I was never into the NBA when Kobe was in his prime. I got into the NBA around 2014-2015 when LeBron went back to the Cavaliers and the dominance of the Golden State Warriors which was during Kobe’s twilight years. So my view of Kobe is mainly at looking back at his career and I do not understand the hype. I can see how Kobe is a top 10/15 NBA players of all time but I do not see him being top 5. Honestly I have him barely into the top 10 at the 10 spot. So can someone explain to me Kobe’s greatness that should put him in the top 5 echelon? I am not trying to downplay Kobe or his achievements, I am genuinely asking.
He was the best tough shot maker of all time with amazing fundamentals and an elite two way player. Kobe had the footwork, size, , post work, dribbling, jump shot, etc you want from your starting two guard but on top of that he was a menace when defending the perimeter and he took a lot of tough unguardable shots which would usually result in ridiculously inefficient scoring for most players but Kobe was still able to be above league average efficiency with the tough shot selection.
Come playoff time when the game slows down to a low scoring half court offense Kobe’s skillset became much more valuable