Amani Hansberry - 2023 Hoops Recruit to visit Visit w/ UT

Way better than Kobe.

 

He’s not top 10 imo

 

LeBron is #2 and I've had lengthy arguments here as to his deficiencies. I can accept dialogue on Magic as #2, though.

 

I think Kareem is in the conversation for #2. Him and Lebron.

Then Wilt and Shaq. Dominant big men were crazy valuable

 

Kobe has a cult following amongst a certain age group

 

No lie, where I grew up two dudes got in a fight at a pool party about Kobe vs Michael… one guy ended up pulling a gun and killing the other guy over it. Pretty sure the shooter was the Kobe guy but it’s been so long I don’t remember the details.

 

Yeah I would imagine the Michael guy was more of a slasher, but surprising not a lockdown defender.

 

Kobe stans don’t mess around. No other American athlete has pockets of fans on their level of devotion. Plenty of people out there that actually takes it personally when they hear anyone disrespect their god.

 

Lol, holy shit, what a take.

 

LeBron played either Duncan (top 10 all time) or Steph (best shooter of all time) in 7 of his 10 finals. That doesn’t even mention the number of times Durant (potential top 10 all time) was sprinkled in there.

The best player MJ faced in the finals was an aging Magic on an old Lakers team. Nobody else even close to the top 10, and maybe not anybody even top 15.

 

MJ would average 40 points a game in todays soft ass NBA.

 

Can you imagine what MJ would do with multiple moving picks sent his way to give him matchup options

 

Indy says hold my Bud Ice.

 

I’m not buying the no great players now thing or anything but there’s a lot more games than just finals

 

I’m not saying there are NO great players now, just that there aren’t very many… the league was littered with legitimate talent on almost every roster in Magic/Bird/Jordan’s time… I just don’t see it being that way nowadays. Compare Boston’s 1987 roster to their 2021 roster. Same for Detroit, LA and several other teams. I get that there are highs and lows for any franchise but even the mediocre teams (I’m looking at you Atlanta Hawks…) had at least decent rosters. Now there are about 10 players (give or take) in the league that are what I would call great, the rest are very forgettable.

 

Indy always does this, trying to focus only on the Finals and forgetting there's a path to the Finals. We went a massive winding road on this topic, and he forgets Stockton-Malone on his critique, but, amazingly, solved little.

 

I love it when people call it “Magic/Bird/Jordan’s time,” as if those three players’ primes coincided. It’s the oldest Jordan fan trick in the book.

You aren’t giving today’s players enough credit. 25 years from now, the top 10 players of LeBron’s era will be considered far better than the top 10 of MJ’s. They’re already better now, today, and most of their careers aren’t over.

 

The bottom line is that to win a title, you have to go through the best. I care a lot more about the single 10 you beat than the three 7’s you beat.

 

Oh, bullshit. That's the oldest LeBron fanboy trick in the book. In 25 years, certain guys of this era will be less remembered than your recency bias suggests, just as dudes like Mitch Richmond and Alex English aren't remembered too much today though being great players. Someone like Paul Pierce comes to mind on this account.

Jordan had to play Larry Bird, Magic Johnson (yes, early in his career, but they were there), Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, Isaiah Thomas, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, Clyde Drexler, Gary Payton, Reggie Miller, etc., etc. Hell, a pre-injury Penny Hardaway was as good as any guard playing today.

Far better? Pfffffttttt, please. Have an argument about who is better, but this absurdity of "far better" is simply ridiculous.

 

NBA? We're talking NBA? I quit watching after the great players Uni mentioned retired. Have not missed it.