as an elite player? I think it's time to officially close the book on his peers such as KG, Ray Allen, and Allen Iverson as great players (with Duncan possibly there too). Kobe's decline seemed imminent during the regular season but he's stepped it up considerably in the playoffs.
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6910%220%830%324+0%27-Rocky Balboa"Maybe I can't win. But to beat me, he's going to have to kill me. And to kill me, he's gonna have to have the heart to stand in front of me. And to do that, he's got to be willing to die himself. I don't know if he's ready to do that." -
Re: How many years does Kobe have left...
2 years as a 1st team All NBA player and about 5 as a 15-20 PPG guy
I think being on the best team in the West gives him a considerable advantage since he doesn't have to go all out for the regular season and can then turn it on in the playoffs. -
Re: How many years does Kobe have left...
3 yearsMLB: Texas Rangers
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Re: How many years does Kobe have left...
I voted 2 years.
He's already over the 1,000 games mark and that tends to be the point where guys' knees start to go, like KG.
The one thing Kobe has as an advantage though is he's tweaked his game to accommodate his loss of explosiveness, so I could see him lasting longer than most of us expect.Originally posted by bradtxmale
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Re: How many years does Kobe have left...
It boggles my mind how he has so much mileage yet everyone knows he's still got at least 2 more years of him being a top 5-10 player.
Notable players from 95 draft:
Dice, Stackhouse, Sheed, KG, Finley
Notable players from 96 draft:
Iverson, Abdur-Rahim, Marbury, Ray Allen, A. Walker, Kobe, Nash, Big Z, J. O'Neal, Peja
Kobe's longevity is a nice part of his legacy.Comment
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Re: How many years does Kobe have left...
Not quite sure how his decline seemed imminent from his regular season play. 27 a game with a jacked up finger, bad ankle and right knee. I could see the knee being troublesome moving forward but the finger & ankle are things that will be fine once the off-season comes.Originally posted by Rocky
As an elite player, I think he has another 4-5 years. In that time his will game will transition to solely a post player.Comment
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Re: How many years does Kobe have left...
And, to add on, something else...
Unlike a guy like Vince Carter (most recent example I could think of), as Kobe loses his effectiveness, he still has one of the better basketball mentalities in the game. As his physical game transitions, he'll be mentally tough to accept that and switch his game to the point that he won't be attempting to do things that he cannot anymore. He'll always have the competitive mentality that has made him such a polarized-esque athlete.Comment
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Re: How many years does Kobe have left...
He's only 31 years old. He's got plenty left.Comment
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Re: How many years does Kobe have left...
I think he only has 3-4 as an elite player, but he'll still be solid and well above average after that. Overall though, I'll give Kobe maybe 5-6 years left all together.Chicago Bulls | Chicago Bears | Chicago White Sox | Chicago BlackhawksComment
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Re: How many years does Kobe have left...
He'll be 32 this year, and while players from his era have showed decline, you gotta remember that other than T-Mac, Kobe was pretty much younger than all those guys. Even KG, who was drafted just a year before Kobe, was 19 when he got drafted, while Kobe was 17.
I'll say Kobe has about 3 more years of being one of the elite players in the league. Right now he's in the top 3, but by the time he's 35, he'll "slip" to top ten.Comment
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Re: How many years does Kobe have left...
2-3 years as an elite player, 5-8 as a good NBA player.
His jumper and mental toughness will allow him to play in the NBA for a LONG time.Too Old To Game Club
Urban Meyer is lol.Comment
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Re: How many years does Kobe have left...
a few of you have mentioned how Kobe's "only 31".
coming into the league at 17, and now being 31..that's 14 seasons in the league. and for a majority of those seasons he's played deep into the playoffs. This man has more mileage on his body and legs than anyone else in the league (except maybe Duncan).
I voted 2 years left as an elite player. Because Kobe won't get better from this point.
but young guys like Durant and Carmelo and LeBron and Wade and Deron Williams and Westbrook and Rose (the list can go on), will continue to improve. So Kobe may maintain a similar level of play to what he has now, but all of these guys are going to get better, and make Kobe look as though he's not an elite player anymore because he won't be able to do what all of these guys are doing.
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Re: How many years does Kobe have left...
But wouldn't injuries be apart of that? A bad ankle and knees at 22 are different from a bad ankle and knees at 32. If Garnett didn't have bad knees, he would still be an elite player as well.
I said 3 years, but I also think injuries could also cut that short (small knee injuries become pretty big ones down the road).-Rocky Balboa"Maybe I can't win. But to beat me, he's going to have to kill me. And to kill me, he's gonna have to have the heart to stand in front of me. And to do that, he's got to be willing to die himself. I don't know if he's ready to do that."Comment
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Re: How many years does Kobe have left...
3 to 5.Comment
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