Very underrated defender, on ball and help. I personally think he's one of the better off ball defenders. People sleep on Kobe's defense. Anyone remember that stretch when he had to defend a series of all star point guards? The western conference was stacked, with all star guards. Kobe was the only one who could guard them. I'm talking Michael Conley, Russel Westbrook, Stephen Curry ect. at 34 no less. That was the year of the Achilles tear for those who want reference. Plays both sides of the ball, a real MVP.
+TheDudeintheBlueHoodie He was still a good on ball defender that season, but his off-ball defense was positively terrible that season. He fell asleep every time his man didn't have the ball. But yes, his on-ball defense was solid.
agreed think hes pretty close to jordan, but thats what separates jordan and kobe. they both have 2 main differences, kobe marginally better 3 point shooter, jordan marginally better defender, basically exact equals everywhere else. kobe is a really great defender though
smh Kobe was a much better 3pt shooter than MJ was, and by the same token I would say that MJ was a much better defender. Kobe is a great on ball defender, but he could be very inconsistent off the ball. I'm sure that there were years when Kobe's defense rivaled MJ's, but I think MJ was much more consistent overall.
Brandon Reed i dont think its a matter of skill or ability i think its just they had different focus, jordans focus was on and off the ball on defense, kobes was scoring and usually on ball defense, but as you can see this season easily rivals a jordan season on defense
Emmanuel Stalling when you are going up for a shot, the hand is part of the ball, after you release the ball though it will be called foul when you touch the hand. refs should know better.
Rave Setsuna Easy to second guess the refs from a sofa, hard to see the angles when you're on the floor and things are happening fast. I know, it's been said, but it needed to be said again.
Emmanuel Stalling exactly, no one is superhuman enough to see a professional basketball in slow motion, that's why they install the slow motion replays
True fans of the game know Kobe has 4 MVPS: 03, 06, 07, 08. The fact Steve Nash has 2 MVPs and Dirk has one, says it all. Around the end of Jordan retiring from the Bulls, the MVP almost never went to the best player in the league, which it does in almost every other sport. Also people never point to the fact Kobe has played in arguably the hardest conference ever in the NBA throughout his whole career. Had Kobe's prime when Shaq left started somewhere on a team in the Eastern Conference, he would have earned those MVPs he was robbed out of.
MVP ain't gonna be given to the best anymore back then it was truly the best and not based off of hype or commercials or etcetera. Kobe deserved way more. When knowing these facts, I also hope true fans of the game understand that MVPs don't determine how great a player is.
I'm ok with Nash having the first one, but Kobe should easily have 3. Dirk should never have got it that year. and Nash should definitely not have got it the year before. Those were arguably Kobe's two best seasons. And he was dragging one of the worst teams ever with him to the playoffs. Its a complete joke that a guy who may go down as the second best player ever only has 1 MVP. Even if you look at all three players and say their stats aren't enough to say who was better, Kobe was all NBA first team defense every year!
Not 03. Kobe and Shaq only won 50 games with Phil Jackson coaching. I think KG should have won it over Duncan for the regular season. He led the Wolves in 5/5 categories and got 51 wins in the West with a weak cast. Not 07. They were only 1 game over 0.500
+Anon Ymous well....2003 Kobe had: -12 3s in a game(NBA record) -9 straight games 40 or more points (more then MJ) -amazing game at MSG(46 points,legendary dunk,crazy shots ) -55 points vs MJ(last match-up between each others...like in 1987 when MJ scores 56 vs Dr.J on their last game vs each others) amazing come back game vs Dallas(kobe scores 25 in the 4th plus the game winner shot) -several game winner shots(Memphis,Dallas,Phoenix) -he averaged 30-7-6-2 -he played most of the first part of the Regular Season without Shaq. -He was sensational
it wasnt juss ppg look at PER ast reb he carried that team steve nash already had a good team kobe was clearly the most valuable player of his over any other player know basketball
Kobe is a 9x NBA All defensive first team and 3x defensive second team selection. In 16 seasons Kobe has earned defensive honors in 12 of them and he wasnt really given consistent playing time and starts until his third season.Take away the 04-05 season and basically every season Kobe Bryant can compete healthy he is recognized as one of the best defenders in the league. He is one of the most skilled players to ever play the game
kobe is the most underated defensive player in the leauge. If he decided to have a mindset of wanting to win defensive player of the year he could do it EVERY YEAR! he just has to reserve his energy for offense.
The last block, man nobody would try to block that because of the possible result but my man Kobe is on a different level. He doesn't care because he knows that he can do whatever he wants. That is Mamba Mentality at it's finest.
that block to kirk was clean . The contact to the face was just the aftermath of a great play . kobe hit the ball with so much force it pushed novitski's hand back after stoping it at impact, so kobes hand with the strength put, like a windmill with force, spins on around ! lol
I will miss him...I used to cut class to watch his game, he brought the game to another level, the intensity and passion he had will always impact other people. OGs showed no love, Like KG and KB. Not like these days young players have friends all over the league and playing soft. kinda miss the old time right now.
Kobe was the best player in the league multiple times but in total he should have one 2 mvps instead of one. When he was averaging 35 a game yea he was probably the best player on the earth but it's hard to give the MVP to a player on an 8th seed team. Only time I felt Kobe was truly robbed was when Nash won his second MVP. I love Nash too don't get me wrong but he was never truly the best player in the league those 2 years or through any year during his career. Shaq should've taken Nash's 1st MVP and Kobe should've gotten Nash's 2nd. Kobe only won MVP because, although yea he earned it, it was mainly because the league fucked up and realized this is going to be a top 10 player in NBA history and we haven't given him an MVP. Technically during kobes MVP season Chris Paul had all around better numbers.
In his prime Kobe was the Charles Woodson of the NBA on defense, he was an intimidating on ball defender and plays like a free safety with blocks and steals to help his teammates
I don't understand about the dislike. People don't like the game now. they don't like good defense? Even in LBJ block highlights I wouldn't dislike that. I like good defense highlights. People that dislike this are just in denial about kobe's defensive talents.
For example, like when a defender is tall and the player taking the shot is shorter, the shot needs to be arched more and it will hit the glass on the way down. Basically, any high arcing bank will probably be on its way down by the time it hits the glass, but a regular bank shot's highest point is when it hits the glass. Its just how the mechanics works. I used this as an experiment for a project in physics my sophomore year in college. haha if you were wondering how i know.
i hate not seeing kobe swat some people this season cos of his knee and all. when he decides to go up for a block, you know he's gunna connect and its gunna be good. one of the most emphatic shot blockers.
Anyone else notice that Kobe is blocking those shots with his left hand? Kobe's right handed but blocks shots with his left hand? That my friends, is called dexterity.
Its not a rule per se. But how the shot works is that the peak point of the shot hits the backboard on a bank. That just how the physics of the shot works. That is subject to change, however, depending on how it is shot and that'll be the referee's call. But typically on a lay-up or a bank shot, the peak point is when it hits the backboard.
Call me a Lebron hater, but as long as I can remember I've been a die-hard Laker fan. Kobe and Shaq got major hate when they won 3 titles in a row, the media said that the duo wasn't as good as other duos such as Jordan and Pippen or Stockton and Malone..but mind you, Lebron James wins ONE title with the help of other stars and all of a sudden he's the greatest player alive you Kobe haters/Lebron lovers might hate me when I say this but when Kobe retires he will be remembered as one of the GOAT.
you guys should try to block like kobe is here... not jumping straight up all the time but swiping it at a horizontal level... it works . ty kobe, mj, and pippen
Shotblocks are awesome and stuff but i wish you'd show more of his lockdown defence too. Good defence isn't all shotblocking. And as much of a kobe fan i am, he shouldn't always swat the ball away. He should just raise his hand out straight to stop the ball and have it fall right to him after contact
@NEL0061 agreed. when he wants to be, he is the best on ball defender in the league. he plays defense to get stops not to get stats. thats how it should be
OMG! ROFLMFAO - Shaq @ 7:32 in a dead sprint to the other end of the court. Shaq: (w/ hands on knees) Hhh...hhh...hhh (gulp). Coach? Coach: Shaq? Shaq: Can we get a timeout here? I need a sub! Coach: Not 'til there's a stoppage in play, or either when we get the ball back. Shaq: HUH?!! WHAT?!!! That's it! This is my last year in Phoenix. The Big Cactus waits on no one, son.
@AuthenticBlaze Because he's trying to avoid unnecessary injuries on his right hand. and we all know he has numerous injuries on his right hand. but as great as he is, he can use both hands. and that's what great players are, they can use both hands offensively and defensively.
Dude Kobe is living proof that tough shots can go in. Like I said before, the ONLY way to stop players like him, LeBron, and others is to BLOCK their shot. Blocking a shot is the only possible way to insure that the ball won't go in. And if you think all Kobe does is go for blocks watch this video: watch?v=QBu28UwDzps
