L.A. OR Boston

[Prince Valiant]

name all others you would put above him...

Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird, Pete Maravich, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabar, Magic Johnson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Julius Erving, John Stockton, Michael Jordan.

edit: throw in charles barkley too.

And those are the ones I don't have to put any thought into....so yeah, he doesn't make my top ten.

Heck, even of those playing today or recently, I can come up with a few that merit consideration of being placed higher on the "greatest ever" list above Kobe: Iverson, Duncan, James. Not saying they are for certain, but it's at least debatable.

This isn't to take anything away from Kobe...this isn't to say he's a chump. He IS a great player, there can be no question. But not the second greatest of all time.

[Lash]

edit: throw in charles barkley too.

Lets be real here.

[Prince Valiant]

Lets be real here.

Barkley was phenomenal in his heyday. Hate to say it, he was actually underrated imo...you look at the impact he had on the teams he played, and also what he did with what he had. In my mind, he's undoubtedly the best of the small "power" forwards to ever play...which is saying a lot, considering that many consider elgin baylor to be the best of the small "power" forwards.

Just as Barkley couldn't do what Kobe does on the court, Kobe couldn't do what barkley did...and I consider barkley's feats more impressive honestly.