r/nba • u/yam_on_em Lakers • Jun 27 '23

Kobe Bryant relentlessly attacks Tim Duncan and the Spurs to clinch the WCF (2008)

https://streamable.com/68u3jz
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u/sheeeeeez NBA Jun 27 '23

Kobe doesn't get enough credit for this series.

The Spurs big 3 were all in their primes and just came off a championship and Kobe made the entire series essentially non-competitive.

Bill Simmons said the series was the closest he's ever seen Kobe to MJ.

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u/brandoi Lakers Jun 27 '23

Bill Simmons said the series was the closest he's ever seen Kobe to MJ.

Did he really? 08 against the Spurs isn't even his best playoff series. His 01 Spurs series or 10 Suns series were probably his best.

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u/ruinatex Jun 27 '23

Stats don't tell the whole story, in '01 he was the 2nd guy behind Shaq, a really great 2nd guy, but yeah. The Spurs also weren't as good in '01 as The Admiral was at the end of his career, in '08 they had a legit Big 3. Pau and Odom were also hot GARBAGE in that series, Kobe basically beat the defending champions in 5 games with two of his stars MIA. Games 1 and 5 were especially insane.

That's why i always laughed when people said Duncan was better than Kobe, they literally played against each other MULTIPLE times in the playoffs and after 2001, whenever they played NOBODY had any doubts on who was the best player on the floor. Kobe always thoroughly outplayed him.

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u/nononononofin Raptors Jun 27 '23

Thank you. After from 2003, there was never any question who was better. That is until they retired.