The St. Bonaventure Bonnies 2021 season ended with 16 wins and 5 losses. Mark Schmidt led the Bonnies to win the A-10 regular season and A-10 Championship qualifying them to reach the big dance in Indianapolis. For a team with no seniors and five returning starters, there is a lot to be excited about for the 2021-22 season.

Point Guard Kyle Lofton and center Osun Osunniyi plan to accomplish even more next year. Kyle Lofton was awarded First-Team all-conference in the A-10 and Osun Osunniyi was second team and won defensive player of the year. Osunniyi ranked 9th nationally and led the A-10 with 2.84 blocks per game. Jaren Holmes was selected to the second team averaging 13.8 points per game. The Bonnies also return two big time players in Jalen Adaway and Dominick Welch. Welch has been a force defensively limiting the other team’s best players, especially in A-10 tournament play. He is also 10th all time in threes for the Bonnies heading into his senior year.

The Bonnies are losing players to the transfer portal including AJ Vasquez and Jalen Shaw. They also lost Justin Winston and Anthony Roberts during the year to the transfer portal. They have added G Quadry Adams (Wake Forest, Fr.), and F Abdoul Karim Coulibaly (Pittsburgh, Soph., 5.2 ppg). Look for Coulibaly to play a big role next year with his flexibility at power forward and center. He is excellent in guarding the pick and roll and has room to improve on his game as he is only a sophomore.

The Bonnies will have similar foes in the A-10 to compete with next year. St. Louis has starters Javonte Perkins and Yuri Collins back from last year but lose Hasahn French and Jordan Goodwin. Richmond will have two of their three best players back in Grant Golden and Jacob Gilyard. Blake Francis has yet to make decision to come back yet. VCU is their toughest opponent, assuming A-10 player of the year Bones Hylaand is back and ready to lead the league in scoring again. Davidson, Rhode Island and Dayton all lost Kellan Grady, Fatts Russel and Jalen Crutcher. These three guys were Bonnie’s killers over the years.

Stadium basketball insider, Jeff Goodman released his, “Way-Too-Early Preseason Top 25 for 2021-22” rankings for next year. In his top 25 are the St. Bonaventure Bonnies at number 16 in the nation. Here is the link to the article: https://watchstadium.com/jeff-goodmans-way-too-early-preseason-top-25-for-2021-22-04-05-2021/. The season is still very far away, and the transfer portal is still open, but the Bonnies are getting some love for their great season last year.

Personally, I believe we are a top 25 team, but I believe the committee won’t rank us above teams like Michigan State, Houston or North Carolina right away. I cannot wait for next season. The Bonnies kick off their season at the Charleston Classic in November. They will be joined by West Virginia, Marquette, Temple, Boise State, and more.

The Final Four matchups in the men’s NCAA tournament are set to take place on Saturday, April 3rd. No. 1 seed Gonzaga is rolling right now off a win against USC and are ready to take on No. 11 seed UCLA at 8:34 p.m. No. 1 seed Baylor will play against No. 2 seed Houston at 5:14 p.m.

Baylor is making its first appearance in the Final Four since 1950. They are coached by Scott Drew and led by guards, Macio Teague, Davion Mitchell, and Jared Butler. Butler can make it rain from deep and is an all around great player. He was the runner-up for the Big-12 player of the year and a first-team all American. Those three guards average 46 points per game helping the Bears lead the nation in three point percentage.

The Houston Cougars are making its first appearance since 1984’s Phi Slama Jama team. They are coached by Kelvin Sampson and led by their defensive ability and excellent guard play. They have the best defense remaining in the tournament holding teams to 57 points per game. The Cougars are leading the nation in field goal percentage defense. They can also dominate on the boards like they did in the sweet 16 against Syracuse. Jarreau is the AAC defensive player of the year and limited Buddy Boeheim to 12 points. They don’t just play defense as they are led by Dejon Jarreau and Quentin Grimes offensively. He brings so much energy to the Cougars and can really lock down the opponent’s best player. Baylor has played tougher opponents all season long facing 12 top-30 NET-ranked teams since January. Houston has only played two since January. Look for who Jarreau defends when the ball at tip off and see if he can limit one of the three-headed monsters on Baylor.

Gonzaga is still undefeated and if they win out, they will be the first undefeated squad since the 1975-76 Indiana team. The Bulldogs are a scoring machine averaging 91 points per game. This will be head coach Mark Few’s second time in the final four. Gonzaga went to the National Championship in 2017 when they lost to North Carolina. UCLA has been to final four 19 times and the last time they won a championship was in 1995. The last time UCLA were in the final four was with superstars Russel Westbrook and Kevin Love losing to Derick Rose and Memphis. Fifteen years ago, No. 3 seed UCLA beat No. 2 seed Gonzaga led by Adam Morrison.

Gonzaga is 14 a point favorite against UCLA on Saturday. Gonzaga is destroying teams in the tournament and looking like a big favorite to win it all this year. Gonzaga will be the first team to ever go undefeated since the expansion to 68 teams. This is unprecedented. Here are some statistics to demonstrate how potent Gonzaga is this year. Numbers are courtesy of NCAA.com:

• They are looking to become just the second team in NCAA history to be ranked No. 1 throughout the entire season
• Gonzaga’s record of 61-2 the past two seasons is the best in the nation in the past two years
• They have won 27 consecutive games winning by double digits
• They have won 29 of their 30 games by more than 10 points
• Their average winning margin of victory is 23 points per game
• The Bulldogs also rank first nationally in scoring offense (91.6), field goal percentage (54.9) and two-point percentage (63.7).

UCLA’s Johnny Juzang’s 28 points pushed the Bruins past No. 1 seed Michigan. But the bigger story was how dominants they were defensively. They held Michigan to 49 points. It was an ugly game from start to finish. On Tony Kornheiser’s podcast, Jay Bilas called it, “A rock fight” and went on to praise UCLA’s great defense. UCLA barely squeaked into the tournament as one of the play-in games against Michigan State. THAT GAME WENT INTO TO OVERTIME! Now they are in the final four facing off against one of the best teams of all time in Gonzaga.

You can catch the games on CBS this Saturday. Thank you for reading!

As I pointed out on Twitter, I will be continuing my blog the next few weeks to discuss the rest of March Madness and the NBA. I will also be covering any transfer or recruiting news around the Bonnies team. I would assume we will have the same team back next season. Everyone seems to know and embrace their role on the team. The question is, if we want to to add to this team, what will it look like? Keep your eye on twitter as the Bonnies may land Robert Morris transfer, AJ Bramah. He is a 6’7, 210 pound power forward who averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds last season. He has offers from Arizona State, Nevada, St Bonaventure, and Western Kentucky.

The Bonnies season may be over but the madness has not disappointed so far. We have four double-digit seeded teams in the sweet 16, and a one seed has already been bounced. The Big Ten has struggled in the tournament after having a strong regular season. The Big Ten landed 9 teams in the tournament and only Michigan is alive after the first two rounds. The Pac-12 has been the strongest with some big upsets along the way so far. UCLA, Oregon, USC, and Oregon State are still alive. The Pac-12 is 9-1 in the dance this year. Let’s break down the Sweet 16.

On Saturday, we have four games. Leading off the day we have Loyola Chicago playing Oregon State. Sister Jean’s squad will be too much for Oregon State and advance to final four past Syracuse or Houston. I think they can play with anyone because of their big man Krutwig. He can pass from anywhere, double team high pick and rolls, and has the best footwork in the tournament on the low block. I have Loyola Chicago advancing to the final four.

Baylor has a tough matchup against Jay Wright and Villanova. This game will decide who ends up in the final four. Oral Roberts and Arkansas have had great seasons but Baylor has too much fire power. Davion Mitchell is a stud who can lock down your best guard and give you 20 points any night. What is great about Baylor is their three guard lineup of Jared Butler, Macio Teague and Davion Mitchell. They are lethal scorers and have great rebounders to start fast breaks leading to easy buckets. Baylor is advancing.

On Sunday we have Gonzaga against Creighton and Oregon going up against a familiar foe from the Pac-12 in USC. USC’s Evan Mobley will be the second overall pick in the draft. He is a stud with a wingspan that cover the entire court. Don’t enter the paint against Mobley. I expect USC to advance but lose to Gonzaga by a few points. If Evan Mobley can neutralize Gonzaga’s Drew Timme inside, this will be a great game. Gonzaga will advance.

Michigan is the last Big Ten team standing and will face off against Leonard Hamilton and Florida State. Leonard Hamilton, head coach of the Seminoles, is still fighting to get to his first final four. I believe Florida State was going to win the tournament last year if the season didn’t end. With Michigan still missing their best player, Isaiagh Livers, they will struggle to score on a Florida State team that has the best defense left in the tournament. They held Colorado to 53 points yesterday. This team is legit. They will get past Michigan and Alabama and face off against Gonzaga.

• Gonzaga Vs. Florida State
• Baylor vs. Loyola Chicago

Stay up to date with everything Bonnies Basketball by following @BonaTalk on twitter.

INDIANAPOLIS- The Bonnies of St. Bonaventure face off against the LSU Tigers, Saturday at 1:45 p.m. in Assembly Hall. The ninth-seeded Bonnies are coming off an impressive A-10 run beating Duquesne, St. Louis, and VCU to win the championship. The eighth- seeded Tigers are coming off a run in which they were the runner-up to Alabama in the SEC tournament.

This is Bonnies eighth appearance in the NCAA tournament and their highest seed to date in school history. This is the third time the Bonnies have reached the dance under Head Coach Mark Schmidt.

LSU is a very talented team that has two players that could be chosen in this year’s NBA draft in Cameron Thomas and Trendon Watford. They are a high-octane offense with great size and sharp shooters. They average 82 points per game which is eighth in the nation.

Obviously, St. Bonaventure is known for their defense. Osun Osunniyi was the defensive player of the year in the A-10 and the Bonnies are fifth in points allowed in the nation. Guards Kyle Lofton and Dom Welch have become excellent on-ball defenders this season taking players out of their rhythm. If they can slow down Cam Thomas from the outside, and Osun can protect the paint against the 6’10 Watford, the Bonnies will advance.

That is easier said than done. Watford has tremendous ball-handling skills for a big man, and can stretch the floor from three shooting 30%. He also loves to catch the ball in the mid post and go to work. One of his favorite moves is a right-hand dribble into a spin move to get an easy bucket. So, who will guard Watford who is averaging almost 17 points per game? You guessed it. OSUNNNNN! If he can stay out of foul trouble, the Bonnies must keep Osunniyi on him. He has a 7’8 wingspan which can help chase down Watford if he gets beat off the dribble. Jalen Adaway may be too small to stick with him, but he will also get some looks. The Bonnies have only been outscored in the paint four times this season.

LSU’s Cam Thomas has scored 20 points in 11 out of the last 12 meetings. He is lethal from three and loves to shoot from deep, but can also attack off the dribble and find his teammates.

The Bonnies on offense, must keep the pace of the game slow. This is the biggest factor in the game. If the Bonnies are sloppy with the ball, and LSU can attack our five guys in transition, it will be tough to keep up. We can’t play their game… they have more scorers than we do. We must be sound defensively, run our sets offensively, and get the ball into the captain’s hands. Lofton must be big for our team again like he was against VCU.

Jalen Adaway has scored in double digits 13 times this season and 6 games in a row. He must stay confident.

Another key to the game is Jaren Holmes. Holmes has been terrific for the Bonnies this season but has struggled with his consistency. He led the A-10 in three-point percentage at 44% and scored a career high 36 points vs. St. Joes. We need Holmes and Welch to shoot well from outside if this game gets into high digits.

If the Bonnies win, they will take on Michigan on Monday in Lucas Oil Stadium in the round of 32.

Lets Go Bonas!!!

DAYTON, Ohio- The Bonnies of St. Bonaventure were awarded A-10 regular season champions and the A-10 Tournament champions. This is the first time the Bonnies have ever won both titles in the same season.

The Bonnies were led by its Junior guard Kyle Lofton who tallied 23 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. Osun Osunniyi racked up another double-double and anchored the team defensively. The Bonnies out-rebounded VCU for the first time this season in their three matchups. Another key contributor was Jalen Adaway with 10 points and 6 rebounds. All three players were awarded on the A-10 all championship team.

In the beginning of the game, Jalen Adaway led the game with two threes for the Bonnies settling the teams nerves. From then on, the Bonnies didn’t look back. A-10 player of the year, Bones Hylaand, saw limited playing time with three fouls in the first six minutes. Lofton’s back to back threes would propel the Bonnies to a first half lead of 32-25.

In the second half, Bones Hylaand, checked back into the game trying to compete with the champions. He ended the game with 21 points but Dom Welch played very tough defense on him forcing him into difficult shots. Lofton controlled the entire second half taking care of the ball against VCU pressure. Lofton had eight points in a row with two threes and a floater pushing the lead to 12 with 11:26 to play.

From then on, Welch and Osunniyi were limited due to fouls with about 10 minutes to go. VCU could not cut into the lead too much trailing by seven for most of the game. With about a minute to go Dom Welch hit a dagger with a hand in his face to put the nail in the coffin. Announcer Ian Eagle exploded saying, “Bullseye for the Bonnies!”

“I’m really proud of our team, players, staff and administration. We didn’t change what got us here. We defended, we rebounded and we took care of the basketball. You know VCU, they’re so well-coached and if you don’t take care of the basketball they’re going to get out on the break and their fast break numbers are lethal, said Head Coach Mark Schmidt.”

This game punched St Bonaventure’s ticket into the big dance. They would later find out they will play LSU Saturday afternoon at 1:45 p.m.

The Bonnies are playing the best basketball we have seen since the last time they were dancing. No A-10 team could even compete with them in the A-10 tournament. They have a top 20 defense in the country according to KenPom, an experienced team, and a leader in Kyle Lofton who always shows up in big games. They also have the A-10 defensive player of the year who has combined for 13 blocks in just three games. He is locked in.

Watch out for the Bonnies in March. They want to not only win but humiliate their opponents. They have a chip on their shoulder and are not done yet. Watch out Tigers!

The Atlantic 10 conference has produced some fantastic basketball throughout the 2020-21 season. There have been several teams ridden with COVID-19 postponements, but several teams stand out so far led by the best players in the conference.

Nah’Shon “Bones” Hyland has played the best basketball of any player in the A-10 while leading his team to the top of the conference. Osun Osunniyi has been a dominant presence defensively, leading the league in blocks per game and third per game in rebounds. A podcast will be posted discussing my all-conference team selections soon.

 2020-2021 A-10 All Conference Basketball Awards 

Player of the Year- Nah’Shon “Bones” Hyland, VCU

Defensive Player of the Year- Osun Osunniyi, St. Bonaventure

Coach of The Year- Mike Rhoades, VCU

First Team-  

Nah’Shon “Bones” Hyland, VCU

Jalen Crutcher, Dayton

Kellan Grady, Davidson

Jordan Goodwin, Saint Louis

Tre Mitchell, Massachusetts

Kyle Lofton, St. Bonaventure

Second Team- 

Daron “Fatts” Russel, Rhode Island

Blake Francis, Richmond

Javonte Perkins, Saint Louis

Marcus Weathers, Duquense

Osun Osunniyi, St. Bonaventure

James Bishop- George Washington

Third Team- 

Jacob Gilyard, Richmond

Taylor Funk, Saint Joseph’s

Hyunjung Lee, Davidson

Ibi Watson, Dayton

Grant Golden, Richmond

Jaren Holmes, St. Bonaventure

Tom Doyle

St. Bonaventure University’s upcoming school year is still surrounded by question marks and apprehension due to the ongoing pandemic looming over the country. The Corona Virus has already cut Bonaventure’s final weeks of the 2019-2020 academic calendar. Students were sent home on the 23rd of March and finished the school year online. Seniors walked virtually hearing there name called in a video put together by St. Bonaventure- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnEUnRo5NHY. The president addressed the student body promising a commencement at St. Bonaventure sometime next year.

President Dennis Deperro has been an optimistic, but cautious figure heading into next year. He has been communicating with his students by video and email. He continues to promise them he is doing everything he can to start classes on time, come August 31st. But the safety and well-being of his students is at the fore front of his decision making.

In an email addressed to all students he said, “While we understand there likely will be health and safety guidelines to follow, we have every hope of resuming residential life on campus in the fall.” He went on to say, “Doing so will be contingent on the governor’s plan to reopen New York and consultation with our Board of Trustees.”

Currently many regions in New York have shown a drop in cases and have headed into phase two. Phase three is mainly the hospitality industry, allowing restaurants and other food-service businesses to reopen dine-in services along with spas and gyms. Phase four is the final phase in which education will be able to open up.

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday that New York tested 60,435 people and only 781 tested positive. That is only about 1%. If the state of New York continues to social distance and wear masks while re-opening, we will hopefully be on track by August to activate phase four.

For students, returning to school means so much more than attending class. They will be reunited with friends from all over New York and the country. Students will be living, dining, exercising, studying and learning from professors all in environments that have to meet the President and Board of Trustees expectations. While they will enforce strict rules to keep professors and students safe, many are still pondering questions about what it could look like.

At St. Bonaventure, the daily activities for underclassmen and women usually involve: going to class about two- three times a day, eating three meals at the Hickey Dining Hall, working out at the Richter center and going to the library or hanging out with friends in the dorms.

For an upperclassmen and women it is similar but may have more online classes and are off campus more. They typically are dining in Francis Hall or cooking their own meals and exercising at the Richter Center.

Student athletes do the same but will workout with their teams at the Reilly Center or fields on campus.

So, what will be different from the usual day at St. Bonaventure? Here are six things they potentially could enforce:

• There will be a limit to how many kids can be in one dorm room- enforced by RA’s.
• There will be distancing/limit of students in the classrooms, dining hall, library and Richter Center.
• You will be required to wear a mask on campus at all times.
• Limited attendance at basketball games and other events (also depends on NCAA rules).
• Classes could see major changes in attendance with some going online or making the classes longer and switching to one class per day with masks.
• The Hickey Dining Hall is usually at max capacity around 1 PM and 5 PM (Can’t distance). They may do more takeout options.

The bus that takes students from campus to town is usually at full capacity as well at the end of the night and they could make changes to that. Obviously, a big question remains as to how they could enforce all of this. Those are some options off the top of my head.

These are all major changes and big hurdles for freshman to jump. As freshman, it is so important to be on campus, in the dining hall, classes and at basketball games. You meet so many friends in the first few months. It will be important to have these available at some capacity.

For upperclassmen, bars are a huge hit on the weekends and business’s like the Burton and Other Place rely solely on the college students. A year without Piano Man at two AM Thursday through Saturday is unfathomable to students. I believe the bars may enforce limited attendance at the Burton and more students drinking at the Other Place porch early in the year. And perhaps some students may not want to go out.

The biggest question I have headed into the year is this: What will happen if/when a student or faculty member tests positive for the Corona Virus? Will we be sent home again? Will parents step in and take there kids back home? Will we go online and distance for two weeks? This is on the minds of every business/company/university headed into September. Testing is still scarce. Without testing or a vaccine, St. Bonaventure and every other business ultimately will be taking a risk.

I cannot imagine the reaction if a student or teacher passes during the year. At St. Bonaventure, it truly is a family. With about 2,000 students and one gym, two bars and one library to share you form strong connections. Let us pray no one gets sick.

Cam Newton is a still a free agent and teams could probably sign him for a one year deal worth a few million dollars. Imagine saying this a few years back after his dominant season when he won MVP and lead his team to the Super Bowl? Unfortunately, Newton has been subject of many injuries since 2008 including: Torn rotator cuff in his shoulder, back vertebral fracture, chest rib fracture, ankle ligament tear, and two ankle sprains.

Cam Newton has been inconsistent in his 9 year career posting the following statistics:

As previously stated, he does have injury history, but he has started at least 14 games in 8 of his 9 years in the league. I believe he has the ability to start on a team in the NFL this year. There are many young quarterbacks that have not proven anything in the league on a 16 game basis including Cam’s replacement in Carolina, Teddy Bridgewater.

So, where is a good fit for Cam? Many teams have addressed there needs in free agency or in the draft already. The most questionable starting quarterbacks in the NFL headed into the 2020 NFL season due to youth and injury include: Drew Lock of the Broncos, Gardner Minshew of the Jaguars, Dwayne Haskins of the Redskins, Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers, Jared Stidham of the Patriots and a few others. Cam hasn’t been shy on social media lately posting workout videos and signs of life in that big arm. Here are a few clips from his Instagram:

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A post shared by Cam Newton (@cameron1newton) on Mar 28, 2020 at 12:24pm PDT

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A post shared by Cam Newton (@cameron1newton) on Apr 1, 2020 at 5:06am PDT

Here are my top 5 landing spots for Newton.

(This is based purely on the fact that I believe every team is confident in there starting quarterback. As of this moment, I believe Cam would have to be a backup this season.)

5. Jacksonville Jaguars:

I have heard many people say Newton should sign with the Jaguars. You really think Cam wants to play here? They have no chance of doing any winning this year and his stock will plummet on a bad team. He needs to prove himself to get a contract like Bridgewater or Foles just signed. Why hinder any possibility of that in Jacksonville? I don’t think he is this desperate to play football. Next.

4. Ravens:

This is my favorite destination for Newton. This is a team that has the talent to win a super bowl this year and has a fragile quarterback. Jackson likes to run which leads to a bigger chance of injury. This is an offense that could compliment Newton perfectly as well. He has a really good run game in Ingram and Dobbins behind a good offensive line. He also has a great tight end (Mark Andrews) which he is used to use in Greg Olsen, and has speed at receiver with Marquise Brown. This is a team where he could succeed and even if Jackson doesn’t get hurt, he could mentor Lamar and show he is a team player. I believe if Jackson does get hurt this is his best chance to succeed.

3. Steelers-

The Steelers are confident that Ben Roethlisberger is healthy and ready to go, come week one. The problem is he is 38 and coming off a shoulder surgery. The Steelers went 8-8 without him under Mason Rudolph and Delvin Hodges, two players incapable of winning in the playoffs if they get there. I don’t see this happening because of the lack of cap space and the threat of Ben’s job may drive Roethlisberger to be unhappy with management. If Ben is on board and Newton is willing to work with him, I think this is a slam-dunk sign. The Steelers have a great defense, young weapons and a running game that could be lethal with Cam and James Conner.

2. Patriots

I will say this is a very intriguing option, but one I do not believe will happen. The patriots have little to no cap space and seem confident in Stidham. If they free up cap space I could see it happening but if I am Cam Newton I think the best option is to sit out until a starter goes down…

1. Nowhere (For Now)-

Hold Out until a starting spot arises for a good organization. Sorry for the boring number 1 pick, but this needs to be what Cam is thinking. Why sign with the Jaguars who are going to win no more than 5 games this year while management continues to trade away there top talent? Why sign with ANYONE RIGHT NOW? Think about the situations teams turn to when there starting quarterbacks go down.

I’m going to list some injuries that happened to quarterbacks in previous years. Let’s start with the Raiders when Derek Carr went down. They were in a wildcard game and had to turn to Matt Mcgloin. Next, Ben Roethlisberger has went down numerous times. His backups include: Charlie Batch, Mason Rudolph, Delvin Hodges and more. Deshaun Watson went down and they turned to Brian Hoyer or was it Ryan Mallet? Nick Foles went down early last year and Minshew Mania was born. Last year Matt Moore came in for Mahomes and did decent but I am sure they would have snagged Newton if he was available. I could go on and on.

The point is, lets say Cam goes to the Patriots and Stidham beats him out and plays well enough to keep his job. Now what does Cam do? Watch other quarterbacks go down while he is stuck in New England? Being a free agent is the best situation he can be in right now. My advice to Newton: stay put until a starter goes down in a good organization. He is playing for a long term deal. Your stock only goes up in a situation where your playing well, not getting injured and winning.

On April 4th, we learned that Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and the late Kobe Bryant had officially been inducted into the basketball hall of fame. The three have combined for 11 championships and an abundance of accolades. They have played for historic franchises and have represented the NBA in such class. This week a lot of people have been discussing which player had the better career. Notably, on ESPN’s first take Stephen A. Smith declared Tim Duncan the greatest power forward to ever play, and the best of the 2020 Hall of Fame class. Here is the clip: https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1247203429056942089

This got my attention. I am a huge Kobe Bryant fan and watched him since I was kid. Every week I would look to see who the Lakers were playing and would sneak downstairs to catch the 10:30 p.m. tip-off. It was difficult, obviously he played most games on the west coast. My fandom grew to me studying his moves and reading about his work ethic. One of the reasons I played basketball was because of Kobe Bryant. What has me so interested in this Hall of Fame class is, I remember the two Celtics-Lakers Finals in 2008 and 2010. They were my two favorite teams to watch. Garnett on the Celtics was the enforcer defensively, along with Rondo, Allen and Pierce leading offensively. Anyway, back to Kobe and Duncan. I am picking Kobe Bryant, and yes, I am a little bias. But I am going to get into the statistics and back myself up. I have the ultimate respect for Tim Duncan and what he accomplished and this is a very close call for me. Usually I don’t engage in basketball debates because they are so difficult to compare players. What fascinates me about this comparison is how similar the numbers and accolades are between the two. This is also almost impossible to compare them because they both play different positions, so lets try to dive into the impact they had on the game. I also want to touch on the team and coaches they have had and how much help one another played with. They also came in and left the league around the same time. So, without further a due lets get into it.

Kobe Bryant came into the league in 1997 and retired in 2016. Tim Duncan came into the league in 1998 and retired in 2016.

• They both have 5 championships.
• Kobe has two Finals MVP’s and Duncan has 3.
• Kobe has made 18 All Star Games, Duncan only 15.
• Kobe has one MVP while Duncan has two.
• They both are tied in All NBA Teams.
• Defensively, Bryant has 9 NBA First Team All Defense, Duncan has 8.
• All NBA First team Bryant has 11, Duncan has 10.
• Bryant has lead the league in scoring twice while Duncan has never.

Career Regular Season Stats per game:

Finally, lets look at percentages and Best Season:

In the playoffs, Duncan has 18 appearances while Kobe has 15. Let’s look at the numbers:

The numbers are courtesy of basketballforever.com!

Lastly, lets look at season by season numbers:

These numbers are very similar, but overall I would give the edge to Kobe Bryant. Late in Tim Duncan’s career his number slip while Kobe keeps them relatively above 25 ppg. until 2013 when he was injured. This is still very difficult to pick which one was better. But, I have seen people in the past week give Duncan the edge because of his accolades. Surprisingly to them, Kobe edges Duncan in many of these categories. I also want to specifically look at who both played with now.

We all know Kobe was blessed to play with a dominant presence like Shaq and Pau Gasol. Duncan was fortunate enough to play with David Robinson, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli and Kawhi Leonard. I don’t believe we need to go into who had more talent around them during there championship seasons. Obviously management did a great job surrounding them with talent. They also played under two of the best coaches ever in Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich. Many also say Andrew Bynum was such a dominant big man in championship seasons for the Lakers. He was not the best center in the league until after. In the western conference playoff series in 2010 he didn’t score above 10 points in one game . I do want to look at Kobe’s three years he had during his prime after Shaq left and before Gasol arrived. He was playing with Smush Parker, Sasha Vujacic, Lamar Odom, Luke Walton and Kwame Brown. It feels like these three years were wasted. He was averaging over 30 points. Duncan had a long career and his sidekick, Tony Parker was with him and played over 60 games every season except one. Manu Ginobli also stayed relatively healthy, playing in the majority of every season.

Random Stat: Kobe Bryant has eliminated more 50 win teams from the playoffs than any other player. He is 25-10 against these teams and Duncan is 18-10.

My point is Kobe is better for several reasons. Overall, he is one of the most skilled guards the game has ever seen. While there accolades match up evenly, Kobe’s ahead in almost every major statistical category. To add to this, Kobe never had a great player in his three year peak, playing alongside atrocious teammates. Finally, Duncan was saved by Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker in the later years of his career. He was commendable, but he wasn’t the best player on his team. Kobe’s last few years they were in rebuild while Duncan had an emerging star in Leonard. They also surrounded him with extremely sound players like Gary Neal, Danny Green, Boris Diaw, Patty Mills and more. I feel people tend to rush to put Duncan into their all time great conversation recently over Bryant because of the sustained success he had. Was it really impacted by Tim Duncan though? He was averaging little over 15 points in the years they ended up playing the Heat. He is the best power forward to probably ever play, I agree. But that does not mean he is better than Kobe Bryant. Am I bias still? Please comment below or on twitter to share your thoughts!