Duncan also, I think he has 2 years left. Minimal regular season minutes makes Duncan effective in the playoffs.

[Speedy88]

Duncan also, I think he has 2 years left. Minimal regular season minutes makes Duncan effective in the playoffs.

Duncan is a shell of what he used to be right now. He hasn't had a great season since the 09-10 season. Kobe just finished second in scoring this year. Duncan's best years are behind him, Kobe still has at least 2 good years left.

[Bradyd]

Duncan is arguably the best PF of all time. Kobe, when not including Jordan, is arguably the best SG of all time. How could you go wrong with either??

[shadymcgrady]

But that is unfair. SG is one of the most loaded positions of all time, not to mention the greatest player of all time played the SG position. Who is the next best PF behind Duncan....Elgin Baylor? Shaq may not even be a top 3 Center, but his legacy is pretty similar to Duncan's, only problem is Shaq is competing with Chamerlain, Kareem, Russell and Olajuwon.

yes speedy, unfair is a correct assessment. i think the point that no one has made is that the NBA landscape is much different today than back then, namely the defense and what teams were allowed to get away with on defense. today's league is soft and offensively favored as opposed to the bad boys and the tough minded knicks, heat etc. keep in mind jordan did jordan despite the harder climate and while kobe is a once in a lifetime talent there is no way he'd last or stand up to that harsh scenario.

the other point to consider is that it is much harder today or in the 2000s to build a winning team around a big man like duncan or whoever versus a guard that scores. yet the spurs did just that and won, more than the stacked rockets with olajuwon or anyone other big man not named russell

[shadymcgrady]

and sir charles is the next best power forward in my opinion after duncan. funny how everyone wouldve mentioned KG back when he was on the timberwolves but now he's not even an afterthought since jumping ship to win in boston a la lebron james sans the decision

[lakerboy]

People forget duncan had robinson.

[lakerboy]

Also lakers pretty much owned Duncans teams in the playoffs.

[Bigitaly42]

People forget duncan had robinson.

People forget Kobe had Shaq. As far as Kobe being clutch, his lifetime numbers inside of the final minute...31 percent. Get off his dick people. Of course he has had a lot of game winners, because he is the ONLY player to touch the ball for his team in the last minute. Ultimate ballhog. Duncan is a team player, and makes his teams better, Kobe is a crybaby who tries to bail when he doesn't get his way (2007). Duncan and Popovich made Parker and Ginobili into the players they are today. Don't sit here and tell me Duncan has had better supporting casts. This coming from the world famous lakerboy who bets his team every night, and blindly follows with false hope for a team that was overachieving all year.

[riffraff24]

Why compare them in the first place? Guard vs PF? Who's better Tony Parker or Shaq? c'mon people.

[lakerboy]

People forget Kobe had Shaq. As far as Kobe being clutch, his lifetime numbers inside of the final minute...31 percent. Get off his dick people. Of course he has had a lot of game winners, because he is the ONLY player to touch the ball for his team in the last minute. Ultimate ballhog. Duncan is a team player, and makes his teams better, Kobe is a crybaby who tries to bail when he doesn't get his way (2007). Duncan and Popovich made Parker and Ginobili into the players they are today. Don't sit here and tell me Duncan has had better supporting casts. This coming from the world famous lakerboy who bets his team every night, and blindly follows with false hope for a team that was overachieving all year.

Lmao angry whop. People forget kobe had shaq? Are you slow? That's all people talk about. Shaq left the lakers ages ago. Duncan won 2 of 4 rings alongside Robinson. Kobe was the best player in the nba during his time.

[shadymcgrady]

Lets call a spade a spade here. Duncan was clearly the best player on the spurs by the time he won his 2nd title. Likewise kobe was clearly better than Shaq by the time the Lakers won their 3rd. The debate would be the repeat or 2nd laker title of which I believe was a fifty fifty split in terms of better player Shaq or kobe that yr. Obv the first maker title of the 3peat had Shaq as the best player on the team

[dmncnlou]

Kobe has played with 3 - 7'1 post players and one being a top 10 player of all time! Since Robinson retired Duncan has been playing on the frontline by his damn self for the past 7-8 years. Look at the trash Duncan played with along the frontline - Rasho Nesterovic and Nazi Muhammed.