Grant Hill dunks at Kobe Bryant & Eddie Jones near the free throw line! (1997-1998 season)

[CaptainH3R0]

Either a fan of Kobe or Eddie disliked this awesome video!

LOL.

[Elgin22Baylor]

Look at the Cavs/Celtics game 6 in 2010. Actually watching the game, James was mentally checked out and lacked intensity. On paper? 25, 19 and 10 in the playoffs is a game for the ages. That's why statistics will never tell the whole story in basketball. Jordan had a lot of things that made him a great player (great scorer, solid rebounder/passer, lock down defender), but the thing that made him the best (his insatiable competitiveness) is impossible to quantify.

[Elgin22Baylor]

More to the point of the video though, Grant Hill would have been a Hall of Famer if he hadn't been hit with the chronic injury bug in his prime. I watched him in person during his last year with the Pistons, and I have no question in my mind about that. It's a shame that we never got to see what he could have been.

[MrIamabitch]

Oww man would have the next pippen.he was a great and scorer and penny would have been the next mj

[blachloch1]

If not for injuries Grant was every bit and even better than Kobe. Kobe couldn't win a thing without a stacked roster.

[Loudmouf84]

@blachloch1 Absolutely agree!! You are a smart human being. I no longer feel alone in this world after reading your comment.

[nonplayerzealot4]

@blachloch1 Good point. The 80s Celtics and Lakers didn't win 8 titles with mediocre talent either. They should be ashamed of themselves. The way you have to win titles is by carrying a team of nobodies to the finish line. True, it practically never happens, but hey...Grant Hill should be credited for shit he didn't do while Kobe sits there smugly with his 5 titles.

[blackadam06]

@nonplayerzealot4

Kobe wasn't even the best player on his own team during his 1st 4 finals appearances and has been OUTPERFORMED by a teammate in 5 of his career finals, so I wouldn't be so quick to leave these pseudo-sarcastic remarks in his favor..

[nonplayerzealot4]

blackadam: You have to be the best player on your team to earn a title, eh? Kevin McHale didn't earn a title. Scottie Pippen didn't. Kareem didn't earn the 87 and 88 titles because Magic was better? Shaq didn't earn that title in 06? Yep, you were a little too rash when you typed that one out. It was silly. Kobe DID perform greatly in every title he ever won, including two Game 7s, whether or not Shaq was the better player. HILL NEVER GOT THERE. You have no leg to stand on in that comparison.

[blackadam06]

@nonplayerzealot4

"Kobe DID perform greatly in every title he ever won"

Really?

Then please explain WHY he's shot 40% or LOWER in 5 finals & why he's TWICE (the last 1 being in 2010), missed the MOST shots in history for a finals?

And speaking of Game 7's, please explain why for his career he's officially:

37-97 (38%) in Game 7's

38-108 (35%) in 5 title clinching games

Kobe vs his team in career finals FG%

His team: 1041-2161 (48%) > kobe: 333-808 (41%)

U don't know WTF you're talkin' about..

[nonplayerzealot4]

@blackadam06 Lol. Check 2002 Gm 7 and 2000 Gm 7. Tell me if those weren't seminal games in his career, tell me he didn't perform. Period, point blank, you're not honest enough with yourself to give Kobe due credit for even being a major cog in 5 titles. That's not my problem, it's yours. You should change that quote in your profile to exclude Bryant. At least admit you're a hater of his, it would be more honorable.

[blackadam06]

@nonplayerzealot4

The '02 finals is the ONLY one where his play matched the credit given to him by guys like yourself.

And I don't know HOW MANY TIMES I can it: I didn't say he wasn't an important cog in their title runs, only that his role on those teams (and his overall performances) weren't the spearheading force behind 'em, like so many of his fans try to claim.

And hating is when U discredit someone based on unrelated off the court factors, which I've NEVER done so miss me with that B.S.!

[nonplayerzealot4]

@adam You should know better as a CHI fan than to boil down a 4-series title run to a Finals or a single Gm 7 here and there. Agree Shaq was most imptnt during the 3 peat, but it wasn't by a huge margin. I've been a Laker fan since the 80s, man. I saw all the games. KB was crucial in the Western battles. LA doesn't even make the Finals in 00 and 02 if not for Kobe's play in the West. We shouldn't have a problem if you were just crediting Shaq, but you did it indirectly by negating KB's role.

[blackadam06]

@nonplayerzealot4

Those stats are what he's actually DONE in ALL of his career games of that nature, which tells ya he's NOT what his fans make him out to be in the "big games".

"Agree Shaq was most imptnt during the 3 peat, but it wasn't by a huge margin"

% of LA's pts scored in the Finals

2000: Shaq 38% -- kobe 14%

2001: Shaq 33% -- kobe 23%

2002: Shaq 36% -- kobe 24%

2004: Shaq 26% -- kobe 27% <-- Shaq was injured..notice they lost

[Elgin22Baylor]

@blackadam06 In fairness, there is a lot more to it than just looking at the percentage breakdown of points scored. Bill Russell was unquestionably the best player on the 1960's Boston Celtics, but never never once lead them in scoring.  Shaq, at 7'1" and close to 350 pounds, was an automatic mismatch. He should have, and did get the bulk of the shot attempts. But Bryant played very well in both 01 and 02, particularly in 01, when he had two near triple doubles.

[blackadam06]

@Elgin22Baylor

"there is a lot more to it than just looking at the percentage breakdown of points scored"

Yeah, but even if U go pull their respective PERs (which accounts for their overall play: pts, rebs, asts, stls, FG% etc.), as well as their Reg Season & Playoff Win Shares (which accounts for who offensively & defensively contributed the MOST to the team's winning %), kobe NEVER led LA in either during those yrs.

I mean it wasn't even close LOL!!

[blackadam06]

@Elgin22Baylor

"Bryant played very well in both [01] and 02"

2002 I'll grant U, but not in '01...no way LOL!!

U call shooting 41% vs 6'2 Eric Snow playing "very well"?

In the words of Herm Edwards: "C'mon Man!!" LOL!!

[Elgin22Baylor]

@blackadam06 You can pick one stat and use it to say someone played poorly, but that's not the whole story. MJ only shot 42% in the 98 Finals. Shall we retroactively strip him of the Finals MVP award? There are lots of situational factors with shooting percentage. You can't just take the numbers at face value; you need to watch the games. These are Kobe's other stats in the 01 Finals: 24.6 ppg 7.8 rpg 5.8 apg 1.4 spg 1.4 bpg. Yeah, the 41% isn't good, but overall those are great numbers.

[blackadam06]

@Elgin22Baylor

"MJ only shot 42% in the 98 Finals"

He played that ENTIRE season with a cracked knuckle & torn ligaments on the index finger of his "shooting" hand, not to mention he was 35 with a bad back & tendinitis in BOTH knees.

"You can't just take the numbers at face value; you need to watch the games"

I do...the #s just validate my position on the matter.

They don't create it...

[nonplayerzealot4]

@blackadam06 By the way, if you don't think Kobe is MJ or fill in the blank, I don't personally mind. He's a divisive character even as far as I'm concerned. However, I cringe when I read quotes where people act like he wasn't even in the MIX when LA was winning titles. It's about as false as false gets. Shaq was 1A, Kobe was 1B...at WORST. And, no, I don't think Kobe is > than MJ or even Magic. I was probably rough on Hill, but Kobe DID DO, it's not a hypothetical where he's concerned.

[Elgin22Baylor]

@nonplayerzealot4 It's always entertaining to see the irrational lengths people will go to in bashing Kobe Bryant. Now, that's not to say I don't understand why a lot of people dislike him. But honestly, some of the stuff you see and read out there is just plain silly (cough cough -Henry Abbott and Kelly Dwyer- cough cough). The fact that former/current players, coaches and scouts hold Bryant in such high regard says a lot more about him as a basketball player than YouTube comments ever will.

[nonplayerzealot4]

@Elgin22Baylor Yeah, like blackadam guy above who is strongly suggesting that Kobe didn't make a huge difference in 4 (haha)...FOUR of his championships, and this was because he was irked that he was reminded of the FACT that Grant Hill doesn't have ANY titles, period. Best way to compare Kobe and Hill, I guess, is to find a way to lop 4 of Kobe's titles off so things will look a bit more even between the two.

[nonplayerzealot4]

@Elgin22Baylor By the way, this is what blackadam has in his channel description. I guess these feelings don't extend to Kobe Bryant. Kobe's not a legendary player to him, maybe.

--

blackadam: I'm a hardcore sports enthusiast who respects the history of the game and it's legendary players, but I DESPISE these idiots on here who try to discredit them.

[blackadam06]

@Elgin22Baylor

It's always entertaining to see the lengths people like U will go through to deny..deny..deny..the undeniable FACTS about him when they're staring U right in the face, because it contradicts what U want to merely "be-LIE-ve about him.

No one's saying that he isn't a great player, but I am saying that the FACTS don't match up with what fools like U often claim about him, which ought to tell ya something!

Henry Abbott's article was written to address fan-boys like yourself..

[Elgin22Baylor]

@blackadam06 What are these supposedly irrefutable facts that I'm apparently in denial over? My comment was neither in response nor in reference to anything you've said.

[Elgin22Baylor]

@Elgin22Baylor As for Henry Abbott, he and the stat gurus he features draw extremely broad reaching conclusions from very limited evidence. Any reputable statistics PhD would throw out most of the "conclusions," they've made. The sample sizes are too small and data is selectively excluded/included.

It's a shame, because I really used to enjoy TrueHoop. But I keep hearing stories about Abbott blacklisting NBA bloggers who disagree with him. Dude's let a little bit of success go to his head.

[blackadam06]

@Elgin22Baylor

Please miss me with this B.S. you're talkin' about, because ALL you're doing is trying to exclude ANY evidence that doesn't match-up with what U want to believe about kobe.

Limited Evidence? Sample evidence is too small?

SMH..wow

The collected data that's the RESULT of his own play over 15 seasons is somehow not credible, but your opinion of his play is?

SMH..typical kobe fan-boy..

[nonplayerzealot4]

@blachloch1 Btw, Isiah didn't win a title without Dumars, Laimbeer, Rodman, Edwards, Vinnie J, and Aguirre. Grant Hill with his zero titles was better than Isiah w/ his 2 titles on stacked teams.

[rafaleles]

Stackhouse and Grant playng together = a lot of good stuff.

[whoedj24]

So sad. The real next Jordan turned our to be kobe. (Mr.81)

[itchycow98]

GOAT

[l2duis]

Nasty!...Just plain nasty!

[TyrannosaurusTV]

My God! 0_o

Grant Hill took flight that far?!

Kobe and Eddie watched helplessly! =0

[brian05fubu]

This is the Grant Hill I'm talking about.

[IMAGIN8I0N]

I miss the prime Grant Hill. Thanks for the uploads!

[V0LTESFlVE]

I believe GRANT can fly...I believe he can touch the sky! =D

[AlRJ0RDAN]

This is what Grant Hill was capable of during his prime and before the ankle injury. We should be thankful that he's still playing; making up for the lost times. All he needs is a championship and he can call it a day. Thank you very much for uploading these old highlights...it makes us remember how GREAT he was!

Too bad I can't say the same thing for Penny...another player who's career was devastated with injuries.

[MlKETYSON]

LOL at Kobe trying to defend Grant and decides to move away from the path...he knew it's futile!

MAN that's a long jump!

[CAPTAlNMarvel]

SICK!!! =0

[Misterlncredible]

When Kobe wasn't yet the Kobe Bryant that we knew, GRANT HILL RULED THE SKIES along with MJ, Shawn Kemp and Penny Hardaway!

Young Kobe and his friend Eddie were caught flat-footed by the rampaging King of the Hill!

Boy I miss those guys! Just glad good 'ol Grant is still playing!

[armst012]

@Misterlncredible Amen. I Love Kobe, but Grant was supposed to be MJ's successor b4 his injuries. He's still playing though.

[SuperMan0fSteel]

DAMN! I know Grant Hill can do awesome dunks...this is the first time I saw him SOAR from near the free throw line!

He sure was a beast back then!!!

RESPECT!