Who would you say is athlete of the decade?

Question

You can't pick Lebron James or anybody else drafted in 2003. Neither Chris Paul. Because they've only been here less than 6 years.

I'll go with Kobe Bryant

Your pick? feel free to add stats to argue your pick.

Answer 1

Basketball-Kobe Bryant, cuz he got couple  more years in this decade to keep going.

Athlete- Lance Armstrong

Answer 2

if your talking basketball...shaq & tim duncan have accomplished the most.

Answer 3

Kobe of course... he scored 81 points and that the second in nba history and the last time someone scored 100 points wasnt in our decade and he scored 4 50points games in a row and nobodys done that in this decade.

Best athkete if the decade? Kobe Bryant

Answer 4

From 2000 to 2008, there are 3 basketball players who can be seen as the best player in the last decade or "athlete of the decade" as you put it- Duncan, Shaq, Kobe.

I'll break down each player's claims to this title: this will be long, so hope you take the time to read it.

Kobe's an interesting one. He hasn't won any titles as the number one option on a team- Shaq won Finals MVP in each of their three championship seasons and consistently scored more in the playoffs on higher efficiency.

But, Kobe was the "closer" on those teams- he was the one who was looked at to make big plays down the stretch: mainly because of his very good passing ability, his ability to make free throws (Shaq could be a liability at the end of games because of this), and his position- he's a guard, so it's much easier to get the ball to him rather than Shaq when the other team is packing in their defense in the post.

Kobe was also an elite defender, he's slipped off in recent years a little bit, but he's still one h**l of a defender- not a particularly notable help defender (meaning helping his teammates when they need it on defense, rotating based on the other team's offense, etc), but he's been a great man defender because of his lateral quickness and his desire to shut down the other team's best player.

And then the past 4 seasons without Shaq, Kobe's clearly been the best player on the Lakers.

He's led the team to the playoffs in 3 out of these 4 years, and gotten to the Finals once- pretty impressive, especially given his weak supporting case prior to last season.

He's done well for himself since Shaq left town- struggled his first season without Shaq, but after that, he was great- put up a mind-boggling season in 05-06 (35 points a game), continued to perform impressively in the following years, won the MVP.

So, yeah Kobe's consistently been great this last decade- something Shaq can't attest to because of his age, and has probably been the best player in the league these last few years.

On to Duncan- has won 4 championships as the best player on his team, been a consistent 20-10 guy, been the anchor for his team defensively since he was drafted: and the Spurs are consistently a top 5 defensive team every year.

He's won 2 MVPS, 2 Final MVPS, and has been the best defensive player of the decade- it's a shame that he hasn't won any Defensive Player of the Years.

In general, he's not as good a scorer as Shaq or Kobe- a prime Shaq is above them both in terms of efficiency, and Duncan's never been a top level scorer- very good: yes, but not elite.

He's not actually a more efficient scorer than Kobe (looking at TS% or True Shooting %- which is a combined percentage of threes, free throws, and field goals, and is more accurate than Field Goal Percentage).

The argument for Duncan is he's been a consistently top 5 NBA player for the last decade (as has Kobe), has continuously led his team to a championship as the best player on the team (something Kobe has never done), and is has a greater defensive impact than Kobe simply because he's a big man- meaning he can influence the game in terms of rebounding, post defense, help defense, anchoring a defense far more than any perimeter player could ever hope to do.

And, lastly Shaq- as won 3 championships with the Lakers, as the best player on his team, was a #2 option behind Wade with the Heat when he won that championship.

If were talking strictly about primes, he's the best of these three- best scorer, most efficient (has a career TS% of nearly 60%, which is simply amazing- to put things in perspective Kobe and Duncan each have a TS of about 55%: a significant difference).

He was a good defender, especially man to man defense because of his size and length, but not elite like Duncan or Kobe.

He's an exceptional passer for a big man, has great foot work for his size (an array of drop steps, spin moves, fakes, positioning to get the ball and post up, etc), very good rebounder (when he on the court, he gets 18% of the rebounds available, about equal to Duncan which is saying a lot since Shaq never seemed to put in the same effort in terms of hustle).

But, I'm going to take Shaq out of the argument- not because he's a worse player than Duncan or Kobe (in his prime he was better than both as I discussed simply because he could not be stopped), but because he hasn't been as consistent because of his age- the last 3 years Shaq has noticeably dropped off.

He doesn't get the ball nearly as much anymore (his usage rate or percentage of time has has the ball in his hands has steadily been decreasing), is a liability at times (Hack-A-Shaq as the Spurs used in the past playoffs can really hurt a team's offensive flow, and because Shaq isn't nearly as good as he used to be, he can really be a detriment to a team at times).

So, Shaq's out of the equation because he doesn't have the consistency Duncan and Kobe have had.

Now, between Duncan and Kobe- I'd have to go with Duncan for this past decade.

Kobe's the better player now, but Duncan was the better player earlier in the decade- his points per game goes noticeably up during the post season as does his rebounds, he's consistently been a top 5 player as has Kobe, but because of him being a big man, he's been easier to build a team around and has a greater defensive impact (as I said, the Spurs have consistently been a top 5 defense the past decade).

With accolades- Duncan's got more MVPS, more Final MVPS, and 4 championships as the best player on his team: until Kobe wins one championship as the number #1 guy on his team, it's hard for him to claim the title as best player of the past decade.

So, yeah based on what I've said, Duncan's been just as consistent for just as long as Kobe, is a worse scorer but has more impact defensively (he's had a defensive rating in the top 5 in the league every year in his career), and has a far better resume than him, and because of that I have to go with Duncan for the present: this could definitely change if Kobe wins a championship in the next two years.

Just to show that Duncan has been just as consistent as Kobe the last 9 years (starting with the 99-00 season), here are the results of where they finished in MVP voting the last decade or so (a good measure of whether a player has continued to be a top player over the years):

Kobe's finished: 12th, 9th, 5th, 3rd, 5th, 4th, 3rd, 1st.

Duncan's finished: 5th, 2nd, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 4th, 8th, 4th, 7th

Both players have remained in the upper echeleon of players over the last decade, and like I said, if Kobe manages to win a championship as the number #1 guy, he'll have a better chance of getting this honor away from Duncan. Until then though, my final rankings based on stats, team success, and ultimately the position they play (Duncan's role as a PF/Center gives him a definite advantage of Kobe defensively and his ability to anchor a team offensively- there's a reason most teams throughout history have won championships with a big man: they're easier to build around:

1) Duncan

2) Kobe

3) Shaq

Answer 5

tony parker and not kobe

Answer 6

Tiger Woods

Answer 7

Well kobe he's done stuff ppl havent seen in time.. Like tiger has never done anything like em neither has any football star, baseball star, soccer star or anyone. He's broken records, and has been one of the most hated and loved atlehtes of all time and even through all that he's still the greatest athelte right now

Answer 8

If you say athelete of the decade, it would have to be either Tiger Wood or Roger Federer.  

It seems you only really mean in basketball.  If that's the case then I'll go with Tim Duncan or even Shaq.  Both of those guys have more rings then Kobe and have more MVP's then Kobe.

Shaq also have Final appearance with the Magics and Heats as well as Lakers.  He took more teams to the Final.  But my biased opinion would be Tim Duncan because I'm a huge fan of his.

Answer 9

athlete of the decade?

probably lance armstrong or tiger woods.

Answer 10

tim duncan kobe kevin garnett  or shaq cuz of his early 2000s

Answer 11

tom brady

Answer 12

What up Pistons Fan,

You'd probably have to go with Tim Duncan in terms of the NBA because he's won 4 titles- and won both regular season and finals MVP(s).  

Tim is a model of consistency.  Although his game has slipped a bit- his team is a contender year in year out and he's the "BIG FUNDAMENTAL"...

Nickster

Answer 13

Its either Shaq or Duncan. No way its Kobe.

Answer 14

for you people who answered already....this question is under basketball...so stop talkin about tiger....

i dont even know why im answering this because you said it...kobe is the athlete of the decade. three championships....MVP...scoring titles...all that. he dominates the court, and when hes on it you know hes there.

Answer 15

Steve Nash all the way

Answer 16

In terms of the NBA, I'll go with Tim Duncan.

In terms of sports as a whole, we all have to agree that Tiger Woods is the athlete of the decade.  

Answer 17

marat safin

Answer 18

This is basketball you morons.

Kobe...you took away everyone else