NBA YouTuber challenges Bleacher Report's 'egregious' Kobe Bryant playoff rank - "The Kobe Slander MUST stop"
Bleacher Report, in its ranking of the top 50 NBA playoff performers of all time, placed Kobe Bryant in 10th place. Following this, YouTuber Skap Attack vehemently raised a howl over what they felt was a blatant disregard for Kobe Bryant's achievements.
Their latest video posted on June 22, 2024, titled The Kobe Slander MUST Stop, has now garnered over 30,000 views. In it, Skap Attack took to task the list written by Andy Bailey for the Bleacher Report, saying it does not paint the precise picture of what Bryant was able to accomplish in the playoffs in his illustrious career.
In coming up with the list, the YouTuber said Bailey made use of advanced analytics, particularly large on Win Shares, Win Shares per 48 minutes, and Player Efficiency Rating (PER), which they disagreed with, saying the whole value of Kobe Bryant goes beyond those all told.
In making their case, Skap Attack mentioned that in assessing what players did in the playoffs, premium should also be given to championships won, opponents faced, and supporting casts deployed throughout their runs. These are barometers that, according to them, put the 'Black Mamba' clearly ahead of most in the top 10 that Bailey listed.
Check out the video post below:
The Bleacher Report list placed Michael Jordan as No. 1, followed by LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird in the Top 5. Completing the Top 10 were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tim Duncan, Bill Russell, Steph Curry, and Bryant.
What Kobe Bryant did in the playoffs throughout his career
Coming up with a definitive "NBA All-Time List" is definitely no easy task considering the many great players that took the NBA floor. But Kobe Bryant surely has to make the cut, especially because of his performances in the playoffs.
Throughout his 20-year illustrious career, all with the LA Lakers, he made the playoffs 15 times, making the conference finals eight times and the NBA Finals seven times. He had five NBA championships to show for (2000-2002 and 2009-2010), winning Finals MVP in each of the last two.
In 220 playoff games, Kobe Bryant averaged 25.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game. He had a playoff series record of 33-10 and overall playoff record of 137-86.
His first taste of the postseason came in 1997, where he helped the Lakers reach the conference semifinals before losing to the Utah Jazz, 4-1. In nine playoff games, he averaged 8.2 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists.
Kobe Bryant's finals playoff appearance was in 2012, reaching the conference semifinals before bowing to the OKC Thunder, 4-1. He played 12 games in the postseason that year, posting numbers of 30 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per contest.
He retired after the 2015-16 season as the third-leading scorer in NBA playoff history at that time with 5,640 points, behind only Michael Jordan (5,987) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (5,762).