Original poster, you talk like you are in the 1% and everyone is against you. This is a very tough debate and I imagine the vote would be split. Kobe road Shaq's coattails to three championships rings, but Kobe was very young back then and he improved tremendously over the course of his career. In his absolute prime he didn't have much help, and then of course he got two more rings when Gasol, Bynum, and Artest were all playing at very high levels. In the meantime Duncan was a model of consistency his entire career, but he had great teams surrounding him for his championships as well. No single player can win a championship alone, so it's hard to use "# of rings" as a solid basis for one being better than the other.

In the end, this is a team game and it's extremely hard to compare players, especially players at two different positions.

I think if you asked NBA coaches who they would rather have for 10 years, the majority would prefer Duncan. Offense, defense, leadership, demeanor. He is amazing in all categories. I think if you asked the same coaches when they are going into a game 7 of the finals, coaches would take Kobe. Like I said before, it's so hard to compare. Don't try to argue that Duncan is definitely better than Kobe and there is no argument, or you will sound as incompetent as those who say the same thing about Kobe.