Kobe was the constant in the decade. 7 finals, 5-2, nearly two 3-peats, an elite 2-way player, the consensus best player by players and coaches alike. He had the peak AND longevity.
@@cinaali3579 shaq was at that level until '04 ('05 if you want to be generous, I'm not and it doesn't change much anyway). He fell off a cliff. The other 4 guys, especially Tim and Kobe, are the ones who dominated the entire decade, excluding maybe like two mediocre seasons of ai and kg.
I’m a spurs fan and I grew up watching Duncan, I haven’t watched the video yet so before hearing the conclusion I’ll state my opinion. I think I’d consider the 2000’s the Kobe/Duncan era, 2 top 10 players of all time were at their peak from 2000-2010, I guess you could make an argument for shaq. But I’d say Kobe/Duncan era.
Duncans clear from a career standpoint, but he wasn’t necessarily at his peak throughout the entire 2000’s like Kobe was, that & some of Duncans success took place In the 90’/2010’s, where as 90% of Kobe’s was only In the 2000’s If that makes sense. Not talking about exclusively winning either btw, from an Individual standpoint as well.
Funny thing to me is had they put it as the Shaq or Lebron era, people would still complain that Shaq was only elite for half of the decade and that Lebron didn't win anything during that decade. The only other player with a legit claim for the face of that decade to me is Duncan. People just love to complain for no reason😂
Both were better than Kobe during that time. I guess by default Kobe could be the player of that era since Shaq was in his prime only half of that time and LeBron wasn’t drafted until 2003. Shaq had a better prime than Kobe, and by LeBron’s 2nd year he was the best player in the league and wouldn’t be contested until KD and Steph hit their peaks.
I think it was more Duncan/Kobe in that era. Shaq was really only that guy until 2005, while Lebron wasn't really put in the discussion until around 08/09 despite him easily being top 3-5 during that time. The Spurs and Lakers appeared in 9/10 of those finals, so I think it's fair for those two to share the title for who's era it was similar to Bird/Magic in the 80's.
Lebron rightfully so shouldn’t have been put in the discussion. He didn’t win until the 2010s specifically 2012 after losing with a superteam. Lebron’s era was 2012-2022
As rusty said It's not just about winning , they both won the same amount of rings that decade but majority of fans will look back on that period and the first person they think of is kobe , it doesn't make duncan or shaq unappreciated It's just symbolic of how nost people felt about Kobe's overall collection of impact on winning , his aesthetically pleasing game , mentality , ridiculous stats and performances at times and the fact that he could get back on his feet after being down for a while in terms of reputation which i think most people can relate to , Kobe was a player's player
Side note about Shaq: I started watching the NBA around 93 when I was 7. Outside of MJ who's popularity was off the charts and who was ubiquitous by the early 90's, Shaq's popularity was pretty high. Only Jordan's was bigger. He came in with so much fanfare (being in Blue Chips definitely helped his profile) and just given how goofy and charismatic he was (not to mention having a video game), for a 7 year old kid, he was pretty easy to gravitate to and he ended up becoming my all time favorite player. I would say however that his popularity probably peaked in the 90's, but outside of MJ there was not a more marketable and charismatic player in the 90's than Shaq. It's one of those "You had to be around back then" sort of things. That his career overlaps between the 90's and 2000's makes his career arc sort of the tale of two halfs.
No offense but this take is horrible if you’re talking NBA fame how would he peak in the 90s when his biggest moments in the biggest stage and when he cemented himself as arguably the most dominant player ever happened in the early 2000s? Like yeah longevity wasn’t on his side but a 3peat is nothing to scoff at
@@wassicapone6623 This isn't an "take"' over what he accomplished in the early 2000's, it's a 'take' on the matter of popularity. By the early 2000's (I would say from 99-04) there were far more players he had to share that popularity stage with as compared to the 90's. In the 90's the only player more popular than him was MJ (maybe a case can be made for Barkley). By the time that 99-04 period rolled around you had Vince, A.I. Kobe, KG, T-Mac, hell even Stephon Marbury. It's easier to be popular when only one other dude is your competition in the popularity department.
Yes and the only reason why Shaq isn’t the favorite player of a lot of people is the same reason why Kareem, Giannis, Hakeem, David Robinson or even Lebron aren’t the favorite player of a lot of people, because the average joe just can’t identify themselves with these Giant Athletic Freak of nature, you just can’t replicate Shaq destroying a rim or bullying defenders even if you find it entertaining, just like you can’t replicate Lebron or Giannis going coast to coast with 3 dribbles or making chasedown blocks like a Lion chasing it’s prey, it’s just impossible for us, but Kobe fadeaway, footwork, pump fake, crossover or jelly lay up ? Everybody can do it, and it make us feel that we can be like him even if it’s not true because Kobe is also a freak of nature compared to us, how many 6´6 guys with a 40inches vertical, great speed, agility and endurance do you know ? Personally 0, but in the NBA, Kobe is an average athlete, just like us in the real world so we can relate to him.
@@DSB3121 so you’re just gonna act like Hakeem,Robinson,Rodman,Barkley,Ewing,Kobe,Reggie hell even his own teammate Penny weren’t popular? And that’s just off the top of my head lol
If you’ve ever yelled “KOBE!” when you shot your shot, it’s because we were in Kobe’s World. His greatness defined what it meant to cement your legacy in all aspects of the word. He WAS Basketball.
Hey Kobe and his Lakers might’ve blown a 3-1 lead but I’m still shocked at the names in that roster and how weak the they we’re compared to the Suns and Mavs in ‘06
@@Visual_Ghoul No, but it's not far off. That Cavs roster was fucking trash. Still better than the 06' Lakers tho. Although, that team might have been much better if Kobe had been a leader or a team player.
Living through it, it certainly didn't feel like Kobe's era until after the fact. When I think of 2000's basketball I think of heavy defensive focus and team basketball. Tim Duncan was honestly the face of the era, but like, he's boring, he plays fundamental basketball, he doesn't wow you with the incredible midrange game Kobe had, but his footwork and basketball skills were the pinnacle. Kobe was definitely the brightest light of the era and played in the biggest basketball market, and I think it's fair to call it his era based on that fact alone. But like if we want to call the 80's the Magic AND Bird era, I think we can call the 2000's the Kobe AND Duncan era without any issues.
Kobe in the 2000s 6 finals 4 chips 1 mvp Duncan 2000s 3 finals 3 chips 2 mvps Argument can be made for both but in terms of box office appeal it's Kobe
Here is my interpretation. Kobe or Duncan could have spent the 2000s in the Eastern Conference for a while for various cores. -Draft Night 96: Teams that express interest in Kobe include the Celtics, Nets and eventually he was taken by the Hornets and traded to the Lakers -Draft Night 97: Celtics attempted to tank for Duncan, and it failed. -Around 98-99: Kobe asked for a trade to get out of Shaq's shadows, his strongest link was with the Pistons -Maybe 2000: Duncan was linked with Orlando, but apparently Doc Rivers do not allow families to travels on team planes. If any of those moves happen, who knows, Kobe v Duncan could have been a fixture of the 2000s Finals a la Magic v Bird. Lakers vs Spurs have been one of the more underrated rivalries of all time with their 2000s battles, and with a dirt-weak Eastern Conference, who knows, we could have referred to the 2000s as the Kobe v Duncan era (which I debate still is). But I guess we'll never know, Kobe still had Shaq for all those runs in the early 00s, there are so many variables for these things.
@@buffjesus9414 well if you look at box office appeal that decade should have been AI no championship, but you had too see AI play live , Shaq also the most dominating center of all time , Duncan the big fundamental if you love basketball you should love him takes over when he needs to focus on other aspects of the game if he is not needed, then we have KG the Big ticket one off the best defenders and scorer off all time if he wanted he could dominate the game without scoring a point, and ofc we have Kobe he was great, but he was Jordan light version the mentality was there the work ethic, heck even skill's, shooting form was Jordan esk , but he just lacked what Jordan overcame his selfishness , just my thoughts
@@TheSobieskiukas i mean to say that kobe and duncan are the two best in accomplishments and are close in terms of that but kobe is more box office then tim. ia sure but his accolades arent good enough to be put in that category
I say this respectfully but what world were you living in where Tim Duncan was the face of any era. The face of something means popularity as well and you stated yourself Timmy wasn't that popular.
There were so many great players at that time, Dirk, Nash, Kidd, AI, Vince, TMac, Shaq,KG, Duncan, Kobe, LBJ, Wade, Grant Hill, Yao, Ray Allen, Dwight, KD, then you had DET team with 4 allstars.
In the 00’s Kobe went to 7 Finals (5-2) on 2 completely different rosters while also having a complete rebuild in the middle. When he faced Duncan when both in their primes (the other top guy for the 00’s) he went 4-1 while almost always torching the Spurs as the best players in the series. Shaq was the guy from like 99-02, Duncan from like 02-05, and Kobe from like 05-10. When people consider whose era the 00’ and early 10’ were you have to say Kobe.
very valid point..! Kobe went to 7 finals and won 5 of them and he absolutely torched tim Duncan and the spurs in the process...! Let's stop this madness.! Meanwhile in LeBron's era Khawai Leonard won 2, The Greek Freak won 2, Curry won 4, KD won 2 rings,,,,, I mean everybody won a freaking championship in LeBron's era..!
More than half of that came in the first four years of the decade with Shaq. While Shaq being the better player and more accomplished within those 4 years. Afterwards I would say Duncan had the better years.
What's wild is most people considered Kobe the best player from 05-06 to 09-10. Even when LeBron won MVP in 09, the majority of NBA fans, and even commentators outside of guys like Chris Broussard, considered Kobe better. Lol I even remember LeBron saying Kobe was better in 2009. While I think there is a great argument to say LeBron was better in 2009, I think when taking the post season into account, I give the best player title to Kobe until LeBron was clearly better during the 2010-2011 season.
Kobe was on a way, way better team than Lebron. Individually, I would call Lebron the better player. I still can't believe that 2009 Cavs team won 66 games. Without Lebron, that's like a 35 win team.
@@tristonvalentine7459 what top 75 player was on the 2007 Cavs? And Kobe had Shaq as that alpha dog for his first three, and what should have been a top 75 player in Pau. Even including your extra criteria of "finals wins", Kobe had an all-time great in all of his championships, as well as a top 2 Coach of all time and amazing roleplayers.
Growing up as the centre on every basketball team I played on and as someone who couldn’t hit free throws to save his life, Shaq was and is my favourite basketball player
I totally agree with us being the Kobe/Duncan but it’s weird it seems like people immediately forgot that and call anyone born after the jordan era part of the “Lebron era” which I understand because he is the second greatest of all time but it didn’t become Lebrons era until 2010-11 I would say. It was Kobe/Duncan/AI And Shaq’s league from 99-until then.
Shaq had his mvp season Duncan never won without having any amazing team AI was never the best player and tbh bron wasn’t truly the best player till 2011 when he joined the heat oh and btw Kobe beat Duncan and won more rings
@@denzelkoe I will say in 1999, 2003 and arguably 2005 when they won it , those spurs teams weren’t very as talented outside of Tim Duncan as people make it seem. But in 2007 and 2014 by those championships Tony Parker , Manu and of course Kawhi had come into their own
@@denzelkoe in 1999 all tim had was a post-injury/past his prime David Robinson, same in 03, and Tony Parker/Manu were VERY young in 2005. Like I said tho by the 07 championship onward they were squaded really deep
@@k-cx7137 the only team I would say wasn’t the craziest was the 1998-1999 spurs but they had a crazy defensive team and they did have a good roster and the twin towers but after that they always had tony Parker the manu and they had Stephen Jackson and Steve smith on the 03 roster with Bruce Bowen so 4 out of 5 of his titles were crazy teams and but the 2000s were Kobe league he did things with less and more than any player in the 2000s
Regardless of what you call it, it definitely influenced the way I developed my game. Personally, I’m tall 6’6” so I tried to copy Shaqs shoulder drop, Duncan’s pivot bank shot, and Kobe’s cross to pull up. Everytime I play a kid chucking Steph / Dame pull ups, I’m DISGUSTED
Lol huge Shaq fan here… been a Shaq fan since LSU and my #33 autograph. I see what you’re saying about the Era but still think it’s the Kobe/ Duncan Era because it seemed to mirror the Magic /Bird Era more than the Jordan or LeBron ones.
I stopped watching NBA as a teen (got into music/punk) after Bulls first run. Didn’t return till the Warriors. Only player I knew of- of the entire time period- was Shaq. (Jeremy Lin for 3.5 seconds)
Shaq was the best or at least the most feared till about 2005, as a 76ers fan it was Shaq I never looked forward to. Shaq was the face of the league during that time, Kobe was popular no doubt but he wasn't the main face of the league till 2007. I'd say it was the Shaq/Kobe era really.
If you consider the 2000’s to be 2000-2010 then Kobe won 5 rings within that era, only player of his caliber close to that is Tim Duncan who also won 5 but his fifth came in 2014. This is obviously if you believe rings to be the greatest metric
Amnesia must be going crazy for you bro cuz you must’ve forgotten the team he was surrounded with. Yea he was guarded by LeBron but when your surrounded by the greatest shooter of all time and arguably the 2nd or 3rd greatest shooter of all time and amazing role players, it’s easy to average as much as he did. Especially when you have Steph and Draymond as your primary playmakers? Easy buckets bro. Context is key
The players with the most notoriety and impact really define an era. 80s was Bird and Magic, 90s were MJ, and 00s as a spurs fan I’m still fine describing that as Kobe’s era despite Duncan being right there with him. Kobe’s off the court legacy gives him the edge. Duncan just stayed in the back and won consistently.
I like that interpretation, people like to re-write history a lot but the era isn't always defined by just who the best player is. In the 2000s there was no clear cut best player every year even though I'd say there were around 3-5 who could make a case and from 2001 Kobe was always in that list
It was absolutely Kobe. Even during the 3 Peat w shaq it’s not to say Kobe was a scrub shaq was just ridiculous. Kobe was a dominant scorer through the 2000s and after for that matter. There was definitely a passing of the torch between Kobe and bron. Everyone during this time feared Kobe. Also simply having great players around your time doesn’t change things. We can make the argument since 2016 Steph has been torching the league but it’s still brons decade
I actually think the best comparison for the 2000s decade is the 1970s. We near-universally agree today that Kareem was the greatest player of that decade and that is why he is top three all-time, but in the era itself, Julius Erving was considered the cultural trendsetter. I think Duncan and Kobe are similar to that. In the era, Duncan won two MVPs, three titles, and was the best player on all three though he only won two finals MVPs. In the era, Kobe won four titles, one MVP, one finals MVP (2010 was in the next decade). Nowadays, Duncan is more consistently considered top 10, while Kobe is usually lower in that ranking, battling with players like Olajuwon to make it in to the top ten, but in the era Kobe was at least better-known.
2000-2002(actually started in 1999) Shaq era, 2003-2006 Duncan era, 2007-2009(on into 2011)Kobe era, all 3 of them are top 10 all time, the 3 of them were all the best player in the NBA at one point in time during this decade, all of their MVPs between them were in that decade, all won atleast 3 chips, Kobe and Shaq got 4 each, Duncan 3, 6/10 years one of them was Finals MVP, there were literally only 2 years in the decade where one of these 3 guys wasn't on the team that won the Finals, Pistons in 04, and the big 3 Celtics in 08, and even those 2 years the Laker were in the Finals, both of those teams beat the Lakers(Pistons; Shaq/Kobe- Celtics Kobe/Pau)to get their rings, it's THEIR era... all 3 of them owned part of that decade
I would say “shaq then Kobe” era. I imagine to explain to a guy who is not a nba fans what happens after Jordan and before Lebron in a few words. Shaq has 5 finals in 7 years, and had 3 fmvp and 4 rings. Kobe has crazy number after shaq leaves and a winner when he has pau. Duncan sure is great but doesn’t has the 2peat to legitimately overshadow those shaq and Kobe years
As much as I love tim duncan but I call it the Kobe/Shaq era, in my honest opinion if Shaq and Kobe didn't split they would have won at least 3-4 more ships. They were unstoppable! but i grew up during the Jordan and Kobe/Shaq Era, seen them both play in person, unbelievable players!
From 2000-10 Kobe was the best player in the league…idk how anyone can argue that. He was just unreal. He won 2 championships in that era back to back as well. After THAT year 2010 is when he wasn’t the best player anymore.
Yeah when we talk about on court production, accolades, influence, being marketable. All the things that matter when you consider who the face was. It was Kobe.
7 Finals in 11 years. 5 championships. An MVP. 2 scoring titles. Second highest scoring game in basketball history. Outscores and entire team by himself. Shaq and Duncan are all time greats and top 10 players in their own right, but the decade from start to finish belonged to the Mamba.
Start to finish? Shaq was the captain of the 3peat, and Duncan has more accolades. LeBron was the better player. Kobe was one of the best players, but he wasn't the sole face. It's like you didn't watch anyone else.
@@blackmanwithcomputer By Kobe AND Shaq's own admission, only the first title belonged to Shaq. Everything from that point on was a 50/50 partnership. I think I'll take their words about it over yours. Duncan went 3 times and won 3 times. Two MVPs and two Finals MVPs and one All Star game MVP. Kobe went 7 out of 11. Won 5. Two Finals MVPs. One regular season MVP. 3 All Star game MVPs. Two scoring titles. So who racked up more accolades on the decade? LeBron became the better player by the end of the decade, to say that he was the better player for the decade as a whole is just a bad argument. He wasn't an All Star until the decade was already halfway over with and only made past the second round twice. 2 MVPs are nice, but they lose their luster when you're getting bounced in the conference semis.
@@jasonmoukala8909 nah, 2000s especially early and mid was Duncan. Partnership or not Kobe was not the lead guy those first 3 rings. Duncan also lead in defensive win share and win shares throughout the early and mid 2000s between the 2.
There’s only one correct answer… you can have caveats, though Haven’t watched yet but I like to think Rusty is pretty smart lol Addition: Kobe won half the rings in that span… there really isn’t an argument for anybody but Tim
The 2000s were Kobe's Era, because it was the era of inefficient heroball, and Kobe personified that. Start with A.I., end with Carmelo, and Kobe repping the "shoot a contested midrange over 3 guys when you have two open teammates". :D
I think it’s definitely his era, would say he was either the best or 2nd best player in the league for all of the 2000s and even a little into the 2010s
Here is my interpretation. Kobe or Duncan could have spent the 2000s in the Eastern Conference for a while for various cores. -Draft Night 96: Teams that express interest in Kobe include the Celtics, Nets and eventually he was taken by the Hornets and traded to the Lakers -Draft Night 97: Celtics attempted to tank for Duncan, and it failed. -Around 98-99: Kobe asked for a trade to get out of Shaq's shadows, his strongest link was with the Pistons -Maybe 2000: Duncan was linked with Orlando, but apparently Doc Rivers do not allow families to travels on team planes. If any of those moves happen, who knows, Kobe v Duncan could have been a fixture of the 2000s Finals a la Magic v Bird. Lakers vs Spurs have been one of the more underrated rivalries of all time with their 2000s battles, and with a dirt-weak Eastern Conference, who knows, we could have referred to the 2000s as the Kobe v Duncan era (which I debate still is). But I guess we'll never know, Kobe still had Shaq for all those runs in the early 00s, there are so many variables for these things.
@Fries periodt. I would actually make a case that given the complete state of the Eastern conference, the Western Conference Final is, in many ways, the true finals of the NBA where the best two teams match up. A couple of teams in the Western were overshadowed by the Spurs and Lakers and Mavericks who have such a large gap that the non-finals WC teams are as good as the EC Finalist. For example, Nash's Suns would have been a perennial finalist if they were in the EC and they would have whoop for example LeBron+4 random NBA players that made up the 07 Cavs. Webber's Kings and Jailblazers match that as well.
@Fries Year in year out, I will probably give it to the Pistons, and maybe Wade's Heat as consistent PO performers for the East (since not only were they title winners, they were also consistent). Celtics' big 3 too, (note that two out of those three key guys arrived from the Western Conference) But apart from that, the mid-tier, Conference Finals teams were solid)
It was the Kobe and Duncan era, same as the Magic and Bird era or the Wilt and Russell era. Y’all need to chill, yes it was his era but he shared it like many all timers have in the past.
I also think defining an era from just one decade is stupid. For example the early 2010s basketball has much more in common with 90s ball than it does with the late 2010s .
Timmy - 2 MVPs, 2 Finals MVPs, 3 Championships, 10 All Star selections, 10 All Defense selections Shaq - 1 MVP, 3 Finals MVPs, 4 Championships, 9 All Star selections, 3 All Defense selections & dominated Timmy during the Lakers 3peat. Kobe - 1 MVP, 1 Finals MVPs, 4 Championships, 10 All Star selections, 7 All Defense selections. I think Timmy edges that one
its more about who was the face of the league than who was the best player and aside from maybe the years with shaq kobe was definetly the face of the league in that dacade
I feel like it’s not crazy to say Kobe was the best player. The stats, awards, and wins are there. From 08-10, when he had a good team, he made the finals every year. Duncan is amazing but he never went back to back. You could argue if Kobe had a better team in the 05-07 seasons, or played in the East, he could’ve been in the finals every year in the 2000’s. I think he was for sure the best in the league from at least 06-10. Bron was getting his numbers in ‘09, but he was still faltering in some late game situations. In 09, people were questioning if he could really close, so I think it’s hard to say he was better than Kobe in that year or 2010. Some players were close but I’d give Kobe the edge.
@@strongbone9471 that’s debatable. The 2002 and 2004 series VS the Lakers he didn’t play great. They lost 4 straight in 2004 after being up 2-0 and he wasn’t good.
@@pimpinb11 duncan outscored kobe and shaq in 02 and when given a little bit of help made kobe cry the very next year. no shade to kobe it can really go either way the thing is the 80s are called the bird - magic era when IT won almost as much as bird so why would the 2000s be only kobe's?
@@Sqeaky6969 He outscored them but they lost 4-1, so that really doesn’t matters. It’s not about the stats, it’s about the wins. Lakers won again in 04. Kobe even won in 08 without Shaq against Duncan. Kobe has the edge for me, no disrespect to Duncan. All-time great.
Kobe was the best player from 2006 to 2010...look at the 2004 Olympic team without Kobe vs the 2008 team with Kobe...thats why Duncan nor LeBron was the best player in the league in the 2000s
I think the reason noone picks Shaq as their favorite player is because when you pick a favorite player usually its somebody that you feel in your mind you can emulate or try and replicate there moves when you're playing but nobody's gonna try to emulate Shaq or even can for that matter LOL
I think the blank in "the ______ era" should be filled with the name super casual fans and outsiders think about when they think "basketball player". In the 2000s you shouted "KOBE" when shooting paper balls into a bin. That's the Kobe era.
Since we’re talking 02 onwards, I think it’s absolutely plausible to name it Kobe’s era. From how I see it after that threepeat he was the Lakers best player until his retirement. You could also make an argument for Duncan, as they are beginning it during his first mvp season and he snagged several rings in the upcoming years. Completely fine with Kobe getting it though, as you are right Duncan just wasn’t box office during his career. People legit thought he was boring.
Lakers best? Excuse me? Do you know a guy name Irwin Magic Johnson? Or Kareem Abdul Jabar? Heck even Shaq has a better stans to be the greatest Laker of all time the 3 peat Shaq WAS the driver you remember what team's did to slow down him? It was called a hack a Shaq to make him throw free throws because nothing else worked
@@TheSobieskiukas I don’t remember Magic or Kareem playing from 2003-2016, and like I said I think after the threepeat, Kobe was better than Shaq, although from 03-05 that is highly debatable. I would suggest rereading my comment.
@@brayv_8 oooh sorry yeah I got that wrong then not 02 after Shaq left he was the greatest Laker untill retirement that I would agree with you , or maybe not Kwame Brown has a good case for him lol.
@@abdullahahmed5272 shaq was viewed as the best player cuz he was always playing weak big men in the finals, by like 03 they were on par with each other
To put it simply there was a lot of talent in the NBA at the time but he was definitely the leader of the pack and I'm sure the players of that era would also say that.
To me personally, its the Kobe/Duncan era, but theres a reason why Kobes name is mentioned before Duncan. I think most people would agree that Tim Duncan was the better player with better accolades during the 2000s, with not a lot of moments that made you think he wasn't a top 2 or 3 player in the league each season. But Timmy was quiet and reserved. He didn't have the swag like Kobe, he didn't inspire an entire generation of hoopers like Kobe, and he just plain and simply wasn't as public as Kobe. They're both great, but theres a reason beyond the game of basketball as to why Kobe was chosen in 2K23 over Timmy.
So, as a person born in the 80s, I would say the first half of the decade was Shaq's. And when he and Kobe were winning chips together, Shaq was by far the marquee name. After that it varies so much, but in my head, it's Duncan. The struggle with Kobe is that his prime overlaps with Shaq being the most dominant force in the modern NBA, Tim Duncan's consistency and winning, and the rise of LeBron. And, unfortunately, the years Kobe was at his most statistically devastating, don't really coincide with winning. Takes nothing away from his greatness, just makes it difficult to attribute an entire era to him
It was Duncan. Duncan, IMO, is the greatest player of all time with very few holes in his resume (only ones I can think of is that Grizzlies loss in 2011 and maybe that 2009 Mavs loss but eh, they were close and the late 2000s Spurs were not quite the powerhouse we think them to be). Nobody in the NBA gave you more years of elite defense and rebounding while also being a good scorer. Nobody adapted their game better as their teams offense changed. From a grind it out moderately efficient post guy to a pick and roll player to damn near an offensive ROLE PLAYER and doing it all with a dead, glassy-eyed expression on his face. Jordan has more romance but he played for himself and then just didn't play, LeBron has more 'talent' but also more noticeable collapses, Kareem maybe beats him in longevity but nobody else got abused harder by people in his position that he was supposed to dominate (seriously Kareem's record against MVP centers is um...not...good). Duncan gives you 15+ years of elite defense, elite rebounding, good scoring, selflessness, professionalism, leadership, clutch moments. Yeah, he had holes in his game, couldn't space the floor, wasn't a scoring god, couldn't run an elite offense as the main-guy. Doesn't matter. If you wanna win basketball games and basketball championships, you wanna pick Tim Duncan to be your guy.
I’ll always feel like 2000s-2010 was Kobe’s era, that wasn’t Lebrons era I don’t get why people say that dude never won a ring until he joined the heat until then he never ran the league
@@isaakfrmla Fr and people never really say the 80s was Jordan’s era always the 90s. So I think the same should apply to Lebron he was top 5 in the 2000s-2010s but let’s not forget he wasn’t even drafted until 2003 I just think it’s a tough era because 1998-2003 there’s an argument for that being the “shaq” era. But it’s not an even number so people never really give him his own era. IMO 90s Jordan 00s Kobe 10s Lebron
Not taking team record or any of that stuff into consideration, just going strictly off of who was the best player here’s my list. 2000- Shaq 2001- Iverson (Shaq a very close 2nd) 2002- T Mac 2003- Kobe and T Mac but if I had to pick 1 then I edge it to Kobe 2004- Kobe 2005- Kobe 2006- Kobe 2007- Kobe 2008- Kobe 2009- LeBron
The only player who could be considered is Duncan, and as others have stated, his impact of the culture of basketball doesn’t even touch Kobe’s, and Kobe handily beat him throughout their playoff battles together.
I'm a spurs fan. I grew up in central texas, grew up rooting against the lakers and kobe. I think Duncan was a better player, but Kobe was the face of the league. To argue otherwise is someone being bitter and hating on him. its absolutely Kobe's era
Even lebron was saying Kobe was better than him up until 2010.. Gianni’s, curry and KD all have had the last 6 years or so on lock as well minus the bubble year.
5 championships for the lakers? The eye test looks like the greatest thing since Michael Jordan? Most versatile scorer of all time? His decade man. IDC what people say Kobe Bryant was a "better basketball player" than Tim Duncan and young lebron
Always said and will say Duncan is the best player from that era. Spurs never went under 50 wins(excluding lockout season), won 5 titles, 2x MVP which is more than Kobe, 3x FMVP which is more than kobe. But i understand why people say kobe is better
Duncan was not the best player of the era. It was Kobe and Duncan era. Duncan also never repeated, and those 2 MVPs he won you can honestly point out guys who should have won it more than Duncan Jason Kidd, Kobe, Shaq, AI, KG, T-Mac, etc.
Rusty, you are incredibly wrong about that 'gap'. Kobe was absolutely considered the best player from his first year without Shaq to 2009. Going into the 2010 season, most of the NBA world, from media to even players (you can probably find an ESPN segment with Melo where he even has Wade as the best in the league) thought it was DWade, a small few said Lebron (Chris Broussard, if i remeber correctly he took that back after Kobe won his rings) because he was the back to back MVP and more people still had Kobe as the best based on the fact that he was the one that just made two straight finals. In fact, outside of Duncan's back to back MVPs, if you were a huge Duncan fan, you would think fans and media constantly undervalued him and didn't give him the respect he deserved. His name was pretty much never brought up as the best by the mid 2000s. After KG's MVP year, no big man was seriously brought up in that convo until maybe Dwight. And even then, Dwight was only elevated to top 5 but never truly in the convo for number 1.
@Fries buddy, there’s stuff you can probably find out there to support that instead of just saying ‘I don’t think that was the case’. I should’ve done a better job of providing sources but this retort is just lazy bro
Of course it was Kobe's era...... Kobe, of all the greatest players in the modern era, faced the most teams above .500. With all that said.... still managed to make it to the finals 7 times out of 10!
The only reason why Shaq isn’t the favorite player of a lot of people is the same reason why Kareem, Giannis, Hakeem, David Robinson or even Lebron aren’t the favorite player of a lot of people, because the average joe just can’t identify themselves with these Giant Athletic Freak of nature, you just can’t replicate Shaq destroying a rim or bullying defenders even if you find it entertaining, just like you can’t replicate Lebron or Giannis going coast to coast with 3 dribbles or making chasedown blocks like a Lion chasing it’s prey, it’s just impossible for us, but Kobe fadeaway, footwork, pump fake, crossover or jelly lay up ? Everybody can do it, and it make us feel that we can be like him even if it’s not true because Kobe is also a freak of nature compared to us, how many 6´6 guys with a 40inches vertical, great speed, agility and endurance do you know ? Personally 0, but in the NBA, Kobe is an average athlete, just like us in the real world so we can relate to him.
I think it would be a fun mental exercise to go through and say "Who's Era is 2020-2030." A nice 2nd channel video, a little prediction. I know that it's an easy choice, but perhaps not the most obvious. Giannis. It's gotta be Giannis. I think end of 2030 Giannis will be 34 and that's just past the peak of his prime. The more obvious is Luka, probably, but I think I'd take Giannis over Luka for this decade still.
Correction he went to 6 finals in the decade 10 year period from 2000-09. 2010 is a different decade. He won 1 finals MVP, 1 Regular Season MVP and 2 scoring titles I think. Timmy on the other hand went to 3 finals, 2 finals MVPs, 2 Regular Season MVPS, Shaq 5 Finals, 1 MVP, 3 Finals MVP 4 titles. So this could very easily be all 3 of their eras, especially considering the 80s are Magic and Bird's era when Bird only had 3 titles and Magic had 5 with like 8 finals appearances. I think the recency bias on how the decade ended and the next start has skewed people's image of that decade as a whole. Shaq was the most dominant but from 99-2004 or 05 the overall best player could have been considered to be tim duncan, that's half of the decade. Then from 2005-2009 or 10 the best player was Kobe.... so ummmm..... nah, the 2000s was not explicitly Kobe's era. The end of the decade was but not the whole decade.
People overstate the roles Shaq and Kobe had. For the first ring against the Pacers, 100% that was Shaq's. After that their relationship resembled Steph/Kd's, in which shaq was more dominant but kobe was a top 5 player and pulled more than his own weight.
Kobe was very good in the playoffs, especially the Conference Finals, but he was just terrible in most of the finals (For his standards). I wouldn't call Kobe truly top 5 until like 03 or 04.
@@Kizamusic Maybe not in 2002, it was close. But he wasn't fully there yet in 2001 imo. He still had all his bad tendencies, selfish habits, and tendency to play hero ball. And I'm not saying that Kobe wasn't at the top of the league, but he wasn't in the inner circle just yet.
It's always hard for me to say this because Shaq and Duncan dominated the 00s and were a level higher than Kobe. Especially Duncan... That team was a contender every year. He won 3 Titles and 2 MVPs. The 2003 title year he had one of the greatest carry jobs in NBA history. Kobe's teams in the mid 00s were weren't that good either though those teams weren't that good.
@@jordanmontalvo18 I grew up watching Kobe... Kobe was the second best player after Shaq on that Lakers team for at least 2-3 seasons in the early 00s. I would say up until 03-04 when when there was a noticeable dip in O'Neals play. Once Shaq was gone... The Lakers struggled from the 04-05 season to the 06-07 season as they were borderline playoff team during that time (Like I mentioned before those Lakers teams were garbage which kind of hurts Kobe) I would say though from the 05-06 season to the 07-08 season Kobe was most likely the best player in the league. Watching Shaq and Duncan's peaks during the 00s. They were just on another level. Kobe I feel like was consistently great during that time where he was always arguably the best player.
Duncan best years is when Shaq peaked. Let’s cut it out Duncan was never look at it as the best player KG had better years to me than Duncan in the early 2000s. Duncan also didn’t play well in 07 finals, and his production start to take a dip after 08. Duncan never repeated, and those 2 MVPs he won you can make an argue for KG, Kobe, T-Mac, Shaq, and Jason Kidd should have won those MVPs instead of Duncan.
@@tylercanton3836 This is a horrible argument. Duncan was winning MVPs and a title during the early 00s where he didn't even have a true second option or third option. David Robinson at the time was declining and pretty much cooked. And Manu and Parker were young players/rookies at the time. Yet, Duncan was carrying those teams to a top record every single year. During that time Shaq had a much deeper squad and another top 5 player playing along side him in Kobe Bryant. Of course the Lakers were going to consistently beat the Spurs during that time. There was always a talent discrepancy between those 2 teams in the early 00s.
@@Kidz24 99-03 yes after that the majority of his career he had a squad. Kobe had Shaq in the early 2000s after that Kobe was showing he can without Shaq. Kobe beat Duncan more than Duncan beat him and the latter had the better team for of their careers. Kobe is the best player of the 2000s he didn’t get a chance to win multiple MVPs because of the Colorado case, his beef with Shaq, and his relationship with the media. Duncan also never repeated which is shocking the west was stacked back then. Addition Kobe has more wins vs 50 win teams than Duncan has.
Thats weird because lebron said on record that kobe was the best player in 2008. Stop trying to elevate lebron. Im pissed lebron didnt beat the magic and go up against kobe. Kobe would have drug lebron im front of all his nerdy fans
I think it should he based on the most influential player per era, good or bad Everyone knows who Kobe is and even non laker fans would throw a paper at the trash can and say Kobe
I'd say it was Shaq and Kobe. The way the baton was passed on. 70s= KAJ & Dr J to 80s= Magic & Bird to 90s= MJ to 00s= Shaq & Kobe to 10s= LeBron (& arguably Steph)
The 2010’s are Lebron and Steph era. As dominant as Lebron is none of his teams were dynasties while the warriors clearly are one. A lot of people remember Lebron for getting his ass kicked by a 6’3 lightskin in under armor. If we take the 2000’s as a whole, lebron only has 1 more ring than curry despite going to more finals.
I wouldn’t call it the Kobe Duncan era just cause Timmy also won 2 rings outside of it. Kobe won all his rings and was the player that defined the 2000s from the start to the end.
I don't think any player defined that era per say. Duncan and Kobe were great throughout but they didn't dominate alone. Shaq defined the beginning of the 2000s, Lebron carried some incredibly weak rosters, the Nash Suns almost changed the NBA and Boston's Big 3 changed how teams are made. There were so many great players and the fact that Kobe has only 1 MVP shows how much competition there was for the crown.
The argument is who’s “era” was it in the 2000s, bron didn’t do anything during the 2000s so while he was on par wit those guys, he can’t be in discussion for who’s era
I did not really have any dispute with the title "Kobe Era". I just took that as he was the most popular player during that span. I could make arguments that Duncan was more consistent during that era (as far as winning was concerned), but his game was not flashy, and he played for a small market which made him less marketable from a salesperson point of view. From the eye test, Kobe appeared more talented so I have no qualms if people liked him better or think he's the better player. The 2000's was just fun. Shaq, Kobe, Duncan, Garnett, Nash, LeBron, Wade, you name it. I have no problem with it being called the Kobe Era because the majority of fans will remember that as his. It's entertainment. I don't worship these guys so it really does not affect me what they call it. It's just fun, entertaining basketball.
@Fries Exactly. The range of talent was insane!!! Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, Dwight Howard........great era! Just a great era!
Kobe was still a viable star worldwide given a) He was a Laker b) He had the Italy connection c) He was popular in China He went through more changes in rosters. Had more instability to deal within the franchise, had his prime wasted on a terrible team, etc. Tim won as much as he did due to virtually having no franchise issues throughout the 2000s, at least none as drastic as some of Kobe's. Yet Kobe did things like outscore a Mavs team by himself in 3 quarters, go on 40 pt game streaks and surprisingly enough, Kobe had more triple doubles than Duncan. Way more. There's a Snapple fact for ya ass lol respect to Duncan, but it was Kobe's era
How does Kobe win 5 rings in the 2000’s and “maybe it’s his era,” but bron win 4 in 12 years and it was definitely his era although curry won the same amount as him. For whatever reason people don’t use consistently logic when making these type of takes.
Kobe was the constant in the decade. 7 finals, 5-2, nearly two 3-peats, an elite 2-way player, the consensus best player by players and coaches alike. He had the peak AND longevity.
Overrated 2 way player
His best years were on losing teams
only 6 finals in the decade the 7ths was in the 2010s....but still true
@@RealKoolKid1 Tell that to Gregg Popovich
@@Shemzinho he has a point. Kobe was no as great efter 2005 on defense as people say he was he prolly should have less all nba defensive first teams
There were 4 players that were selected as all-stars for all years of the 2000s. Kobe, Duncan, Garnet, & Iverson.
Shaq played Golf in the 2000s
@@cinaali3579 shaq was at that level until '04 ('05 if you want to be generous, I'm not and it doesn't change much anyway). He fell off a cliff. The other 4 guys, especially Tim and Kobe, are the ones who dominated the entire decade, excluding maybe like two mediocre seasons of ai and kg.
@@filipposisaakidis3038 Bro against Kobe and timmy I didnt say anything But Iverson Common Bro
@@filipposisaakidis3038 Generous? He was 2nd in MVP voting in 05' and 1st team all-NBA in 06'
Yeah and it was Kobe’s era
I’m a spurs fan and I grew up watching Duncan, I haven’t watched the video yet so before hearing the conclusion I’ll state my opinion. I think I’d consider the 2000’s the Kobe/Duncan era, 2 top 10 players of all time were at their peak from 2000-2010, I guess you could make an argument for shaq. But I’d say Kobe/Duncan era.
Not really, I mean he dominated the beginning with Kobe but quickly fell off cliff by the end of it
Talking about Shaq btw
@@OfficialTyrellP yeah I’d agree with that, Shaq wasn’t dominant throughout the entirety of the 2000’s, that’s why I’d lean on it being Kobe/Duncan.
Shaq had his prime years until 2005. A good chunk of his prime was in the 90’s as well
Duncans clear from a career standpoint, but he wasn’t necessarily at his peak throughout the entire 2000’s like Kobe was, that & some of Duncans success took place In the 90’/2010’s, where as 90% of Kobe’s was only In the 2000’s If that makes sense. Not talking about exclusively winning either btw, from an Individual standpoint as well.
Funny thing to me is had they put it as the Shaq or Lebron era, people would still complain that Shaq was only elite for half of the decade and that Lebron didn't win anything during that decade. The only other player with a legit claim for the face of that decade to me is Duncan. People just love to complain for no reason😂
@Nick Paul i comment on the wrong thread
Lebron didn’t win anything until 2012 so the 2000s couldn’t be his era. 🤨 Kobe won more than Shaq and beat Duncan more than Duncan beat him.
But those Shaq and Lebron criticisms you brought up, sound pretty fair and reasonable lmao
Both were better than Kobe during that time. I guess by default Kobe could be the player of that era since Shaq was in his prime only half of that time and LeBron wasn’t drafted until 2003. Shaq had a better prime than Kobe, and by LeBron’s 2nd year he was the best player in the league and wouldn’t be contested until KD and Steph hit their peaks.
@@youtubegm8256 lebron said kobe was the best player in the league in 08 try again clown
I think it was more Duncan/Kobe in that era. Shaq was really only that guy until 2005, while Lebron wasn't really put in the discussion until around 08/09 despite him easily being top 3-5 during that time. The Spurs and Lakers appeared in 9/10 of those finals, so I think it's fair for those two to share the title for who's era it was similar to Bird/Magic in the 80's.
Lebron rightfully so shouldn’t have been put in the discussion. He didn’t win until the 2010s specifically 2012 after losing with a superteam. Lebron’s era was 2012-2022
I would say LBJ’s era started when he was winning in Miami
As rusty said It's not just about winning , they both won the same amount of rings that decade but majority of fans will look back on that period and the first person they think of is kobe , it doesn't make duncan or shaq unappreciated It's just symbolic of how nost people felt about Kobe's overall collection of impact on winning , his aesthetically pleasing game , mentality , ridiculous stats and performances at times and the fact that he could get back on his feet after being down for a while in terms of reputation which i think most people can relate to , Kobe was a player's player
Duncan was good player but he wasn’t superstar and he’s system players
@@youngmaster4892 awful bait
Side note about Shaq: I started watching the NBA around 93 when I was 7. Outside of MJ who's popularity was off the charts and who was ubiquitous by the early 90's, Shaq's popularity was pretty high. Only Jordan's was bigger. He came in with so much fanfare (being in Blue Chips definitely helped his profile) and just given how goofy and charismatic he was (not to mention having a video game), for a 7 year old kid, he was pretty easy to gravitate to and he ended up becoming my all time favorite player. I would say however that his popularity probably peaked in the 90's, but outside of MJ there was not a more marketable and charismatic player in the 90's than Shaq. It's one of those "You had to be around back then" sort of things. That his career overlaps between the 90's and 2000's makes his career arc sort of the tale of two halfs.
No offense but this take is horrible if you’re talking NBA fame how would he peak in the 90s when his biggest moments in the biggest stage and when he cemented himself as arguably the most dominant player ever happened in the early 2000s? Like yeah longevity wasn’t on his side but a 3peat is nothing to scoff at
@@wassicapone6623 This isn't an "take"' over what he accomplished in the early 2000's, it's a 'take' on the matter of popularity. By the early 2000's (I would say from 99-04) there were far more players he had to share that popularity stage with as compared to the 90's. In the 90's the only player more popular than him was MJ (maybe a case can be made for Barkley). By the time that 99-04 period rolled around you had Vince, A.I. Kobe, KG, T-Mac, hell even Stephon Marbury. It's easier to be popular when only one other dude is your competition in the popularity department.
Yes and the only reason why Shaq isn’t the favorite player of a lot of people is the same reason why Kareem, Giannis, Hakeem, David Robinson or even Lebron aren’t the favorite player of a lot of people, because the average joe just can’t identify themselves with these Giant Athletic Freak of nature, you just can’t replicate Shaq destroying a rim or bullying defenders even if you find it entertaining, just like you can’t replicate Lebron or Giannis going coast to coast with 3 dribbles or making chasedown blocks like a Lion chasing it’s prey, it’s just impossible for us, but Kobe fadeaway, footwork, pump fake, crossover or jelly lay up ? Everybody can do it, and it make us feel that we can be like him even if it’s not true because Kobe is also a freak of nature compared to us, how many 6´6 guys with a 40inches vertical, great speed, agility and endurance do you know ? Personally 0, but in the NBA, Kobe is an average athlete, just like us in the real world so we can relate to him.
@@DSB3121 so you’re just gonna act like Hakeem,Robinson,Rodman,Barkley,Ewing,Kobe,Reggie hell even his own teammate Penny weren’t popular? And that’s just off the top of my head lol
Very well stated. I appreciate you being willing to explain it because most can’t or won’t understand.
If you’ve ever yelled “KOBE!” when you shot your shot, it’s because we were in Kobe’s World. His greatness defined what it meant to cement your legacy in all aspects of the word. He WAS Basketball.
To be fair, I yell "Duncan" when I hit a bank shot.
And missed.
I yelled rip hamilton when shooting midranges😒
@@whobitmyname lol who the f yelled Duncan?????? Nobody. Just you bro
Keyword is if. Reserved for those that were 10 and under at the time.
Hey Kobe and his Lakers might’ve blown a 3-1 lead but I’m still shocked at the names in that roster and how weak the they we’re compared to the Suns and Mavs in ‘06
Was better than the 07 Cavs
@@Visual_Ghoul bruh what?
@@Visual_Ghoul no it wasn’t
@@Visual_Ghoul No, but it's not far off. That Cavs roster was fucking trash. Still better than the 06' Lakers tho. Although, that team might have been much better if Kobe had been a leader or a team player.
@Fries I think he was slightly better than Lamar Odom
Living through it, it certainly didn't feel like Kobe's era until after the fact. When I think of 2000's basketball I think of heavy defensive focus and team basketball. Tim Duncan was honestly the face of the era, but like, he's boring, he plays fundamental basketball, he doesn't wow you with the incredible midrange game Kobe had, but his footwork and basketball skills were the pinnacle. Kobe was definitely the brightest light of the era and played in the biggest basketball market, and I think it's fair to call it his era based on that fact alone. But like if we want to call the 80's the Magic AND Bird era, I think we can call the 2000's the Kobe AND Duncan era without any issues.
Kobe in the 2000s 6 finals 4 chips 1 mvp
Duncan 2000s 3 finals 3 chips 2 mvps
Argument can be made for both but in terms of box office appeal it's Kobe
Here is my interpretation.
Kobe or Duncan could have spent the 2000s in the Eastern Conference for a while for various cores.
-Draft Night 96: Teams that express interest in Kobe include the Celtics, Nets and eventually he was taken by the Hornets and traded to the Lakers
-Draft Night 97: Celtics attempted to tank for Duncan, and it failed.
-Around 98-99: Kobe asked for a trade to get out of Shaq's shadows, his strongest link was with the Pistons
-Maybe 2000: Duncan was linked with Orlando, but apparently Doc Rivers do not allow families to travels on team planes.
If any of those moves happen, who knows, Kobe v Duncan could have been a fixture of the 2000s Finals a la Magic v Bird. Lakers vs Spurs have been one of the more underrated rivalries of all time with their 2000s battles, and with a dirt-weak Eastern Conference, who knows, we could have referred to the 2000s as the Kobe v Duncan era (which I debate still is). But I guess we'll never know, Kobe still had Shaq for all those runs in the early 00s, there are so many variables for these things.
@@buffjesus9414 well if you look at box office appeal that decade should have been AI no championship, but you had too see AI play live , Shaq also the most dominating center of all time , Duncan the big fundamental if you love basketball you should love him takes over when he needs to focus on other aspects of the game if he is not needed, then we have KG the Big ticket one off the best defenders and scorer off all time if he wanted he could dominate the game without scoring a point, and ofc we have Kobe he was great, but he was Jordan light version the mentality was there the work ethic, heck even skill's, shooting form was Jordan esk , but he just lacked what Jordan overcame his selfishness , just my thoughts
@@TheSobieskiukas i mean to say that kobe and duncan are the two best in accomplishments and are close in terms of that but kobe is more box office then tim. ia sure but his accolades arent good enough to be put in that category
I say this respectfully but what world were you living in where Tim Duncan was the face of any era. The face of something means popularity as well and you stated yourself Timmy wasn't that popular.
There were so many great players at that time, Dirk, Nash, Kidd, AI, Vince, TMac, Shaq,KG, Duncan, Kobe, LBJ, Wade, Grant Hill, Yao, Ray Allen, Dwight, KD, then you had DET team with 4 allstars.
In the 00’s Kobe went to 7 Finals (5-2) on 2 completely different rosters while also having a complete rebuild in the middle. When he faced Duncan when both in their primes (the other top guy for the 00’s) he went 4-1 while almost always torching the Spurs as the best players in the series.
Shaq was the guy from like 99-02, Duncan from like 02-05, and Kobe from like 05-10. When people consider whose era the 00’ and early 10’ were you have to say Kobe.
But Kobe only won 3 rings in the 00’s the other 2 are in the 10s
@@misternacho9951 he beat Orlando in 2009
The cap in this is high kobe and shaq when shaq was still the best player they beat them, and Tim beat him with a rookie manu sophomore to
very valid point..! Kobe went to 7 finals and won 5 of them and he absolutely torched tim Duncan and the spurs in the process...! Let's stop this madness.! Meanwhile in LeBron's era Khawai Leonard won 2, The Greek Freak won 2, Curry won 4, KD won 2 rings,,,,, I mean everybody won a freaking championship in LeBron's era..!
@@pceswagmez2491 ah true
2000-2010. 5 rings. 7 finals appearances. Most.50 wins teams eliminated in the playoffs by a large margin. Yes zoomer. I was there.Simple as that
lol okay dude. Tim duncan over kobe any day
More than half of that came in the first four years of the decade with Shaq. While Shaq being the better player and more accomplished within those 4 years. Afterwards I would say Duncan had the better years.
@@dasupremegentlelad4321 05-10 Kobe has two rings and 3 finals appearances some of which he and the lakers eliminated the Spurs. No shaq 🐐
@@ethanrobinson9475 🧢
@@Tanmanhologram Duncan also has 2 rings in that time but the spurs were more competitive than the Lakers in those years in general.
What's wild is most people considered Kobe the best player from 05-06 to 09-10. Even when LeBron won MVP in 09, the majority of NBA fans, and even commentators outside of guys like Chris Broussard, considered Kobe better. Lol I even remember LeBron saying Kobe was better in 2009.
While I think there is a great argument to say LeBron was better in 2009, I think when taking the post season into account, I give the best player title to Kobe until LeBron was clearly better during the 2010-2011 season.
Kobe was on a way, way better team than Lebron. Individually, I would call Lebron the better player. I still can't believe that 2009 Cavs team won 66 games. Without Lebron, that's like a 35 win team.
@@josephhanicak7922 definitely not a way way better team. He had no top 75 player all time. Unlike Lebron in all his finals
@@josephhanicak7922 finals wins that is
@@tristonvalentine7459 what top 75 player was on the 2007 Cavs? And Kobe had Shaq as that alpha dog for his first three, and what should have been a top 75 player in Pau.
Even including your extra criteria of "finals wins", Kobe had an all-time great in all of his championships, as well as a top 2 Coach of all time and amazing roleplayers.
Kobe's team was just far superior lol. lebron was better in 09 and 10.
It's duncan's era tbh...but since he's boring, people wouldn't give him his recognition he deserves
Kobe's 5th ring in 2010 is outside of the "2000s era" so only 4 in the decade
Growing up as the centre on every basketball team I played on and as someone who couldn’t hit free throws to save his life, Shaq was and is my favourite basketball player
Through the wire drop a 2000s podcasts at the same time as rusty bucket. Coincidence?
Kobe’s b day
I totally agree with us being the Kobe/Duncan but it’s weird it seems like people immediately forgot that and call anyone born after the jordan era part of the “Lebron era” which I understand because he is the second greatest of all time but it didn’t become Lebrons era until 2010-11 I would say. It was Kobe/Duncan/AI And Shaq’s league from 99-until then.
Shaq had his mvp season Duncan never won without having any amazing team AI was never the best player and tbh bron wasn’t truly the best player till 2011 when he joined the heat oh and btw Kobe beat Duncan and won more rings
@@denzelkoe I will say in 1999, 2003 and arguably 2005 when they won it , those spurs teams weren’t very as talented outside of Tim Duncan as people make it seem. But in 2007 and 2014 by those championships Tony Parker , Manu and of course Kawhi had come into their own
@@denzelkoe in 1999 all tim had was a post-injury/past his prime David Robinson, same in 03, and Tony Parker/Manu were VERY young in 2005. Like I said tho by the 07 championship onward they were squaded really deep
@@k-cx7137 the only team I would say wasn’t the craziest was the 1998-1999 spurs but they had a crazy defensive team and they did have a good roster and the twin towers but after that they always had tony Parker the manu and they had Stephen Jackson and Steve smith on the 03 roster with Bruce Bowen so 4 out of 5 of his titles were crazy teams and but the 2000s were Kobe league he did things with less and more than any player in the 2000s
Regardless of what you call it, it definitely influenced the way I developed my game. Personally, I’m tall 6’6” so I tried to copy Shaqs shoulder drop, Duncan’s pivot bank shot, and Kobe’s cross to pull up. Everytime I play a kid chucking Steph / Dame pull ups, I’m DISGUSTED
I feel the same on about the shot chucking. And don’t breathe on them wrong otherwise it’s a foul.
Lol huge Shaq fan here… been a Shaq fan since LSU and my #33 autograph. I see what you’re saying about the Era but still think it’s the Kobe/ Duncan Era because it seemed to mirror the Magic /Bird Era more than the Jordan or LeBron ones.
I stopped watching NBA as a teen (got into music/punk) after Bulls first run. Didn’t return till the Warriors. Only player I knew of- of the entire time period- was Shaq. (Jeremy Lin for 3.5 seconds)
Shaq was the best or at least the most feared till about 2005, as a 76ers fan it was Shaq I never looked forward to. Shaq was the face of the league during that time, Kobe was popular no doubt but he wasn't the main face of the league till 2007. I'd say it was the Shaq/Kobe era really.
If you consider the 2000’s to be 2000-2010 then Kobe won 5 rings within that era, only player of his caliber close to that is Tim Duncan who also won 5 but his fifth came in 2014. This is obviously if you believe rings to be the greatest metric
thats 11 seasons though...and the game that is conversation is prompted from starts in 2002 season leading up to the Lebron draft
Also Duncan only won 3 rings during the 2000s
The 80s were Bird/Magic, the 90s were Jordan, the 2000s were Kobe/Duncan, the 2010s were Lebron/Steph
80s were Magic and Bird era/90s Jordan era/2000s Kobe and Duncans era and 2010s Lebrons era
Lebron went head up with KD in the finals. Same position and everything. Kevin averaged 35 that series
Amnesia must be going crazy for you bro cuz you must’ve forgotten the team he was surrounded with. Yea he was guarded by LeBron but when your surrounded by the greatest shooter of all time and arguably the 2nd or 3rd greatest shooter of all time and amazing role players, it’s easy to average as much as he did. Especially when you have Steph and Draymond as your primary playmakers? Easy buckets bro. Context is key
The players with the most notoriety and impact really define an era. 80s was Bird and Magic, 90s were MJ, and 00s as a spurs fan I’m still fine describing that as Kobe’s era despite Duncan being right there with him. Kobe’s off the court legacy gives him the edge. Duncan just stayed in the back and won consistently.
Off court legacy of being a rapist. It is a bit of an argument that shoot itself in the head, doesn't it.
@@rokosoldat9912 not really since an astronomical amount of more people were affected by him being an global icon instead of the outcome of the case
9:41-9:53 i have him at 24 because of longevity and 3 legitimate championships. Talent-wise he’s 33ish.
I like that interpretation, people like to re-write history a lot but the era isn't always defined by just who the best player is. In the 2000s there was no clear cut best player every year even though I'd say there were around 3-5 who could make a case and from 2001 Kobe was always in that list
It was absolutely Kobe. Even during the 3 Peat w shaq it’s not to say Kobe was a scrub shaq was just ridiculous. Kobe was a dominant scorer through the 2000s and after for that matter. There was definitely a passing of the torch between Kobe and bron. Everyone during this time feared Kobe. Also simply having great players around your time doesn’t change things. We can make the argument since 2016 Steph has been torching the league but it’s still brons decade
I actually think the best comparison for the 2000s decade is the 1970s. We near-universally agree today that Kareem was the greatest player of that decade and that is why he is top three all-time, but in the era itself, Julius Erving was considered the cultural trendsetter.
I think Duncan and Kobe are similar to that. In the era, Duncan won two MVPs, three titles, and was the best player on all three though he only won two finals MVPs. In the era, Kobe won four titles, one MVP, one finals MVP (2010 was in the next decade). Nowadays, Duncan is more consistently considered top 10, while Kobe is usually lower in that ranking, battling with players like Olajuwon to make it in to the top ten, but in the era Kobe was at least better-known.
2000-2002(actually started in 1999) Shaq era, 2003-2006 Duncan era, 2007-2009(on into 2011)Kobe era, all 3 of them are top 10 all time, the 3 of them were all the best player in the NBA at one point in time during this decade, all of their MVPs between them were in that decade, all won atleast 3 chips, Kobe and Shaq got 4 each, Duncan 3, 6/10 years one of them was Finals MVP, there were literally only 2 years in the decade where one of these 3 guys wasn't on the team that won the Finals, Pistons in 04, and the big 3 Celtics in 08, and even those 2 years the Laker were in the Finals, both of those teams beat the Lakers(Pistons; Shaq/Kobe- Celtics Kobe/Pau)to get their rings, it's THEIR era... all 3 of them owned part of that decade
I would say “shaq then Kobe” era. I imagine to explain to a guy who is not a nba fans what happens after Jordan and before Lebron in a few words.
Shaq has 5 finals in 7 years, and had 3 fmvp and 4 rings. Kobe has crazy number after shaq leaves and a winner when he has pau. Duncan sure is great but doesn’t has the 2peat to legitimately overshadow those shaq and Kobe years
THANK YOU!!!! I'm a Magic fan and he's 1000% correct
As much as I love tim duncan but I call it the Kobe/Shaq era, in my honest opinion if Shaq and Kobe didn't split they would have won at least 3-4 more ships. They were unstoppable! but i grew up during the Jordan and Kobe/Shaq Era, seen them both play in person, unbelievable players!
Rusty looking very comfortable in those flannel pants
Somebody give Rusty a thesaurus so he can figure out more ways to say nuanced
love the videos bro, keep up the good work
From 2000-10 Kobe was the best player in the league…idk how anyone can argue that. He was just unreal. He won 2 championships in that era back to back as well. After THAT year 2010 is when he wasn’t the best player anymore.
Yeah when we talk about on court production, accolades, influence, being marketable. All the things that matter when you consider who the face was. It was Kobe.
@@pradayou5405 Could it be said Kobe was that generations definitive guard, and Duncan was that generations definitive big?
I can tell some people don’t like a.I. it was Kobe “s era but Iverson was definitely the most popular nba player early 2000s
7 Finals in 11 years. 5 championships. An MVP. 2 scoring titles. Second highest scoring game in basketball history. Outscores and entire team by himself. Shaq and Duncan are all time greats and top 10 players in their own right, but the decade from start to finish belonged to the Mamba.
Start to finish? Shaq was the captain of the 3peat, and Duncan has more accolades. LeBron was the better player.
Kobe was one of the best players, but he wasn't the sole face. It's like you didn't watch anyone else.
@@blackmanwithcomputer By Kobe AND Shaq's own admission, only the first title belonged to Shaq. Everything from that point on was a 50/50 partnership. I think I'll take their words about it over yours.
Duncan went 3 times and won 3 times. Two MVPs and two Finals MVPs and one All Star game MVP. Kobe went 7 out of 11. Won 5. Two Finals MVPs. One regular season MVP. 3 All Star game MVPs. Two scoring titles. So who racked up more accolades on the decade?
LeBron became the better player by the end of the decade, to say that he was the better player for the decade as a whole is just a bad argument. He wasn't an All Star until the decade was already halfway over with and only made past the second round twice. 2 MVPs are nice, but they lose their luster when you're getting bounced in the conference semis.
No
@@jasonmoukala8909 nah, 2000s especially early and mid was Duncan. Partnership or not Kobe was not the lead guy those first 3 rings.
Duncan also lead in defensive win share and win shares throughout the early and mid 2000s between the 2.
@@judahmourneth1466 exactly
There’s only one correct answer… you can have caveats, though
Haven’t watched yet but I like to think Rusty is pretty smart lol
Addition: Kobe won half the rings in that span… there really isn’t an argument for anybody but Tim
and that answer is yes
@@jayherbogaming exactly 💯💯
@@supercasualgamer513 I think Duncan is a better player but Kobe was the face of the league so it makes sense
@@gigachad4782 I disagree but totally understand. Tim is criminally underrated
@Fries it’s mostly from old heads, in my experience lol
I’m glad to see the youth actually get this one right/s 💯💯
The 2000s were Kobe's Era, because it was the era of inefficient heroball, and Kobe personified that. Start with A.I., end with Carmelo, and Kobe repping the "shoot a contested midrange over 3 guys when you have two open teammates". :D
Sorry for going at you for the Embiid vs Cousins video you made. I went a little overboard & I apologize
I think it’s definitely his era, would say he was either the best or 2nd best player in the league for all of the 2000s and even a little into the 2010s
I'd personally call it the Kobe/Duncan era, much like how the 80's was the Bird/Magic era. No need to take it down to 1 player.
Agreed. The 10s are Lebron/Curry's era. I'm excited to see what the 20s will hold.
@@ldking5132 nah it’s just the LeBron era. LeBron has always cleared curry and it isn’t particularly close
@@noblevenom2858 I’ll argue curry to because of his impact on the game too like bron clearly the most dominant but steph literally change basketball
@@kyonmurphy1120 fair point
@@noblevenom2858but Curry didn’t break out until 2015.
There was a mix of stars following the Jordan Era, similar to the current era (2020s following Lebron)
Should be called the big 3 era (Shaq, Duncan and Kobe)
Here is my interpretation.
Kobe or Duncan could have spent the 2000s in the Eastern Conference for a while for various cores.
-Draft Night 96: Teams that express interest in Kobe include the Celtics, Nets and eventually he was taken by the Hornets and traded to the Lakers
-Draft Night 97: Celtics attempted to tank for Duncan, and it failed.
-Around 98-99: Kobe asked for a trade to get out of Shaq's shadows, his strongest link was with the Pistons
-Maybe 2000: Duncan was linked with Orlando, but apparently Doc Rivers do not allow families to travels on team planes.
If any of those moves happen, who knows, Kobe v Duncan could have been a fixture of the 2000s Finals a la Magic v Bird. Lakers vs Spurs have been one of the more underrated rivalries of all time with their 2000s battles, and with a dirt-weak Eastern Conference, who knows, we could have referred to the 2000s as the Kobe v Duncan era (which I debate still is). But I guess we'll never know, Kobe still had Shaq for all those runs in the early 00s, there are so many variables for these things.
@Fries periodt. I would actually make a case that given the complete state of the Eastern conference, the Western Conference Final is, in many ways, the true finals of the NBA where the best two teams match up. A couple of teams in the Western were overshadowed by the Spurs and Lakers and Mavericks who have such a large gap that the non-finals WC teams are as good as the EC Finalist. For example, Nash's Suns would have been a perennial finalist if they were in the EC and they would have whoop for example LeBron+4 random NBA players that made up the 07 Cavs. Webber's Kings and Jailblazers match that as well.
@Fries Year in year out, I will probably give it to the Pistons, and maybe Wade's Heat as consistent PO performers for the East (since not only were they title winners, they were also consistent). Celtics' big 3 too, (note that two out of those three key guys arrived from the Western Conference) But apart from that, the mid-tier, Conference Finals teams were solid)
It was the Kobe and Duncan era, same as the Magic and Bird era or the Wilt and Russell era. Y’all need to chill, yes it was his era but he shared it like many all timers have in the past.
I also think defining an era from just one decade is stupid. For example the early 2010s basketball has much more in common with 90s ball than it does with the late 2010s .
Timmy - 2 MVPs, 2 Finals MVPs, 3 Championships, 10 All Star selections, 10 All Defense selections
Shaq - 1 MVP, 3 Finals MVPs, 4 Championships,
9 All Star selections, 3 All Defense selections & dominated Timmy during the Lakers 3peat.
Kobe - 1 MVP, 1 Finals MVPs, 4 Championships,
10 All Star selections, 7 All Defense selections.
I think Timmy edges that one
its more about who was the face of the league than who was the best player and aside from maybe the years with shaq kobe was definetly the face of the league in that dacade
I feel like it’s not crazy to say Kobe was the best player. The stats, awards, and wins are there. From 08-10, when he had a good team, he made the finals every year. Duncan is amazing but he never went back to back. You could argue if Kobe had a better team in the 05-07 seasons, or played in the East, he could’ve been in the finals every year in the 2000’s. I think he was for sure the best in the league from at least 06-10. Bron was getting his numbers in ‘09, but he was still faltering in some late game situations. In 09, people were questioning if he could really close, so I think it’s hard to say he was better than Kobe in that year or 2010. Some players were close but I’d give Kobe the edge.
Duncan also never had a playoff performance that was as bad as kobe's 04 pistons performance, or kobe choking against the suns.
@@strongbone9471 that’s debatable. The 2002 and 2004 series VS the Lakers he didn’t play great. They lost 4 straight in 2004 after being up 2-0 and he wasn’t good.
@@pimpinb11 duncan outscored kobe and shaq in 02 and when given a little bit of help made kobe cry the very next year. no shade to kobe it can really go either way the thing is the 80s are called the bird - magic era when IT won almost as much as bird so why would the 2000s be only kobe's?
Kobe was a celebrity out of high school the first of his kind imho.
@@Sqeaky6969 He outscored them but they lost 4-1, so that really doesn’t matters. It’s not about the stats, it’s about the wins. Lakers won again in 04. Kobe even won in 08 without Shaq against Duncan. Kobe has the edge for me, no disrespect to Duncan. All-time great.
I think the casual fans opinions are more valuable on this then we appreciate
Kobe was the best player from 2006 to 2010...look at the 2004 Olympic team without Kobe vs the 2008 team with Kobe...thats why Duncan nor LeBron was the best player in the league in the 2000s
I think the reason noone picks Shaq as their favorite player is because when you pick a favorite player usually its somebody that you feel in your mind you can emulate or try and replicate there moves when you're playing but nobody's gonna try to emulate Shaq or even can for that matter LOL
I think the blank in "the ______ era" should be filled with the name super casual fans and outsiders think about when they think "basketball player". In the 2000s you shouted "KOBE" when shooting paper balls into a bin. That's the Kobe era.
Since we’re talking 02 onwards, I think it’s absolutely plausible to name it Kobe’s era. From how I see it after that threepeat he was the Lakers best player until his retirement. You could also make an argument for Duncan, as they are beginning it during his first mvp season and he snagged several rings in the upcoming years. Completely fine with Kobe getting it though, as you are right Duncan just wasn’t box office during his career. People legit thought he was boring.
Lakers best? Excuse me? Do you know a guy name Irwin Magic Johnson? Or Kareem Abdul Jabar? Heck even Shaq has a better stans to be the greatest Laker of all time the 3 peat Shaq WAS the driver you remember what team's did to slow down him? It was called a hack a Shaq to make him throw free throws because nothing else worked
@@TheSobieskiukas I don’t remember Magic or Kareem playing from 2003-2016, and like I said I think after the threepeat, Kobe was better than Shaq, although from 03-05 that is highly debatable. I would suggest rereading my comment.
@@brayv_8 oooh sorry yeah I got that wrong then not 02 after Shaq left he was the greatest Laker untill retirement that I would agree with you , or maybe not Kwame Brown has a good case for him lol.
Yes, he ispired 10s of millions of fans and damn near most stars over the last decade. Beat Duncan 4-2 all time in the playoffs
With the help of Shaq wasn't even the best player of the 2000's
@@abdullahahmed5272 Kobe was arguably the best player in route to the finals during those 3 rings with shaq
Shaq, Duncan, Iverson, Bron
@@abdullahahmed5272 shaq was viewed as the best player cuz he was always playing weak big men in the finals, by like 03 they were on par with each other
@@abdullahahmed5272 Gentleman swept Duncan in 08 without Shaq. Duncan was a defending champ btw ;)
To put it simply there was a lot of talent in the NBA at the time but he was definitely the leader of the pack and I'm sure the players of that era would also say that.
To me personally, its the Kobe/Duncan era, but theres a reason why Kobes name is mentioned before Duncan. I think most people would agree that Tim Duncan was the better player with better accolades during the 2000s, with not a lot of moments that made you think he wasn't a top 2 or 3 player in the league each season. But Timmy was quiet and reserved. He didn't have the swag like Kobe, he didn't inspire an entire generation of hoopers like Kobe, and he just plain and simply wasn't as public as Kobe. They're both great, but theres a reason beyond the game of basketball as to why Kobe was chosen in 2K23 over Timmy.
So, as a person born in the 80s, I would say the first half of the decade was Shaq's. And when he and Kobe were winning chips together, Shaq was by far the marquee name. After that it varies so much, but in my head, it's Duncan. The struggle with Kobe is that his prime overlaps with Shaq being the most dominant force in the modern NBA, Tim Duncan's consistency and winning, and the rise of LeBron. And, unfortunately, the years Kobe was at his most statistically devastating, don't really coincide with winning. Takes nothing away from his greatness, just makes it difficult to attribute an entire era to him
The 2000s was both Kobe’s and Tim Duncan’s era
It was Duncan.
Duncan, IMO, is the greatest player of all time with very few holes in his resume (only ones I can think of is that Grizzlies loss in 2011 and maybe that 2009 Mavs loss but eh, they were close and the late 2000s Spurs were not quite the powerhouse we think them to be).
Nobody in the NBA gave you more years of elite defense and rebounding while also being a good scorer. Nobody adapted their game better as their teams offense changed. From a grind it out moderately efficient post guy to a pick and roll player to damn near an offensive ROLE PLAYER and doing it all with a dead, glassy-eyed expression on his face.
Jordan has more romance but he played for himself and then just didn't play, LeBron has more 'talent' but also more noticeable collapses, Kareem maybe beats him in longevity but nobody else got abused harder by people in his position that he was supposed to dominate (seriously Kareem's record against MVP centers is um...not...good).
Duncan gives you 15+ years of elite defense, elite rebounding, good scoring, selflessness, professionalism, leadership, clutch moments. Yeah, he had holes in his game, couldn't space the floor, wasn't a scoring god, couldn't run an elite offense as the main-guy. Doesn't matter. If you wanna win basketball games and basketball championships, you wanna pick Tim Duncan to be your guy.
Lol no. 3 rings to Shaq 4 and Kobe 5.
@@emmanuelmondesir1314 please stop
I’ll always feel like 2000s-2010 was Kobe’s era, that wasn’t Lebrons era I don’t get why people say that dude never won a ring until he joined the heat until then he never ran the league
Facts it’s like the 80s MJ was dominating but didn’t wins chip. When the 90s it’s hands down Michael
@@isaakfrmla Fr and people never really say the 80s was Jordan’s era always the 90s. So I think the same should apply to Lebron he was top 5 in the 2000s-2010s but let’s not forget he wasn’t even drafted until 2003 I just think it’s a tough era because 1998-2003 there’s an argument for that being the “shaq” era. But it’s not an even number so people never really give him his own era. IMO 90s Jordan 00s Kobe 10s Lebron
@@jumpy2xstreaming wholeheartedly agree
Not taking team record or any of that stuff into consideration, just going strictly off of who was the best player here’s my list.
2000- Shaq
2001- Iverson (Shaq a very close 2nd)
2002- T Mac
2003- Kobe and T Mac but if I had to pick 1 then I edge it to Kobe
2004- Kobe
2005- Kobe
2006- Kobe
2007- Kobe
2008- Kobe
2009- LeBron
The only player who could be considered is Duncan, and as others have stated, his impact of the culture of basketball doesn’t even touch Kobe’s, and Kobe handily beat him throughout their playoff battles together.
Duncan could barely average 20 points lol , he’s system player
I'm a spurs fan. I grew up in central texas, grew up rooting against the lakers and kobe. I think Duncan was a better player, but Kobe was the face of the league. To argue otherwise is someone being bitter and hating on him. its absolutely Kobe's era
Lay off crack pipe . Duncan could barley average 20 points and he wasn’t superstar . He’s system player
@@youngmaster4892 so bocks rebounds steals defense does mean nothing right 😂🤣 just points 🤡🤡
@@kushmaster210 … that’s why he was able play 20 years beacuse he didn’t do that much 😆😆
Even lebron was saying Kobe was better than him up until 2010.. Gianni’s, curry and KD all have had the last 6 years or so on lock as well minus the bubble year.
5 championships for the lakers? The eye test looks like the greatest thing since Michael Jordan? Most versatile scorer of all time? His decade man. IDC what people say Kobe Bryant was a "better basketball player" than Tim Duncan and young lebron
Yeah growing up all my uncles either said I should play ball because They love Magic or Shaq
Always said and will say Duncan is the best player from that era. Spurs never went under 50 wins(excluding lockout season), won 5 titles, 2x MVP which is more than Kobe, 3x FMVP which is more than kobe. But i understand why people say kobe is better
3 titles* - 1999 & 2014
Duncan was not the best player of the era. It was Kobe and Duncan era. Duncan also never repeated, and those 2 MVPs he won you can honestly point out guys who should have won it more than Duncan Jason Kidd, Kobe, Shaq, AI, KG, T-Mac, etc.
from 2000-2010 7 finals , 5 rings and all star every season . There’s not debate
Rusty, you are incredibly wrong about that 'gap'. Kobe was absolutely considered the best player from his first year without Shaq to 2009. Going into the 2010 season, most of the NBA world, from media to even players (you can probably find an ESPN segment with Melo where he even has Wade as the best in the league) thought it was DWade, a small few said Lebron (Chris Broussard, if i remeber correctly he took that back after Kobe won his rings) because he was the back to back MVP and more people still had Kobe as the best based on the fact that he was the one that just made two straight finals.
In fact, outside of Duncan's back to back MVPs, if you were a huge Duncan fan, you would think fans and media constantly undervalued him and didn't give him the respect he deserved. His name was pretty much never brought up as the best by the mid 2000s. After KG's MVP year, no big man was seriously brought up in that convo until maybe Dwight. And even then, Dwight was only elevated to top 5 but never truly in the convo for number 1.
@Fries buddy, there’s stuff you can probably find out there to support that instead of just saying ‘I don’t think that was the case’. I should’ve done a better job of providing sources but this retort is just lazy bro
Of course it was Kobe's era...... Kobe, of all the greatest players in the modern era, faced the most teams above .500. With all that said.... still managed to make it to the finals 7 times out of 10!
The only reason why Shaq isn’t the favorite player of a lot of people is the same reason why Kareem, Giannis, Hakeem, David Robinson or even Lebron aren’t the favorite player of a lot of people, because the average joe just can’t identify themselves with these Giant Athletic Freak of nature, you just can’t replicate Shaq destroying a rim or bullying defenders even if you find it entertaining, just like you can’t replicate Lebron or Giannis going coast to coast with 3 dribbles or making chasedown blocks like a Lion chasing it’s prey, it’s just impossible for us, but Kobe fadeaway, footwork, pump fake, crossover or jelly lay up ? Everybody can do it, and it make us feel that we can be like him even if it’s not true because Kobe is also a freak of nature compared to us, how many 6´6 guys with a 40inches vertical, great speed, agility and endurance do you know ? Personally 0, but in the NBA, Kobe is an average athlete, just like us in the real world so we can relate to him.
Short answer: Yes
giannis is the consensus best player rn
Hey Rusty. Where do you rank Kobe all-time?
I think it would be a fun mental exercise to go through and say "Who's Era is 2020-2030." A nice 2nd channel video, a little prediction. I know that it's an easy choice, but perhaps not the most obvious. Giannis. It's gotta be Giannis. I think end of 2030 Giannis will be 34 and that's just past the peak of his prime. The more obvious is Luka, probably, but I think I'd take Giannis over Luka for this decade still.
Kobe/duncan era just like how the 2010s are the lebron/curry era
Correction he went to 6 finals in the decade 10 year period from 2000-09. 2010 is a different decade. He won 1 finals MVP, 1 Regular Season MVP and 2 scoring titles I think. Timmy on the other hand went to 3 finals, 2 finals MVPs, 2 Regular Season MVPS, Shaq 5 Finals, 1 MVP, 3 Finals MVP 4 titles. So this could very easily be all 3 of their eras, especially considering the 80s are Magic and Bird's era when Bird only had 3 titles and Magic had 5 with like 8 finals appearances. I think the recency bias on how the decade ended and the next start has skewed people's image of that decade as a whole. Shaq was the most dominant but from 99-2004 or 05 the overall best player could have been considered to be tim duncan, that's half of the decade. Then from 2005-2009 or 10 the best player was Kobe.... so ummmm..... nah, the 2000s was not explicitly Kobe's era. The end of the decade was but not the whole decade.
Will you actually finish the my league this time
People overstate the roles Shaq and Kobe had. For the first ring against the Pacers, 100% that was Shaq's. After that their relationship resembled Steph/Kd's, in which shaq was more dominant but kobe was a top 5 player and pulled more than his own weight.
yea people fail to see this point. Kobe put up no. 1 option numbers through the playoffs in 01 and 02.
Kobe was very good in the playoffs, especially the Conference Finals, but he was just terrible in most of the finals (For his standards). I wouldn't call Kobe truly top 5 until like 03 or 04.
@@josephhanicak7922 you can’t name 5 guys in 2001 and 2002 better than Kobe
@@Kizamusic Maybe not in 2002, it was close. But he wasn't fully there yet in 2001 imo. He still had all his bad tendencies, selfish habits, and tendency to play hero ball. And I'm not saying that Kobe wasn't at the top of the league, but he wasn't in the inner circle just yet.
It's always hard for me to say this because Shaq and Duncan dominated the 00s and were a level higher than Kobe. Especially Duncan... That team was a contender every year. He won 3 Titles and 2 MVPs. The 2003 title year he had one of the greatest carry jobs in NBA history.
Kobe's teams in the mid 00s were weren't that good either though those teams weren't that good.
You probably weren’t born to watch the 00s talking like that
@@jordanmontalvo18 I grew up watching Kobe... Kobe was the second best player after Shaq on that Lakers team for at least 2-3 seasons in the early 00s. I would say up until 03-04 when when there was a noticeable dip in O'Neals play.
Once Shaq was gone... The Lakers struggled from the 04-05 season to the 06-07 season as they were borderline playoff team during that time (Like I mentioned before those Lakers teams were garbage which kind of hurts Kobe) I would say though from the 05-06 season to the 07-08 season Kobe was most likely the best player in the league.
Watching Shaq and Duncan's peaks during the 00s. They were just on another level. Kobe I feel like was consistently great during that time where he was always arguably the best player.
Duncan best years is when Shaq peaked. Let’s cut it out Duncan was never look at it as the best player KG had better years to me than Duncan in the early 2000s. Duncan also didn’t play well in 07 finals, and his production start to take a dip after 08. Duncan never repeated, and those 2 MVPs he won you can make an argue for KG, Kobe, T-Mac, Shaq, and Jason Kidd should have won those MVPs instead of Duncan.
@@tylercanton3836 This is a horrible argument. Duncan was winning MVPs and a title during the early 00s where he didn't even have a true second option or third option.
David Robinson at the time was declining and pretty much cooked. And Manu and Parker were young players/rookies at the time.
Yet, Duncan was carrying those teams to a top record every single year. During that time Shaq had a much deeper squad and another top 5 player playing along side him in Kobe Bryant. Of course the Lakers were going to consistently beat the Spurs during that time. There was always a talent discrepancy between those 2 teams in the early 00s.
@@Kidz24 99-03 yes after that the majority of his career he had a squad. Kobe had Shaq in the early 2000s after that Kobe was showing he can without Shaq. Kobe beat Duncan more than Duncan beat him and the latter had the better team for of their careers. Kobe is the best player of the 2000s he didn’t get a chance to win multiple MVPs because of the Colorado case, his beef with Shaq, and his relationship with the media. Duncan also never repeated which is shocking the west was stacked back then. Addition Kobe has more wins vs 50 win teams than Duncan has.
😂 that’s so true about Shaq though. Never met someone who said he’s their favorite player.
2000 - Shaq (no debatable)
2001-05 - Shaq, Duncan, Kobe, KG is a fair debate
2006-09 - Kobe or LeBron (maybe Duncan or Wade)
Thats weird because lebron said on record that kobe was the best player in 2008. Stop trying to elevate lebron. Im pissed lebron didnt beat the magic and go up against kobe. Kobe would have drug lebron im front of all his nerdy fans
Kobe is the only player consistently on your list lol.
I appreciate your kobe take beo..only real ones know the deal..
I think it should he based on the most influential player per era, good or bad
Everyone knows who Kobe is and even non laker fans would throw a paper at the trash can and say Kobe
I'd say it was Shaq and Kobe. The way the baton was passed on. 70s= KAJ & Dr J to 80s= Magic & Bird to 90s= MJ to 00s= Shaq & Kobe to 10s= LeBron (& arguably Steph)
As popular as Steph is I feel like the 2010s is lebron and it’s not really close
The 2010’s are Lebron and Steph era. As dominant as Lebron is none of his teams were dynasties while the warriors clearly are one. A lot of people remember Lebron for getting his ass kicked by a 6’3 lightskin in under armor. If we take the 2000’s as a whole, lebron only has 1 more ring than curry despite going to more finals.
@Fries if Lebron n stayed with the heats and was always in the finals and won 3 rings then yeah.
2:43 Giannis closed that for now.
Yea Kobe non NBA moments also should factor in. Including all the top guys in the 2000s redeem team he was that guy
I wouldn’t call it the Kobe Duncan era just cause Timmy also won 2 rings outside of it. Kobe won all his rings and was the player that defined the 2000s from the start to the end.
2010 is not in the 2000s 🤣
I don't think any player defined that era per say. Duncan and Kobe were great throughout but they didn't dominate alone. Shaq defined the beginning of the 2000s, Lebron carried some incredibly weak rosters, the Nash Suns almost changed the NBA and Boston's Big 3 changed how teams are made. There were so many great players and the fact that Kobe has only 1 MVP shows how much competition there was for the crown.
Before watching I'm gonna say it was kobe/Duncan Era with some young guys like melo, wade and bron coming up
Giannis is easily the best player rn
Idk why maybe it’s the camera angle. But why is this man’s hands so damn big like bro what?
It’s a three way race between Kobe, Timmy D, and Bron. They were the best of the 2000’s
No.
Bron even said Kobe was the best player in the league. Bron was at most a Top 5 players before the late 2000s
@@godserena6059 yeah that’s why I said 3 way race. Any of those players could be deemed the man of the 2000’s and I wouldn’t bat an eye.
The argument is who’s “era” was it in the 2000s, bron didn’t do anything during the 2000s so while he was on par wit those guys, he can’t be in discussion for who’s era
@@Mr-Opium LeBron isn’t in that convo its between Kobe and Tim. They dominated the era. LeBron I wouldn’t say he dominated the 2000s
Why is this a question yeah that was his era that is clear to see
Just other player fanboys and Kobe haters obviously. No other player even has an argument.
I did not really have any dispute with the title "Kobe Era". I just took that as he was the most popular player during that span. I could make arguments that Duncan was more consistent during that era (as far as winning was concerned), but his game was not flashy, and he played for a small market which made him less marketable from a salesperson point of view. From the eye test, Kobe appeared more talented so I have no qualms if people liked him better or think he's the better player. The 2000's was just fun. Shaq, Kobe, Duncan, Garnett, Nash, LeBron, Wade, you name it. I have no problem with it being called the Kobe Era because the majority of fans will remember that as his. It's entertainment. I don't worship these guys so it really does not affect me what they call it. It's just fun, entertaining basketball.
@Fries Exactly. The range of talent was insane!!! Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, Dwight Howard........great era! Just a great era!
Kobe was still a viable star worldwide given a) He was a Laker b) He had the Italy connection c) He was popular in China
He went through more changes in rosters. Had more instability to deal within the franchise, had his prime wasted on a terrible team, etc. Tim won as much as he did due to virtually having no franchise issues throughout the 2000s, at least none as drastic as some of Kobe's.
Yet Kobe did things like outscore a Mavs team by himself in 3 quarters, go on 40 pt game streaks and surprisingly enough, Kobe had more triple doubles than Duncan. Way more.
There's a Snapple fact for ya ass lol respect to Duncan, but it was Kobe's era
How does Kobe win 5 rings in the 2000’s and “maybe it’s his era,” but bron win 4 in 12 years and it was definitely his era although curry won the same amount as him. For whatever reason people don’t use consistently logic when making these type of takes.
Maybe because when comparing accomplishments Steph isn’t close to Bron. Where as U can argue Tim Duncan is above Kobe.