What Does Winning the NBA Finals Have To Do with Legendary Status?

(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Emmitt Smith won three.  And, was named MVP in one of the wins.  So, by the deduction that titles make a player great (in TEAM sports), Emmitt Smith is greater than the three backs listed above him, that are usually named as greater players in any debate, without even thinking about it that long.

So, again, why does Kobe need to win this title?

If you think it was dumb to make a football analogy, I will make a basketball one.

John Stockton never won an NBA title, Oscar Robertson only won one, Isiah won two.

Tony Parker has won three.  Derek Fisher has won three.  Hell, Steve Kerr has won five.

So, based on this ridiculous theory that helping your team win the title makes your status in the pantheon of legends, Parker, Fisher, and Steve Kerr are all better point guards then Stockton (way better since he won none), the Big O, and Isiah.

And, what happens if Kobe has a halfway decent-to-bad Finals, where he averages 21 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, but his team still wins in seven games?  Do we still catapult him because his team won the title?  The "experts" would have to after all this talk, right?

I could go on for hours with my argument, but I will just end by saying that to be great, you need to be great over your entire career.  It should matter that you are a Champion, but only to an extent.  Winning titles in team sports does not make an individual greater than another who has not had the fortune of being on good enough teams to win titles.  There is only so much one great player can do.

I will say one last thing.  Kobe Bryant is a great player, but his status is already cemented.  His playoff failures have cost him more than his playoff successes in my book.  All I needed to see was his no-show, give-up game seven against the Suns back in 2006.

The Lakers should have won that series in six, even with the better team being the Suns.  No "second greatest player" would ever allow that to happen, especially when "experts" say an individual can do so much to help his team win.

Let's leave the greatest of all time talk for after players careers are over, please.

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