Stephon Marbury: ‘Kobe Bryant’s ’96 draft class was better than Michael Jordan’s ’84 and LeBron James’ ’03’

Jonathan Bender On going up against any NBA vets that became his ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moment: ‘I don’t know. Maybe Kobe or one of those guys? Definitely Reggie in practice, you know? I think for me because I was such a tall guy they had me guarding these smaller guys, so I was always able to recover on my shot so I was able to play good defense and not really get cooked out there on the court. That’s why no one really, really stands out like that, you know? Being that ‘hybrid’ 7-footer I’m out there and I’m fast and quick, and I’m able to get up on these guys and it’s like; If you drive past me, I’m coming to get it… and I was a shotblocker too, so I really didn’t have standout moment like that other than guarding Reggie in practice. He definitely did me in a couple times for sure.’ -via YouTube / August 14, 2024

Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: Stephon Marbury on GOAT debate: “LeBron’s a great player. Don’t get me wrong. A great, great player. Unbelievable. Amazing. But better than Michael Jordan? – it’s not even the same. It’s just different. In fact, it needs no explanation or explaining because we can’t talk about Jordan’s game. It’s like we need to talk about what people are not. “People wanna rank Jordan? Jordan shouldn’t even be ranked. It should be Kobe, then LeBron and then you can pick guys after that. There’s just no comparison man. It’s not the same. It’s just different worlds. Different mentalities. I don’t know why Jordan’s name is mentioned in the same conversation sometimes. I’ll clear that up real quick…there’s really no need to talk about that.” – Via Scoop B Radio -via x.com / August 13, 2024

Nick DePaula: Vanessa Bryant designed a “Kobe Bryant LA28 emblem” for the LA Olympics in 2028 featuring his “Sheath” logo. “The logo, to me, is more of an inspirational symbol in terms of what you use as fuel and what you use to drive you,” Kobe told me in 2008. “That symbol is where I store pic.x.com/xibdklciod -via Twitter @NickDePaula / August 12, 2024

The lessons extended beyond the court. After winning gold, the team popped champagne on a set of steps that produced a viral photo earlier in the tournament. Edwards joined the fray, but it was clear that he was not as experienced in the art of spraying the bubbly as some of his championship-winning teammates. “C’mon, Ant,” James teased. “We know you ain’t been there, yet.” That “yet” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in the hearts of Timberwolves fans who believe they finally have the No. 1 option capable of bringing them a title. For two rounds in last season’s playoffs, the Wolves looked primed for a championship run. They swept Durant, Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns out of the conference quarterfinals, then rallied from 20 points down in Game 7 to beat the Denver Nuggets to advance to their second conference finals in franchise history. They were summarily dispatched by the Dallas Mavericks there, showing that a team still light on deep playoff experience had more to learn before making the final step. -via New York Times / August 15, 2024

ClutchPoints: Doesn’t get any cooler than this… The USA men’s basketball team signed autographs for each other after claiming the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics 🤩 (via @usabasketball ) -via Twitter / August 15, 2024

Jonathan Bender on Michael Jordan’s years in Washington compared to current LeBron James: ‘He couldn’t do the things LeBron is doing right now at that age, but he could still affect the game, he could still get to his spots, he could still put up 30, right? And he still had a winning attitude.’ -via YouTube / August 14, 2024

Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: Stephon Marbury on Kareem, Bill Russell, MJ as GOATS: “I mean, as the best player. Those guys, Kareem and Bill Russell – somebody had to give them the basketball to do what they do. Jordan got the ball and that was it. Those guys – Kareem, Bill Russell and Shaq… those are the type of guys that are different specimens on Earth that played the game. Jordan is not. Jordan is NOT from Earth. That’s different. He’s not the same.“ Via Scoop B Radio -via x.com / August 13, 2024

However, Shaquille O’Neal posits that the legend who played for a lot of teams in the league should be given a shot. This is despite Basketball Reference only giving a 7% shot at actually getting in, via The Big Podcast with Shaq. “Despite all the BS, they put us through. You don’t have a championship, you don’t have a ring over here, forget all that. You were a great high school player, you were a great college player, you were a great NBA player, and I think you’re a Hall of Famer and worthy. That’s coming from the heart, not just because you’re on the podcast,” the legendary big man said. -via Clutch Points / July 3, 2024

Your championships were sandwiched between two Michael Jordan three-peats. Do you think those Rockets teams have gotten their proper due for what they accomplished? Kenny Smith: You can’t erase history. I don’t know if you get proper due, but you can’t erase history. Everyone always says, “Well, Michael was out.” No, he wasn’t — he was wearing No. 45 (in 1995). And everyone is saying, “Oh, he was rusty.” No one was saying he was rusty when he had 55 points at Madison Square Garden that same year. He had 55 points against the Knicks, who were arguably the best defensive team in basketball at that time. No, he was Michael Jordan. (The Bulls) just weren’t as good a basketball team. The team they lost to, the Orlando Magic, we swept. I never look at it as getting respect. You can’t erase history. And we’re here to stay. He did play that year, so there was only one year he wasn’t there. He did play (during the second title run). He was there, and we just didn’t get an opportunity to meet them. -via Houston Chronicle / August 14, 2024

EuroHoops: 👀🇷🇸 Panathinaikos president Dimitris Giannakopoulos believes that excluding Michael Jordan, Nikola Jokic is the best basketball player ever! -via Twitter @Eurohoopsnet / August 14, 2024