...between statistical comparisons and subjective personal analysis. I stipulated that I was only comparing the statistics of these two players during the first three years of there careers.

You have the tendency to twist reality to support your belief. – which is probably why you can’t support your argument soundly. Winning the Dunk Contest, for instance, has no relevance in a comparison of statistics.

Also, you are off base with your theory that Monta’s FG/FT/3P percentages are inflated due to a type of offense. Uhh, percentages have nothing to do with pace of play. If anything, Monta’s percentages standout because of his efficiency, despite the fact that his team doesn’t “value” posessions as much as more defensive-minded squads.

Further, I don’t know what makes you think the fact that Monta scores a lot of his buckets at the rim cheapens his FG%. Would you prefer that he cast off jumpers from 22 feet and shoot 41 percent?

Monta is an unusually effective finisher. It’s not like Kobe didn’t drive to the rim in his first three years – he just didn’t do it as well as Monta. This is further proved by looking at their respective 3PT FG%. Very similiar – yet Monta leads in overall FG% by a wide margin. Meaning – both players were marginal three point shooters at best, but Monta shot far more effectively than Bryant from inside the line.

It’s obvious that you’re a Kobe stan and feel threatened by any comparisons of Monta to the Mamba – but don’t worry. No one’s saying that Monta is the next Kobe, or that Monta is better than Kobe.

I’m just saying that Monta’s first three years in the league out of HS are as good as, if not better than Kobe’s. This makes for an interesting discussion because of Monta’s pending RFA status.

Kobe is significantly longer—long enough to get his shot up over most 1s and 2s, to disrupt passing lanes and, when he puts his mind to it, to lock down and trap guards off the dribble the way MJ and Pippen could. Monta just isn’t quite long enough to do those things consistently.

Are we really suggesting that Monta has a chance to be as good as Kobe? Come now.

..your the one who needs to check your facts too as Monta was 20 years old when the 05/06 season started. Kobe was 17 when drafted and was 18 when the season started. So you need to correct yourself before you correct someone else wrongfully. And to really compare Monta to Kobe is ridiculous, if you say this in a non-Golden State Warrior site then I would want to see how well you would do arguing with the general population in determining that Monta is indeed “no where close to Kobe”.

Kobe was born on 8/23/78 - he had just turned 18 at the start of his rookie season (‘96/97).
Monta was born on 10/26/85 - he just turned 20 at the start of his rookie season (‘05/’06)

That’s two years’ difference in their debuts, minus two months and three days. Pretty significant. So yes, it is an unfair/dishonest comparison to look at their “first three seasons” rather than their seasons at comparable ages. No need to get all huffy about it.

On heights: You’re right that Kobe is only 6’6”, though he looks lik a pretty long 6’6”. Meanwhile, I’ve yet to find any source that lists Monta as 6’4” (I’d love to see one if you have it); and, just based on the eyeball test, it’s pretty clear he’s not that close to Kobe in length.

I believe we had the same discussion a few months ago re: Monta v. Wade, in which I was the one defending Monta using his “physical age” rather than “NBA age.” I imagine the “true” age for the purposes of comparison is probably some composite of the two; and it that varies pretty wildly from player to player. In both cases my point is that “first X number of years” is not a very complete or reliable way to compare or project players.

Re: Iverson’s overratedness: I’m mostly convinced by you (and Dave Berri), though I have to say the dude has always been an absolute joy to watch play, which, in the sports/entertainment business, does have some intrinsic value.

Well said Jae.

Monta more valuable than iverson? We’ll hafta wait till monta is near the end of his career to know won’t we? Stick to verifiable facts, he’s a 3rd year player not a hall of famer. He plays in a system that’s perfect for his skill, and that coach might not be around more than one year. why lock ourselves into another contract we’ll regret? Jeez this thread coulda been written by monta’s agent, do y’all get a cut of his new contract? talk him down for christssake to keep our cost low.

how is stephen jackson a dbag?

We’ll have you and JAE to thank. Actually we’ll have me to thank too, since I was among the first on this site to tout Monta as a budding Dwyane Wade, early this season.

C’mon men, shhhh. Loose lips sink ships!