Kobe or Drexler

[wezbo]

u think drexler wouldve been a better passer than kobe if he had kwame

[nesta]

Clyde Drexler is better than Kobe pre-2005. Clyde led his team to the finals twice, while Kobe was just riding behind Shaq. Clyde was also in his prime while Kobe's prime is past 2005.

[conleyorbust]

-= original quote snipped =-

anyone who watches Lakers games knows Kobe is a fantastic passer.

Everyone watches Lakers games. Lakers are on TNT twice a day. To say that Drexler was a better passer than Kobe isn't a knock on Kobe.

Anyway, I think this one goes to Kobe but its not an open and shut case. Clyde never really got the credit he deserved for a few reasons, the obvious one was that he played in the shadow of Jordan for almost his entire career, the second was that he played in Portland in an era long before league pass or the ubiquity of the internet, and the third was that he played in an era where the superstars had intense and domineering personilaties (Magic, Bird, Jordan) but he was relatively shy by comparison. By the time he moved to Houston, he had slowed down a touch because of injuries and he had really accepted the role of "second banana". On the court he was a great peice because he could score seamlessly in an offense but he was also completely unselfish... he was a good defender and great rebounder too. Kobe is a much better focal-point, he has a better scoring arsenal and doesn't hesitate to take over a game even at the expense of team play.

As of now they both go in the list of phenomenal individual talents that achieved their greatest success as complementary players, although Kobe still has a few years to change that. There are definitely some situations where I would take Clyde over Kobe, if I had a very balanced squad and wanted a talented player to put me over the top but not necessarily to change the entire dynamic of the team. If I were to pick based on individual ability alone, I'd take Kobe. Better scorer, elite defender, cold-blooded killer persona.

I'd say that they are probably the third and fourth greatest 2-guards of all time depending on how you classify a select few other guys... with a decent drop-off after that.