Better legacy: Shaq or Kobe?

So on Wednesday, Money and I went to Quiznos where he got a turkey ranch sandwich (something like that) and I copped a large chicken carbonara sub (yup, black people love chicken) and he mentioned to me that he was working on piece about Kobe Bryant's legacy in the game. Money made the point that decades from now, when people discussKobe, they will look at his rap sheet (I'm not talking about his criminal record) and say that Shaq left a bigger imprint on the game. Dude surprised me more then Chris Brown surprised Rihanna (quick side note: my friend Marco said that Chris Brown's career is done with such a scandal; my answer was look at Kobe's rape case and R. Kelly's "thing", nuff said) with the statement. I will acknowledge that Shaquille O'Neal's dominance was jaw dropping and that his numbers alone without the aid of video footage would put him in the Hall of Fame. The Diesel terrorized defenses for years and actually put the fear of God into people. But am I willing to say that Shaq's impact on the game will be remembered longer then Kobe's? Hell nah! Shaquille O'Neal gave the NBA two truly dominant Hall of Fame seasons.

However, for the remainder of his career the Diesel has been average; keep in mind when I say average, I mean that in terms of the standard that Shaq set. Once we saw the best that he could give, everything else was sub par and that's undeniable. Look at Shaq's averages at his peak:

1999-2000 playoffs: 30.7 ppg, 15.4 rpg, 3.1 apg, 2.39 bpg, 56.6 % fg

2000-2001 playoffs: 30.4 ppg, 15.4 rpg, 3.2 apg, 3.0 bpg, 55.5 %fg

After those two years, O'Neal still put up numbers but not at the same clip and he also played fewer games. Shaq was known to take training camp off to nurse injuries and then play himself into shape as the season progressed. Taking that into consideration, you develop a greater appreciation of his dominance when looking at his career numbers. After his first title, Shaq started averaging about 60 games per season. And yet, look at what he has been able to accomplish:

14 and going on 15 All-Star appearances

1992-1993 rookie of the year

1999-2000 All-Star Game MVP

1999-2000 NBA MVP

1999-2000 Finals MVP

2000-2001 Finals MVP

2001-2002 Finals MVP

2003-2004 All-Star Game MVP

2^nd in league history in career field percentage with 58.1%

4^th in league history in free throw attempts with 10 688

7 times named to All-NBA first team

8^th in league history in total field goals with 10 707

8^th in league history in blocked shots with 2 586 blocks

9^th in league history in defensive rebounding with 3 987 defensive rebounds

9^th in league history in total points with 27 049 points

11^th in league history in defensive rebounds with 8 339

12^th in league history in points per game with 24.9 ppg

Amount NBA has paid Shaq up to this point in his career: $251,614,005.

And yet, I will still make the bold statement that Kobe will be remembered far longer for what he has done in comparison to Shaq. Bryant still has several years left in his career and might eventually accumulate gaudy career numbers like his former teammate. However, Kobe will distinguish himself with his sustained excellence. Kobe Bryant has been able to not only be great, but be consistently great for a long period of time. When the Lakers were on their way to winning their first title, it was Kobe that took over in overtime of Game 4 of the NBA Finals to lead the team to victory. When the 2000-2001 playoffs came around, Kobe put up back to back 40+ point games to eliminate the Spurs. I could name several instances in which Kobe came up huge in big games but that really would not do him justice. The best way to put it is this: by the time he retires, Kobe Bryant will have been the best offensive player the league has ever seen. I have seen him score in everyway possible (except at the bar, we know that's not his area of expertise); jump shots, fade aways, dunks, lay ups, floaters, up and unders, finger rolls, left handed hook shots, left handed bank shots, reverse lay ups, etc. Look at his current achievements:

11 All-Star appearances

2001-2002 All-Star Game MVP

2006-2007 All-Star Game MVP

2007-2008 NBA MVP

6 times named All-NBA first team

6 times named All-NBA defensive first team

19^th in league history in free throws made with 5 945 free throws

26^th in league history in total points with 23 057 points

9^th in league history in points per game with 25.1 ppg

Amount NBA has paid Kobe up to this point in his career: $127,085,490

These accomplishments pale in comparison to Shaq's, but think of all the Kobe career highlights that he has had. And to prove a point, I decided to put on paper all of Kobe's career highlights I could remember without actually researching it (to prove my point about his imprint), so here goes:

• 81 points in game;
• 9 straight 40 point games;
• 12 three pointers made in a game;
• 61 points at MSG and breaking Bernard King's old scoring record;
• the first guy to average 35 points per game since MJ did it about 20 years ago;
• 42 point in a half against MJ in his last trip toStaples Center as a Wizards player;
• 50 point duel against Antawn Jamison;
• 55 points against the Grizzlies through 3 quarters;
• outscoring the Mavericks 62-61 after three 3 quarters;
• dropping a Curtis (50) on the Suns in the playoffs;
• 42 points in Game 6 of the '04 Conference Finals against the vaulted Spurs defense after being in court and flying to L.A. a mere hour before the game.

Still not convinced of #24’s imprint on the game? The next time you go to the playground or watch a high school or college basketball game; watch the dude that takes a nice turnaround fade away jump shot; who comes to mind when you just think about the image? Is Kobe or Mike? I believe you just answered the ended the Kobe-Shaq debate of the day.