Blue is Me

Tag: goat

  • Why do people think that Lebron self-proclaimed himself as the GOAT takes him out of the “GOAT” conversation?

    To be real here, it’s because many people don’t want Lebron to be GOAT so they will have any reason to disqualify him from that conversation.

    I’ve seen this graphic posted many times. But Muhammed Ali literally popularized the term GOAT for himself. And to add on to that, other players like Wayne Gretzky called himself “The Great One” and nobody had issues with it.

    So lets be real here… whether Lebron called himself the GOAT or not, people won’t have him in the GOAT conversation because they dislike him and they will think of any reason to discredit him and any reason to take him out of the conversation. Calling himself the GOAT is just ammo to use, but if he didn’t they will find other sources of ammo to use as well.

    PS: I know Quora is full of relatively intelligent people so Lebron does not get as much hate here as in other social media platforms. You see that 38.4k likes on that instagram post? that’s where the majority of NBA casuals are and they believe stupid shit like this, it’s unfortunate that so much of the public is brainwashed into thinking Kobe is better or that Finals records are the end all be all to judge players but it is what it is. I’m just trying to do my part to try to clear up the mountains of BS designed to discredit Lebron out there.

  • Why isn’t Kareem ever mentioned much in the GOAT conversation for basketball?

    He is.

    Image

    It’s Bron haters that have no sense of basketball knowledge or history that think he’s never mentioned and bring up something like ‘Kareem had all these longevity records and was never considered the GOAT so why should Bron be?’ well Kareem WAS considered the GOAT for many years up until recently – at his 1989 retirement ceremony he was considered the GOAT and referred to as such. After Jordan won 6 titles, Kareem began to appear less in the GOAT conversation but was still considered a worthy #2 all time after Jordan and still in the GOAT conversation until Lebron started being mentioned in the GOAT conversation after his 2016 win against the Warriors.

    And yes Kareem’s GOAT case has always been his longevity combined with his 6 mvps and 6 championships. That’s a pretty strong GOAT argument. Bron overtook most of Kareem’s records though, and that’s why Kareem has been mentioned less and less in recent years, but historically, he was mentioned in the GOAT argument quite often so the premise is wrong.

  • Why don’t people consider Kobe the Goat, compared to Lebron or Jordan?

    Unfortunately, a good portion of casual NBA fans do consider Kobe the goat.. but he shouldn’t be in that convo at all.

    I can break down several reasons why:

    • Kobe has less MVPs than Jordan or Lebron. Jordan has 4 more and Bron has 3 more.
    • Kobe has less FMVPs than Jordan or Lebron. Jordan has 4 more and Bron has 2 more.
    • Kobe has less PPG than Jordan or Lebron. Jordan averages 5 more PPG and Bron averages 2 more PPG.
    • Kobe has less RPG than Jordan or Lebron. Jordan averages 1 more RPG and Bron averages 2 more RPG.
    • Kobe has less APG than Jordan or Lebron. Jordan averages 1 more APG and Bron averages 2 more APG.
    • Kobe has less FG% than Jordan or Lebron. Jordan and Lebron both average 5% more FG% than Kobe (this is a massive difference).
    • Kobe has has less playoffs PPG than Jordan or Lebron. Jordan averages 8 more PPG in the playoffs and Lebron 3 more PPG in the playoffs.
    • Kobe has less 30 PT and 35 PT Finals games than Jordan or Lebron.
    • Kobe has less 30 PT and 35 PT playoff games than Jordan or Lebron.
    • Kobe has 1 Finals out of 7 averaging over 30+ PPG. Compared to 5 Finals for Jordan and 3 Finals for Lebron.
    • Kobe has 3 Finals out of 7 where he performed poorly (2000, 2004, 2008). Jordan has 1 Finals out of 6 (1996) and Bron has 2 Finals out of 10 (2007, 2011) where they performed poorly.
    • He blew a 3–1 lead in the playoffs; something Bron and Jordan have never done
    • He averages 22 PPG in elimination games – this is below a long list of other superstars including Jordan and Lebron (who are #2 and #1 in this category respectively)
    • He is #19 all time in playoffs PPG. Jordan is #1 all time and Bron is #6 all time.
    • He has always needed an all star big man + Phil Jackson to win. Bron and Jordan have won without all star big men.
    • He is #64 all time in WS/48. Jordan is #2 all time and Bron is #9 all time.
    • He is #29 all time in PER. Jordan is #2 all time and Bron is #3 all time.

    See.. all these reasons is why graphics like this make no sense, he doesn’t belong with Jordan or Lebron at all

    ^ and why nobody should take anybody who thinks Kobe is #2 after Jordan all time seriously. Their arguments for Kobe being over Lebron are basically Kobe has more rings, has ‘killer instinct’, more loyal, had more regular season scoring ‘explosions’, more skilled, better work ethic, better highlights, more quotes from NBA players etc all of which are flawed, misleading arguments or based on something totally subjective.

  • Why do so many Lebron fans think he is better than Kobe when former and current NBA players all say Kobe was better?

    Well, because it isn’t true. Most former and current NBA players do not think Kobe is better than Lebron.

    This is a delusion that Kobe fans seem to have. A lot of Kobe fans always point out to me that NBA players all say Kobe is better than Lebron but I’m like.. who? Which players? Show me the evidence.

    Charles Barkley?

    https://basketnews.com/news-185638-charles-barkley-shares-his-take-on-the-nba-goat-debate.html

    Barkley said – and I quote – MJ, Kareem and Bron were the best players of their eras and you cannot compare eras. Don’t see anything about Kobe there.

    Larry Bird?

    https://basketnews.com/news-202058-larry-bird-lebron-is-one-of-the-greatest.html

    Bird said Lebron is ‘possibly’ the greatest ever. The quote Kobe fans often link to him where he said he’d ‘rather play with Kobe’ comes from an outdated 2012 interview where in the same interview he told Bill Simmons Lebron was ‘easily’ the most dominant player at that time.

    Michael Jordan?

    https://www.si.com/nba/lakers/news/michael-jordan-says-kobe-bryant-couldve-beaten-him-one-on-one

    Jordan only said that Kobe ‘could have’ beaten him 1v1 because he ‘stole’ all his moves. So this says nothing about whether he thought Kobe was better than Lebron or not.

    Shaq?

    https://www.marca.com/en/basketball/nba/los-angeles-lakers/2023/02/08/63e341aa268e3e313a8b45f8.html

    Shaq called Bron the GOAT after he broke Kareem’s record

    Paul Pierce?

    https://www.complex.com/sports/a/backwoodsaltar/paul-pierce-calls-lebron-james-the-goat

    Pierce said Lebron was GOAT after Bron broke Kareem’s record

    Allen Iverson?

    https://www.si.com/nba/2023/02/20/allen-iverson-picks-nba-goat-lebron-james-michael-jordan

    “LeBron, I think, to me is the best overall basketball player that we’ll ever see. If you look in the dictionary and look up basketball player, there’ll be a picture of LeBron.

    Giannis?

    https://basketnews.com/news-196492-giannis-antetokounmpo-claims-lebron-james-is-nba-goat.html

    Giannis called Lebron his GOAT.

    Kevin Durant?

    https://www.si.com/nba/lakers/news/kevin-durant-labels-lebron-james-nba-goat-ahead-of-primetime-matchup-ak1987

    KD called Lebron his goat as well.

    Current NBA players?

    https://www.si.com/nba/bulls/news/michael-jordan-voted-as-the-goat-in-an-anonymous-player-poll

    Lebron is far ahead of Kobe in the GOAT poll voted on by current NBA players.

    So tell me Kobe fans, where are you getting this ‘NBA players all pick Kobe over Lebron’ stuff from? outdated quotes from 10+ years ago?

  • What was Kobe Bryant’s impact on basketball?

    He’s definitely one of the most popular players ever – either #1 or #2 after Jordan. I think he may be even more popular than Jordan because Jordan opened up basketball globally and Kobe really peaked in the era where China was getting into basketball after Yao Ming and Kobe’s popularity skyrocketed there in the most populated country. Certainly more people around the globe have watched Kobe play than Jordan play as basketball was a more global sport during Kobe’s era.

    He also inspired an entire generation of players with his hard work ethic and ‘mamba mentality’ – every player from Kyrie Irving to Devin Booker to Jayson Tatum have credited Kobe with some kind of inspiration.

    That said, I’ve always been rather perplexed about Kobe’s legacy because of how popular he is in addition to his sudden and tragic passing, he really is probably the most overhyped and overrated player I’ve ever seen.

    So I’m posting this on “Mamba Day” (8/24)

    This is a day where every sports page posts Kobe highlights and moments and praises him like no tomorrow – one day after Kobe’s bday, another day where everyone posts about Kobe. Then Kobe gets anniversaries for all his greatest moments – 81 points, sinking FTs on a torn achilles, heck even a minor non basketball moment like Matt Barnes shoving a ball in his face gets remembered every year:

    See how this is getting ridiculous? No one other player I’ve seen gets this much hype almost constantly for even the smallest things.

    Don’t forget NBA 2K labeling an entire era the ‘Kobe era’ even though Shaq/Duncan won more rings as the best player during that era (predictably, everyone online ignores that and instead complains that Curry doesnt get his own era with Lebron):

    And if I point out that everyone overhypes and glazes Kobe all the time, I get called ‘Kobe hater’ and ironically I get called ‘Bronsexual / Bron glazer’ because I defend Lebron from all this ridiculous hate, slander and misinformation about Lebron online. Yet for Kobe nobody says anything when he literally gets praised all the time by everybody, he gets the all the credit whenever he wins, and his teammates get all the blame or there’s excuses about injuries etc whenever he loses. It’s pretty infuriating sometimes.

    I mean, this is a guy that a lot of people put in the GOAT convo all the time – or right behind Jordan all time.. yet he gets none of the scrutiny Lebron gets.

    So yeah this is the real problem I have with Kobe’s legacy: He’s one of the top 10–15 greatest players of all time if you objectively look at his career, yet virtually everyone online thinks he’s a top 5 player ever because all you see online is endless praise about him and highlights from his best moments while never talking about his negative moments or his failures. It’s one of the most lopsided appraisals of an athlete I’ve seen in any sport. The amount of adulation Kobe gets is close being a demi-god or something.

    Just to show you some of the double standards between Lebron and Kobe online I’ll illustrate it via memes (the language that casuals online can understand):

  • What do you think of the statement, “The GOAT in basketball should have won more than 50% of the times he went to the finals” as a retort to people who claim Lebron is better than MJ?

    I find that kind of a dumb measurement. Finals records were basically made to discredit Lebron – I have been following basketball for most of my life and I have never heard Finals records being used until around 2014 because that’s when Lebron went to his 6th Finals and haters brilliantly decided to turn what normally would be an achievement for any other player (going to the Finals) into a stain on his resume instead.

    If Bron played in a weak conference like everyone says, then wouldn’t it logically make sense that he should be the underdogs in the Finals? The strongest team from the weak conference vs the strongest team from the strong conference.. who’s the underdogs here? So then logically, shouldn’t it follow that Bron should have a losing Finals record because he was the underdog most of the time and thus not expected to win? That’s what I don’t get.

    Like.. this year Bron’s Lakers beat the Warriors against all odds (9 out of 12 ESPN analysts had the Warriors winning pre series) and then got swept by the Nuggets then everyone said Bron choked and got swept and I’m like.. why? He wasn’t supposed to make it there in the first place. And he was facing a 1 seed. Logically and probability wise it makes sense for him to lose, so why does he get more hate than Curry did for losing as the favorites? Its bizarre. Same with 2007, 2015, 2017, 2018. Those Finals he wasn’t expected to win and didn’t. It’s expected.

    Now, the better case for Michael Jordan to be the GOAT over Bron would be: Jordan has a lead of 2 rings, 1 MVP, 2 FMVPs, 9 scoring titles, DPOY over Bron. That’s a whole hall of fame career over Bron. So that argument makes sense. But using Finals records as the argument? No, it’s missing too much context to make any sense.