Kobe's Great, but How Great is He Really?

The sports world yearns for superstars in every sport in every season. We want to root for those who have achieved feats that only the best can achieve. We want to glorify those that outperform the rest of the professionals around them. At the same time, as fans we are quick to heap praise on athletes without really studying the past and making an educated comment. So often we proclaim athletes as "the best" or "top five..." and that may not be the case. Sure, there are plenty of great players to set foot on the hardwood, but sometimes we are too quick to say that someone is better than so-and-so or one of the top five best players ever. Take Kobe Bryant for example.

I want to make it clear before I go any further that I am not diminishing anything Kobe has done in his brilliant career. He is one of the hardest working, most dedicated players that the game has ever seen and he has maintained a consistency over the course of his career that is hard to match. His stats are impressive and he has five rings to go along with those numbers. He has an MVP on the shelf and two Finals MVPs as well. His resume is loaded and he will go down as one of the greatest players to play the game. However, how great is he compared to others? So often fans put him in Michael Jordan's territory or say that he is a better player than LeBron James. Does he have an argument to be the best Laker of all-time? No doubt, but it's not by much.

Here are some facts to look at when stacking Kobe up against the other greats. As of now he averages 25.5 points per game. That is less than Jordan, Oscar Robertson and Elgin Baylor (a former Laker). Kobe's 5.3 rebounds per game are less than the other three as well. His 4.3 assists per game isn't bad, but it too is less than Jordan and Robertson's and just a shade above Baylor's. His shooting percentage is at 45 percent, but that's below Jordan and Robertson's as well. Baylor is right behind Bryant at 43 percent. Clearly, when everything is added up, Kobe's stats are at the bottom of this group when it comes down to him versus other great shooting guards in the NBA.

He does have five championships which is one shy of Jordan's six, but he has been the Finals MVP of just two of those. Jordan was the MVP of all six of his. Then there is the fact that Kobe's numbers in the playoffs are the same as his career numbers. Is he a winner? Obviously. Does he raise his game in the postseason? Statistically no he does not. MJ's averages all went up in playoff time.

Talking awards and accolades, Bryant once again fails to live up to His Airness' legend. He has one MVP award which puts him four behind Jordan. MJ won 10 scoring titles compared to Kobe's two. Where Bryant can match MJ is in All-NBA and All-Defensive First teams. Both players have been named to 10 and nine respectively. Another thing, although it's a small one, is the fact that besides the two scoring titles, Kobe has never led the league in anything. Jordan led the league in steals three different times.

Then there is the question of whether or not Kobe is the best player of his generation? Well, if you consider LeBron James part of his generation then, quite frankly, no he's not. Kobe simply cannot compare to LeBron in any facet of the game. James averages more points, rebounds, assists and steals and shoots a higher percentage from the field. Also, the game plan used to be to make James shoot from deep, but he is actually shooting the same percentage from three as Kobe and he is only going to continue to improve. Obviously, LeBron's numbers are over a shorter period of time, but there's no doubt that James is in the best years of his career and he has quite a cushion on Kobe in every category.

The career of Kobe Bryant is odd. It's a magnificent one no doubt about it, but there are certain things about his career that have question marks next to them. He has five titles, but he wasn't the man on three of those teams. He has only one MVP award and only two scoring titles. Those are things that just don't sound like the stuff of the greatest ever. He's great no doubt, but he is not in the same ballpark as Jordan. He is probably slightly ahead or even with Robertson or Baylor, but you could argue they were better than him too. LeBron James will finish as a better player than Kobe as well if his career finishes the way we expect it to.

When Bryant retires it will be a sad day for the game of basketball. He has provided fans with so many unforgettable moments and he almost always puts on a show. Once he retires then the debate can really begin, but as of now Bryant is not the Greatest of All-Time and he's borderline top 10 of all-time. That's still incredible, but it doesn't seem to be the thinking of most fans. Kobe is great, but the hard truth is that we shouldn't add the "-est" to the end of that great.