Kobe Bryant was definitely one of the most iconic players to ever play in the NBA. The Mamba was active in the league for 20 seasons and in those seasons, he made an ever-lasting impact on NBA fans.
Kobe has an amazing resume that includes a lot of achievements such as 5 NBA Championships, 2 NBA Finals MVPs, 1 regular-season MVP, and many other accolades. However, when it comes to placing Kobe on the NBA’s all-time list, many seem to undermine the Mamba’s achievements.
Even on the NBA Top 75 list, Kobe was placed in the 10th spot. Although fans didn’t seem to disagree with most players ranked above the Los Angeles Lakers legend, they didn’t like the Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird being placed over Kobe.
The debate about it seemed to have cooled down but an NBA fan on Reddit once again started the debate. Redditor u/HungariansBestFriend asked, “What are the arguments for Bird over Kobe? Kobe has a better resume but regarding the eye-test, both were quite similar but I give the edge to Kobe.”
Upon seeing the post by the Redditors, many other fans shared their views about the post. Here are some of the best reactions to the post on Reddit:
diipp2k: “I’ll take Kobe over Bird but the argument for Larry is 3 straight MVPs with 3 straight trips to the Finals and his efficiency.”
Waimang_NINJA: “I think you would say that Bird got those accolades in only 12 real seasons and therefore had one of the best 10 year stretches ever. One season missed with injury and his last 2 you could argue he was a complete shell of himself with the back issues. So yes Bird “only” had 9 first team selections but it was 9 in 10 years essentially. Birds career numbers are better than Kobe in everything except scoring. Kobe was a better defender but Bird wasn’t a slouch either. Kobe has longevity, defence and….. Not much else over Bird in my eyes.
shanmustafa: “Better peak player from 84-88 he averaged 27/10/7 on 51/40/90 and in there won back to back to back MVP’s.”
liljett: “Considering Bird built that resume & played only 12 seasons I’d still take Larry Legend, no disrespect to the Mamba though.”
Rh1-No: “People forget the playmaker Bird was, I’d argue Bird was a more complete player.”
MrAMC5: “Bird gets forgotten in the best even conversation. Rarely do I even see him mentioned. He’s the only guy that was 3 consecutive MVP’s and at his best he was better than than Magic. It’s unfortunate he had to deal with injuries, but he was an instant difference maker when he first arrived to the NBA.”
lkn240: “Bird was clearly a better peak player, but Kobe arguably had a better prime. Depending on what you value I don’t think putting either guy over the other is egregious.”
incprac25: “I have Kobe over Bird. Bird had a better peak but Kobes peak lasted longer and he won more.”
Awanderingleaf: “Kobe is obviously better. Bird has been considered a legend for much longer and people tend to want to preserve history so he gets grandfathered in over Kobe. Bird has his fair share of shitty playoff series as well.”
Looking at the comments most fans made believe that despite not playing in the league for as long as Kobe, Bird was still a better player.
The biggest argument for that is that Bird had an unreal peak. At the end of the day, each fan will have his own theory about which player is better. But looking at the above-mentioned threat, in particular, Bird seems to be above Kobe in the eyes of most fans.
