StartX5 and Dannyell -

Adding to Chilliwilli and Quicksilver's comments, I'll take it to different perspective. I've been a basketball junkie my entire life. I played organized basketball for 30 years, and when I wasn't playing in a league game, I was looking for a game at the local park or at the gym. IMHO, the best basketball is played on the street. Some of the best basketball players ever to play the game never made it to college. They didn't get the opportunity to play pro ball. But they owned the bragging rights because these guys could bring it against all comers, including NBA players.

Do you want to see the best basketball played on the face of the earth? Go down to the Cage in Greenwich or Rucker Park in Harlem. But be prepared to deal with the trash-talking and arrogance to go along with it, because it isn't the same game as the watered down basketball for the masses you watch on TV. The name of the game on the street is defile your opponent in any way possible, including talking shit about his mama while you're taking him to the hole.

Let's talk about arrogance and Kobe, or more specifically, why Kobe is singled out in this discussion. Kobe is no different than any other great player who can talk the talk and walk the walk.

Let's start off with the white guy in the greatest ever discussion. After Larry Bird made four straight baskets with Rodman guarding him, he ran over to Chuck Daly and asked "who's guarding me, Chuck? Is anyone guarding me? You better get someone on me or I'm gonna go for 60." Is that not arrogance?

Or is your beef with Kobe (no pun intended) when he complained about the personnel make up of the Lakers in 2006 and threatened to sit out the season? Did it happen? Nope. Was he posturing? Yup. Did it work? The Lakers got Paul Gasol and reached the Finals.

Hmmm... Didn't Magic do the same thing in 1981? Except he took it one step further. It was either him or the coach, Paul Westhead. Result: A immediate world championship with Riley and 3 more shortly after.

What about Jordan whose will to win led him to do very questionable things? Like be seen in Atlantic City at the crap table the night before a playoff game against the Knicks? Or bet and lose $1.25 million on a round of golf? And to quit on his team to go play baseball? He seriously thought he would be a great baseball player because, after all, he is Michael Jordan. That is the epitome of arrogance.

Or perhaps you have an issue with Kobe's alleged rape incident in Eagle, Colorado, which from every indication was an adultery that went bad. Do we perhaps think that Mssrs. Bird, Jordan, and Johnson have lived the lives of saints? Heck, the greatest of all time, Wilt Chamberlain, slept with 10,000 women.

The message is "Don't hate the playa, hate the game."

By the way, LeBron had better win the Championship this year. With a $91.5 million payroll, that's a lot of coin for a small market team and LeBron isn't even maxed out yet. He's only making $14M this year, compared to Garnet at $24M. It takes 3 superstars on a team to create a dynasty. Cleveland might be able to land a Chris Bosh as rumored for 2010-2011, but that isn't going to be enough. If you look back, the Laker, Celtic, and Bull dynasties were anchored by 3 or more HOF level players. LeBron is a damn good player, but he can't do it by himself.