Comments on: Kobe Bryant: “I’ve never lost 1-on-1 … I cooked [Tracy McGrady]. Roasted him.”

By: Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah!

Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah! — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 16:25:55 +0000

Still think in old school 5-on-5, actual real basketball games, LBJ is better. Imagine a 20 year old LBJ with a 26 year old Shaq (not the beyond washed-up version in Cleveland)? Game over, with no bickering that prematurely breaks them up. 5-7 titles.

Kobe’s indomitable personality allowed him to flourish even under the Shaq bickering that always existed, pre title run, on. LeBron’s output would have suffered under the same bickering.

By: chicago

chicago — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 16:00:38 +0000

Still think in old school 5-on-5, actual real basketball games, LBJ is better. Imagine a 20 year old LBJ with a 26 year old Shaq (not the beyond washed-up version in Cleveland)? Game over, with no bickering that prematurely breaks them up. 5-7 titles.

Can’t disagree with that. It would have been insane.

By: vajayjay redick

vajayjay redick — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 15:35:43 +0000

Since Kobe’s been going 1-on-5 his whole career, i’d imagine 1-on-1 with anyone would be much easier.

/obligatory

By: Gmurr

Gmurr — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 14:47:23 +0000

Interesting that the part that really got him going was the 1-on-1 talk. But he’s right, him and MJ are probably the best 1-on-1 guys ever. Too skilled, athletic, can shoot, D up. Even LBJ fans, counting myself, must admit that in his prime Kobe would beat him, maybe even still today.

Still think in old school 5-on-5, actual real basketball games, LBJ is better. Imagine a 20 year old LBJ with a 26 year old Shaq (not the beyond washed-up version in Cleveland)? Game over, with no bickering that prematurely breaks them up. 5-7 titles.

By: chicago

chicago — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 14:17:02 +0000

My guess is he probably bases it a bit more on his entire excellent career and all his accomplishments during it, Clown. Not saying he can beat LeBron or Durant now (I have no doubt he could have back in ’01-’07), but I wouldn’t put it past him.

By: ClownCollege

ClownCollege — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 13:34:23 +0000

So Kobe Bryant has beaten the following people 1-on-1:
Tracy McGrady with a bad back, 14 years ago
Grant Hill
Reggie Miller
Nick Van Exel
Eddie Jones
Caron Butler

And based on this, he believes he can beat LeBron and Durant today.

I admire his confidence.

By: Some Random Old Dude

Some Random Old Dude — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 13:18:54 +0000

You can’t be too old not knowing Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

IMO, Jordan’s swagger was damaged during his time with the Wizards. After reading “When Nothing Else Matters”, and how Abe Pollin cut Jordan loose, MJ’s confidence had to take a huge hit.

By: captain_spalding

captain_spalding — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 12:39:53 +0000

Is there anyone on earth with more confidence?

You can’t be too old not knowing Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

By: Donald Patrick Mynack

Donald Patrick Mynack — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 12:38:22 +0000

Later in that interview, Kobe admits there was one player he could never handle one-on-one, calling him “his kryptonite”. That player’s name? Mr. Matt Bonner.

By: Some Random Old Dude

Some Random Old Dude — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 00:36:13 +0000

Is there anyone on earth with more confidence?

The 7-11 part was hilarious, especially his wife’s wisecrack.

By: Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah!

Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah! — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 00:14:57 +0000

AAU goes back to the 20′s or 30′s. The explosion of it came in the 90′s when and early 2000′s when you had NBA scouts showing up, but growing up in a basketball city, I’ve always known people who played for travel teams like the Gauchos, Riverside Baptist, and Young Life. The biggest difference between AAU then and now is that the summer has more of an influence on college coaches than high school coaches, other than the coaches at these big time high schools. In my opinion moreso than not, that is a good thing.

By: Wide Word of Sport (?)

Wide Word of Sport (?) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:57:11 +0000

How far does AAU go back? I know when I was in high school, there were some teams, but it wasn’t as big a deal (more because of the lack of local talent than anything). Late 1990′s it was pretty big, the top guys knew each other (eg the really good Chandler/Curry story on Grantland ). I wouldn’t have any clue what it was like before then…

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7887970/the-divergent-careers-miami-heat-eddy-curry-new-york-knicks-tyson-chandler

By: Monster is Meth

Monster is Meth — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:56:53 +0000

Te’o raped Kakua? That’s adds a wrinkle.

Fake raped. Not the same. Afterwards, they wrapped imaginary bars of soap in imaginary socks, and then held her down on the imaginary bed with a make-believe blanket. After pummeling the fake dead raped chick with said fake soap socks, one muttered, “It was only a bad dream, fatty!”

By: Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah!

Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah! — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:50:49 +0000

Kobe getting it done since his AAU days.

/you would think AAU started yesterday listening to some people.

By: Babar 2.0

Babar 2.0 — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:43:16 +0000

So, the theme for today’s posts has been Frauds, Phonies and Rapists?

Te’o raped Kakua? That’s adds a wrinkle.

By: Nada

Nada — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:39:03 +0000

So, the theme for today’s posts has been Frauds, Phonies and Rapists?

By: Babar 2.0

Babar 2.0 — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:38:37 +0000

One game I won 11-2.

Remembering the score of a one-on-one game 15 years ago? I can’t even remember the score to a pickup game last night.

By: Wide Word of Sport (?)

Wide Word of Sport (?) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:37:31 +0000

Plus, an NBA fued that doesn’t involve Honey Nut Cheerios would be nice. I find it hard to get excited for trash talk involving cereal.

By: Wide Word of Sport (?)

Wide Word of Sport (?) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:36:47 +0000

Can we please get three more years of this mouthy Kobe? [Fandom]

No kidding. The more the league develops into an AAU league etc, the more Kobe is becoming loved by old-school basketball guys. I hate Kobe as much as the next guy, but it seems pretty safe to say no one has cared about winning or has worked more than Kobe to be great (sometimes to the detriment of his team), since MJ.

By: RexKramerDangerSeeker

RexKramerDangerSeeker — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:35:36 +0000

I hate Kobe, but in this era of overly polished, measured media interaction, I love this.