Hmmm, well the problem with using the "best" is that most of the guys who could claim that title are just too old. Kobe is more or less "the man" for the current crop of players, despite all of the things he's been involved in.
If you had to pick the best basketball player of all time it would probably come down between "Doctor J", "Air Jordan", and "The Big O" (Oscar Robinson).
I also think promotions have hurt athletics to some extent, for example if you ask whose the best boxer of all time, people will typically say it was Ali. Truthfully Rocky Marciano was probably better than he was, and when they famously ran the fight via computer based on stats and so on, Rocky was determined to be the probable victor in a fight between the two of them in their prime. Differant eras though, and Ali was simply sold better so he sticks in people's mind longer. Sort of like how "The Big O" is the only player to average a Triple-Double, nobody has yet touched that including Jordan or Bryant.
Cool promotion though, it's all about the spectacle of the thing though. Personally though no amount of awesome promotions is going to convince me that Kobe Bryant doesn't belong in jail. I don't care how good he is, or how huge a celebrity.
If you had to pick the best basketball player of all time it would probably come down between "Doctor J", "Air Jordan", and "The Big O" (Oscar Robinson).
I also think promotions have hurt athletics to some extent, for example if you ask whose the best boxer of all time, people will typically say it was Ali. Truthfully Rocky Marciano was probably better than he was, and when they famously ran the fight via computer based on stats and so on, Rocky was determined to be the probable victor in a fight between the two of them in their prime. Differant eras though, and Ali was simply sold better so he sticks in people's mind longer. Sort of like how "The Big O" is the only player to average a Triple-Double, nobody has yet touched that including Jordan or Bryant.
Cool promotion though, it's all about the spectacle of the thing though. Personally though no amount of awesome promotions is going to convince me that Kobe Bryant doesn't belong in jail. I don't care how good he is, or how huge a celebrity.
