Never said you did. Just wanted to put some context into the two counterexamples you provided.
NBA 2016-17
- Thread starter ArmchairCritic
- Start date
Nurkic is a beast, you're record with him is amazing plus all your players are getting back to their best, I don't think you will beat GSW in the playoffs but I do think you will give them a tough, grinding series. Especially if they are trying to integrate KD back into the fold,
Wait a minute, you're using padded numbers as an argument against LeBron when comparing him to Kobe?
Kobe spent a lot of his career trying to pad his own scoring stats, rather than being a team player. I love Kobe, but come on. Also, look at the Lakers without superstars surrounding Kobe. As @Eboue points out, that's nothing special really.
Your hatred towards LeBron really shines through, and it makes you look like a fool.
I don't understand why the Rockets aren't resting their players now. Their regular season is done anyway.
Jesus christ not this retarded "Kobe is better than Lebron" "Kobe is the GOAT" shit again.
LeBron is padding numbers but Kobe wasn't, I've heard it all now 
I wonder who the next face of the NBA will be once LeBron retires. There are a couple of guys like Leonard, Davis & co who are still young and already household names but not on the same level as previous great players. Everyone in Europe knew who Jordan, Kobe and LeBron were, even if you aren't into basketball. That's not gonna be the case with Leonard or Davis imo.
Other guys will become more popular once he retires. As long as he's active, he'll cast a shadow over the others.
Yeah we are still in the LeBron era for another 5 odd years at least, which is roughly the same time around when Davis could leave New Orleans..
He's the closest to being the next as of now for me.
Kawhi is great, but not that exciting, so I doubt it will be him.
Davis, probably. He has potential to be the best power forward of all time, IMO. And he is very exciting.
This. He's got the style of play and entertainment factor that would be very marketable. To make it better, he should replace LeBron at Cavs.
That's a bold claim... He's already 24, Duncan had won 2 rings by the time he was 26. I know you don't choose your team of course, but 5x champ, 15x all-star will take some doing to overtake. He's a lock for future MVP though and I agree he has the potential to be up there with the all-time great PFs, yeah.
So wrong with this post (coming from someone who likes Kobe more than James):
1) LeBron of last season could have won those titles Kobe did. LeBron of 2009-2010 probably not because he wasn't that experienced, and people learn by losing. Not even Jordan was winning titles when he was young.
2) Mentioning LeBron for padding stats (to be fair, he did it when he was at Miami) as an argument for LeBron < Kobe is ridiculous. Kobe has been doing it during his entire career.
3) That LA team was fine. Gasol is one of the best No.2 in history. Before he joined Lakers and after he left him, Kobe wasn't able to send the Lakers to playoffs. Heck, in 2010 a lot of people say that Gasol should have been finals MVP.
4) Not LeBron's fault that Bryant wasn't a good team player and so other superstars avoided Lakers like the plague. At the contrary, other all-star players love to go and play with LeBron, because LeBron is a fantastic team player.
5) As Eboue said, Kobe missed three matches in a final. So yeah, he might have been tougher than LeBron, but everyone misses some matches.
6) LeBron got Dirk dicked while playing for a superteam, Kobe got Billups dicked while playing for a superteam (has ever happened for a team to have the top 2 players in the league like that Lakers team). It happens, it doesn't make them lesser players.
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Honestly
And Kobe is my favourite player.
Your hatred for Bron is seeping through your post.
It is a bold claim, but he has the talent to overtake Duncan IMO. He's a fantastic player and will become only better.
Jordan won his first ring when he was 27. These things aren't always linear, and as you said, a lot depends on the team.
Disagree with the bolded part, 09/10 was his seventh year in the league and he had already been to the Finals in 2007 pretty much on his own. You simply can say whether the Lakers would've won those titles with LeBron instead of Kobe imo, but it's certainly possible. Fisher was great and clutch against Orlando and the whole team stepped up against Boston in '10.
And Gasol joined the Lakers in 2008 while Kobe took them to the playoffs in 2006 so that's not entirely true either. With a piss poor team includin Kwame Brown and Smush Parker as starters.
Agreed. He will dominate the league in the years coming. Saw some stat a couple of days ago that he was the first player since Shaq in 2000 to have four consecutive 30+ points, 13+ rebounds games.
I also think that Davis will be the next face of the NBA, although i would love for Giannis, Embiid or KAT to take over as well
LaVar Ball
His son might just.
Who is the bigger talent though, Lonzo or LaMelo ?
Or sons. If all three become top players they'll be very marketable, as a collective, even if they're not the best. Their name is Ball, ffs.
Lonzo has it.
I think Lonzo is supposed to be much better.
Out of this year's draft class at least 1 player will be an absolute star. I would probably say that 3 or 4 will be stars. This could be another class of 2003.
Yeah, it's looking really solid all round.
I'll be so damn disappointed if the Lakers end up outside the first three picks
Is it so that Celtics still have picks left from the Nets trade?
Bit harsh on the Dubs there@Sarni damn you guys are hot right now. Can you carry this into the playoffs and do us the favour of removing the Golden State filth?
, but you're right about the Blazers. I tentatively agree with @Sarni that the Warriors SHOULD win but the current Blazers scare me more than anybody else of the predicted 4-8 seeds. Getting Durant back could be a blessing or a curse depending on how successful reintegrating him back into the team turns out to be. However, this iteration of the Blazers is not the team I would have picked to be trying that experiment out because at the moment they are playing like one of the best 5 teams in the NBA.Yes. They have the right to swap picks this year, meaning they will get Nets pick which worst case scenario will be no. 4 (they would have to be very unlucky for that to happen) and own the 2018 pick as well.
That'd be amazing actually as 76ers would have it and it won't be lower than 5th. 76ers should also get a good pick themselves - they have the right to swap picks with Sacramento so it won't land below 6th either.I'll be so damn disappointed if the Lakers end up outside the first three picks
If Sixers could get Malik Monk and one of the point guard talents from this draft (Fultz, Ball, Fox and Smith are all going to be good) that would be some exciting team.
Knowing the Sixers they'd probably still feck it up somehow.
Nah that's Kings. Philly have not drafted that bad. Embiid is a stud, Noel was good and their only fault is not getting good value back for him and Okafor was an obvious choice at 3 even if he did not work out. Simmons will be good too.
I'd actually postulate (argue is too strong) that the current face of the NBA is Stephen Curry. Not saying LeBron is not up there too but when fans get to the stadium a couple of hours early just to watch him warm up you know that there is something special going on. Over the last couple of years, I think the NBA has certainly encouraged that line of thinking. As has been discussed on here over the last couple of days LeBron is just a unique physical specimen, Steph is more of your every man which the fans can more easily relate to. I believe the NBA has definitely done its best to push that angle.
You get the real picture once you step outside the United States and ask people who is the first player currently playing who comes to their mind when they think of basketball.
Not just the face, this entire last decade and the next few years will be known as the time when LeBron James played at his best in the league, in the history books. No one else really comes close.
That's fair. In the US I'd certainly say it was now Stephen Curry.
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Perhaps for a brief period from mid of 14-15 season up till the end of 15-16 regular season, or more accurately till his injury. After that he made a weak comeback in the playoffs and after what we all witnessed in the finals, his stock definitely faded and obviously the light was back on the king.
Also this season the media focus on Westbrook and Harden has been certainly more than Curry has had.
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I know jersey sales are not everything but it does indicate popularity and I suppose that's one way of judging the so called "face of the NBA." If you listen to Steve Kerr he basically says that he's not seen anything like it since Jordan. However the big difference is that it's not only adults but also the kids (the next generation) who gravitate to Steph.
Curry is currently number 1 in jersey sales in the US.
http://www.nba.com/article/2017/01/...tate-warriors-top-merchandise-sales-list-2016
As to outside the US, this was the latest I could find from China which has a huge NBA following (couldn't find any other countries). Kobe was 1, Curry was 2, MJ was 3.
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/18571714/kobe-bryant-stephen-curry-top-nba-jersey-sales-china
Finally found something from worldwide sales in 2016-17. Curry number 1.
http://www.worldstopmost.com/2017-2...opular-best-selling-nba-jerseys-in-the-world/
Curry is currently number 1 in jersey sales in the US.
http://www.nba.com/article/2017/01/...tate-warriors-top-merchandise-sales-list-2016
As to outside the US, this was the latest I could find from China which has a huge NBA following (couldn't find any other countries). Kobe was 1, Curry was 2, MJ was 3.
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/18571714/kobe-bryant-stephen-curry-top-nba-jersey-sales-china
Finally found something from worldwide sales in 2016-17. Curry number 1.
http://www.worldstopmost.com/2017-2...opular-best-selling-nba-jerseys-in-the-world/
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I just asked my girlfriend if she knew who Steph Curry was. She said "I've heard that". Then I asked her if she knew who LeBron James was. She said "Yes, of course".
I imagine that would be the case with most non-basketball fans. We're in Europe though, to be fair.
I imagine that would be the case with most non-basketball fans. We're in Europe though, to be fair.
The point being though, does the NBA really care about non-basketball fans? Jersey sales are (for the most part) indicative of basketball fans. That's who the NBA really care about and advertise to. Steph Curry appears to be the most popular player among basketball fans - hence the product/face that the NBA is trying to sell.
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