[mtd20]

Once again, 7 straight points down the stretch to help the Lakers close out the Clippers last night.

Either way....you lost all credibility by using the Henry Abbott card. Anyone in the states knows that he is driven by sensationalized reports that continuously praise LeBron James (his biggest nut hugging fan) and takes every opportunity to bash Kobe Bryant on a regular basis, while generally using skewed and biased stats to back up his claims (i.e., John Hollinger...) Either way Germany, although I do respect your opinion (just not most of the media hacks on ESPN), I guess we will just have to agree to disagree.

However, this gentleman seems to make some valid points to the contrary….

Nearly every year in the NBA’s annual survey, the general managers of each team have predominantly voted Kobe Bryant as being the best clutch player in the league. Yet, Kobe haters like to bring up stats taken from sites like 82games.com that show he only makes about 25 percent of game winning shots. They use this statistic to “prove” that Kobe is not that good in the clutch.

The problem with this conclusion is that it is short-sighted and misses a lot of other facts.
For instance, the same website shows that per minute played, Kobe is among the best in the NBA in all-around production in the clutch including points, rebounds, assists and defensive plays.
What is counted as a game-winning shot is only when there are 24 or fewer seconds remaining in the game. What is not counted are go-ahead shots that Kobe has made to give the Lakers the lead with 40 seconds left in regulation—even if the shot happens to be the last points scored in the game.

The statistic also doesn’t count the amazing clutch shots Kobe made in contests like in Game 6 of last year’s Western Conference Finals against Phoenix. His play was so impressive that Suns’ coach Alvin Gentry said that he has never seen any player more impressive than Kobe Bryant. Considering Gentry has been around to see players like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. That is quite a compliment!

While Kobe’s conversion rate of potential game-winning shots is low, one would be hard-pressed to find any NBA legend that was able to convert at a high rate. This is because team defenses clamp down in the final seconds of close games and it is rare that a player is going to get a wide-open (and therefore higher percentage) shot.

One more fact should be considered. While game-winning stats have not been documented well until the past decade or two, one should note that Kobe Bryant has made more game-winners than Michael Jordan over the course of his career.
Michael Jordan, whom I consider to be the very best NBA player of all-time, made 26 (if one includes when he played for the Washington Wizards). Kobe Bryant has made 27.
In fact, I have yet to come across any documentation that any player in NBA history has made more game-winners. While this doesn’t necessarily mean Kobe is more clutch than Jordan was, it is certainly impressive.

Few players in the league even want to take potential game-tying or winning shots. Of the select few that want to, none of them can create their own shot as easily as Kobe Bryant, nor are any of them as big of a cold-blooded assassin.
This is why in the 2008 Olympics on a team that had loads of talent (players such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard and Deron Williams), it was Kobe that came through in the close fourth quarter that led Team USA to victory against Spain in the gold medal game.

Unless one thinks they know better than the GMs, coaches and players in the league, it still appears that Kobe is among the best clutch players in the NBA….by Ethan S.