Garnett was a better all around player and Dirk was a great scorer. I would take Garnett first. He always had TWTW.

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No he had the TWTOTAWBUFAHPBLOTWRIGF


The will to try and win but ultimately fail and have people blame lack of talent when really it's Garnett's failure

Kobe never wanted to be equals. He wants to win and he wants to be the man when winning. It's why he's chucking up 20 shots a game still instead of teaching Russell and Randle how to win, while Duncan has graciously been adapting his game while teaching Kawhi how to be the superstar now. They are both all time great talents, but Duncan's personality and approach to the game separates him from Kobe. It's why luck doesn't matter. If they played their careers in 10 different scenarios, Duncan would always come out with the more notable career. He makes his teammates better and has fostered a team first, winning environment for 20 years. Kobe has tried to leave and demanded a trade on more than one occasion. He was so narcissistic he thought Phil and Shaq were holding him back from true greatness. Duncan is and always has been the better player in a team sport. Maybe Kobe should have taken up tennis or golf.

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He was a Marshmelo that cared about winning. Both were miscast as #1's. Garnett was a lot closer to being a #1 though.

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Duncan almost went to Orlando. Kobe's issue was talent. Smush Parker can't be the 2nd best player on your team. The Spurs have never forced Duncan to deal with that. Having Robinson/Ginobili/Parker/Popivich/Great GM/Owner doesn’t hurt either.

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Agreed.. Very close on this one..Im not even sure Who gets the nod.

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Bottom line is Kobe has had a more successful career despite all the chaos in LA and KG wouldn't have been Duncan in San Antonio.

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Duncan never seriously considered leaving. He only even hit free agency one time, in '03 after Parker almost cost them the Finals. Smush was the 2nd best player on Kobe's team at one point solely because of Kobe. Kobe literally has nobody else to blame for that.

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Listen to the river sing sweet songs
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Kobe was the sole reason for the chaos in LA, and in no objective way has his career been better than Duncan's. Duncan has more awards and accolades, and isn't finished yet.

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I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

He's been to the Finals more and was a star on all those teams. He was a far better scorer and he was a more clutch player. Winning multiple titles in a row is tough and despite having great teams Duncan never accomplished that.

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The mere fact that Kobe Bryant strongarmed his way into L.A. says a lot about him as a person. He has never been called on it the way he should have but who the hell was he to demand a trade before ever playing a minute of NBA ball.

He always wanted to win on his own terms. He made a power play to get Shaq off the team because he was tired of playing second fiddle.

He demanded a trade once he felt the team wasn't going anywhere.

He routinely shows teammates up on the court and in the locker room.

He was and is a competitive guy but his me first attitude detracted from his greatness.

As a player he has some of the worst shot selection that I have ever seen in a "great" player. That is what separated he and Jordan the most and it is the primary reason that i could never put him Jordan's class. There is about a 5 or 6 percent shooting difference between the two and the main reason is that Kobe took shots that Jordan would never dream of taking.

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If you were starting a team from scratch and could have Kobe at his best or Duncan at his best, who would you choose?

Initially I want to say Kobe, but looking at everything I think you have to go Duncan.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Back to back vs total titles is doesn't matter. The fact that you're using that makes my case for me. Duncan has been a star on every Finals team he's ever been on, and has been as clutch or more clutch than Kobe in his career. Duncan has also never quit on his team in a Game 7 like Kobe did in the Suns series in '06. No matter which way you try to go with this, Duncan always comes out as the superior player.

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I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I take the guard every time. Someone has to give the big man the ball with the game on the line. Kobe can create on his own. Kobe also had the scoring ability to carry a team like MJ and Iverson. He wasn't the same defender as Duncan but he was great for a long period of time.

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I don't see how you can make a case for Kobe over Duncan. Keep in mind that Duncan will try to improve your team, and Kobe will threaten to leave if you can't get him a transcendent big man to play with.

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I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I would take Duncan. Duncan bested Shaq and Kobe when they were in their primes and he had virtually nothing around him. He won a Championship with Bruce Bowen and Avery Johnson in his starting lineup.

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Duncan was a role player 2 years ago and he is one now. He hasn't been a star for years now.

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Duncan can create on his own, and had no problem carrying teams offensively by himself in the postseason many times.

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I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Duncan is still one of the 5 or 6 best defensive big men in the game, and was two years ago. He also still carries the team on nights when other guys don't have it. He was putting up 26 and 18 games just last postseason. You're wrong again here.

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Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Kobe Bryant rarely separated himself from other good or great players either. Rip Hamilton outplayed during the Detroit series. Reggie Miller more than held his own during the Indiana series. Kobe shot terribly from the field. Paul Pierce checked him during the Boston series and I don't really recall Kobe getting the best of that matchup either.

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If you were 6 inches taller you would probably be one of the best big men defensively in the game. That's not a compliment today. Duncan was great and can still show flashes of greatness but he's just a role player now.

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Kobe definitely didn't get the best of that matchup with Boston. He's lucky Artest saved him in Game 7 of the rematch too.

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I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

He's the second most important player on a team that will win 60 games. Kobe is the 5th most important player on a team that won't win half that many. Duncan wins again. We can do this all day.

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I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Yep, If Perkins doesn't get hurt..that series is over quickly.. I think Kobe shot like 5-24 in final game and Gasol carried the team that series

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You post something like this but say you aren't a Kobe hater just like FF and others.

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Don't blame us that you are bothered by #facts. I haven't hated on Kobe at all. If saying Duncan is better makes me a hater it means I hate everyone who's ever played in the NBA except for like 3-4 guys.

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I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

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The one team I think he owned was Portland. Probably Sac. also. I remember Ruben Patterson talking about he was the Kobe stopper but consistently was torched come playoff time. Journeyman swingman though. Bonzi Wells gave Kobe the flux however but he wasn't really that good either. Elite matchups rarely were dominated by Kobe and he didn't really outplay his counterpart if they were any good.

Ray Allen used to get the best of him during his Seattle days also.

Duncan's teams have won better than 50 games for something like 16 yrs running (If you exclude strikes or lockouts).

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They both need 3 or 4 other pieces...I'd go with Duncan he could make his teammates better...where Kobe only looked to make his stats better

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

I gave him second best of his era. I place him ahead of Lebron. I don't count Shaq as a guy from his era. Shaq is from another era in my NBA world.

The guy is a career 45% shooter. He was the best player on two of his five championships. He only wins championships when his teams have vastly superior talent. I can name a few guys that win when they weren't supposed to. He isn't one of them. His teams have also had some remarkable flameouts during his tenure. Duncan's never have.

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