top 5 players kobe says hes faced

[j4e2f0f]

the dream, mj, kd, bron and the glide

[the mesiah]

Surprised he didn't have T Mac in that list, that was a bad man in early 00's, .

[Rareairx23]

The dream is kind of questionable. He was more at the end of his dominance when kobe came in, same with drexler. I would have thought like duncan and tmac

[TheVolta]

The dream is kind of questionable. He was more at the end of his dominance when kobe came in, same with drexler. I would have thought like duncan and tmac

For Hakeem and Clyde I wouldn't be surprised if defense weighed heavily into his decision as his only memories of them involved legal hand checking and no defensive 3 seconds.

[j4e2f0f]

he also said it was hard for him to pick only 5

[Deadshot]

Kobe also respected Dream enough to train with him and actually implement some of his moves into his game.

[Rip67vdub]

No love for AI? Still remember he crossed him up twice in the same game and dropped 41 back in 99' :rolleyes:

[hazenuts]

he did say Tracy McGrady was the toughest player to defend against

RlSfTbsctRs

[TheVolta]

No love for AI? Still remember he crossed him up twice in the same game and dropped 41 back in 99' :rolleyes:

Only took him 36 shots...

[mma138]

jamies Winston is cool

[the27guy]

Very strange that he put Hakeem and drexler. Neither of those guys ever eliminated him from the playoffs. Stockton and Malone did that each of his first two years and beat Houston as well.

[drobfan8]

Very strange that he put Hakeem and drexler. Neither of those guys ever elunfortunatelyed him from the playoffs. Stockton and Malone did that each of his first two years and beat Houston as well.

I'm not sure what your opinion has to do with Kobe's opinion.

I would take Hakeem over Malone any day and Drexler over Stockton. It does state the best guys Kobe faced. Not who eliminated him in the playoffs.

I'm also shocked people are mentioning T Mac, he's a borderline HOFer amongst all time greats that Kobe has faced.

It's great to see Kobe reflecting on his incredible career, I hope Tim Duncan will do the same but unfortunately I think he'll stay mute.

[SirVolan]

The dream is kind of questionable. He was more at the end of his dominance when kobe came in, same with drexler. I would have thought like duncan and tmac

Well I don't think Kobe really went at Duncan. Kobe had to go against the whole Spurs team, especially with Diesel always in foul trouble against them. He would list Bowen over Duncan. And Tmac was hard to gaurd, but Kobe could put 40 on him no problem as Tmac D wasn't the greatest.

Shocking AI wasn't mentioned though. In his interview, he listed AI as the second fiercest competitor he ever faced (behind MJ of course).

[drobfan8]

I just think if you faced Michael Jordan in his Wizards days then you'd be saying he was in the top 5 you've faced.

Hakeem is up there with Russell, Shaq and Kareem as best C of all time. No surprises for me there.

KD is more a surprise for me. Over AI and KG especially.

[Ottomatic]

How can anyone argue with this list. It's his opinion and it's not like he didn't just name some of the best of all time.

[6celtics33]

These 5 players are all fine players. He could've listed some of the other people you all mention but then people would argue for different players. It's a good thing that we have this many great ones to choose from. These players are busy playing, they are not analyzing the way we do. Ever hear them give their starting 5's? I think Jordan put James Worthy on his, Julius Erving had 5 players from the 60s. I just think different things appeal to them emotionally and there isn't a great deal of technical thought that goes into it. Is Tim Duncan better than Clyde Drexler? Sure he is but it's Kobe's list. Who cares?

[Zacy87]

Very strange that he put Hakeem and drexler. Neither of those guys ever eliminated him from the playoffs. Stockton and Malone did that each of his first two years and beat Houston as well.

Get you're a Jazz fan but it's Kobes list, not yours lol.

[xavieronly1]

Please take another 5 seconds to dig out the interview

"I came in the league when there were still so many great players playing — John Stockton was still playing, Clyde Drexler was still playing, Gary Payton, Anfernee Hardaway," he said on a conference call Monday set up by the NBA with international reporters. "Top five players is a little tough for me."

And for the "missing Duncan" part, mostly because Kobe sees Duncan as part of Spurs, not individual.

Top 5 players faced: Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Clyde Drexler.

Top 5 teams faced: Sacramento in the early 2000s, Boston in 2008, Detroit in 2004 and Chicago when he entered the league in 1996 and San Antonio almost any year.

[thepinoymamba]

Wow No Iverson. He probably forgot atm

[TheVolta]

Wow No Iverson. He probably forgot atm

Iversons top 5 are himself, Kobe, Lebron, Duncan and Shaq

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_h0TTJCQ6w

[dasiegel]

Sounds like he didn't really think it out with the T-Mac miss. He should probably also have Pierce and Duncan on his list as they prevented him from a few titles I'd say. Duncan in particular had 5 rings and they played at the same time for almost their whole careers.