7 players, 2 spots
This is where it gets interesting. As of right now Bryant falls into this class, where there can definitely be arguments made in his favor, but also against him. These 7 players consist of Bryant, Duncan, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird, and Shaquille O’Neal.
Lets start with the easiest choice. Bryant’s former teammate O’Neal is the first one to eliminate here. Bryant has two more championship, is two spots ahead of Shaq on the scoring list, and most importantly, stayed with one team throughout his career. That is what really ruined Shaq’s chances of becoming the elite of the elite. If he had stayed with the Lakers throughout the rest of his career, I would have a lot more respect for his resume. No other player in consideration has come close to the amount of teams that the big diesel played on over the course of his career.
The next group of players that Bryant surpasses is the Big O and Wilt Chamberlain. Statistically, these are the two best to ever play the game. Robertson was the only player to average a triple-double in a season, and Chamberlain averaged a ridiculous 50 points per game one season. The problem? They each have one championship. You can give me all the stats in the world, but if a player has one championship there is no way I’m putting them ahead of Kobe Bryant on the all time list.
Here we go, the final four. When it comes to this point there is really no wrong or right answer. Bird, Magic, Duncan, and Bryant are all easily worthy of being called a “top five” player. I’m going to start with Bryant vs. Duncan. The two players who have dominated the NBA over the last 20 years, have each put together a fantastic career in their own unique styles.
Bryant and Duncan have had very similar careers. Both have 5 championships, all with one team. Duncan is an 8x all NBA defensive team, to Kobe’s 9, and they both can still accomplish a large amount before its all over like I previously stated. Both of these players are complete two way stars. Duncan is one of the best shot blockers in NBA history, and is still one of the NBA’s best at protecting the paint, while Bryant has always been one of the NBA’s best perimeter defenders.
On offense, they have both dominated one on one matchups ever since they entered the league, and use their incredible fundamentals to school opponents 15 years younger than them. They are both 5-2 in NBA finals appearances, but Duncan’s finals winning percentage may very likely change after the next two seasons. If these were two guards it would be much easier to compare, but these two’s style of play could not be more different. One being on the low block, with minimal athleticism, and the other being an athletic freak for a majority of his career attacking from all over the perimeter.
With all things considered I’m going to have to take the Mamba on this one. Kobe Bryant’s place on the all time scoring list really comes into play in this situation. Duncan may crack the top ten in all time scoring, but he will never be within 5,000 points of Kobe. Also, Duncan has had the luxury of playing under a stable front office, one coach, and the same core throughout the course of his career. Kobe is really the only player on this list to win multiple championships with two complete different rosters.
Had Kobe been on a good team every single year of his career, there is no way he would still have finished with only one MVP. The league is not going to give the MVP to the player on the 7th best team in the West, even if he happens to average 35.4 points, 5,3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists (2006).
Next up, and finally, we have the two stars who re-invented the game of basketball. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson came into the league and completely turned the NBA into MUST watch television. But that does not make them locks for the top five.
Personally, I believe that in order to be a top five player of all, you must be elite on both sides of the ball, or win 11 championships of course. This is where I have a hard time saying that Magic Johnson is a better all around player than Kobe Bryant. Sure Magic Johnson led the league in steals twice, but Rick Rubio almost led the league in steals last year, and Rubio is one of the worst defenders I have seen in recent years.
Steals are not what define a great defender, tenacity, and 110% effort on that end are what make elite defenders. Can you honestly say that Magic Johnson played 110% on the defensive end? I’m sorry but he did not. Even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who was not known for his defense made the all NBA defensive teams five times. Magic Johnson did not receive that honor once, and with Bryant accomplishing that 9 times, it is pretty obvious who the much better defender is.
Each player won five NBA titles, but Magic has one more finals MVP than Bryant does. On the offensive end they are both spectacular in their own ways. Magic Johnson’s ability to make unreal passes without even looking equals Kobe’s ability to make impossible shots with defenders draped all over him. Both of these players dominated the offensive game more than anybody in their era, but Kobe did it on the other end as well.
Well that leaves us with the final two, Larry Bird and Kobe Bryant. Jordan, Abdul-Jabbar, Russell, Bryant, and Bird. But it does not stop here. It still hasn’t been revealed where Kobe Bryant is placed within the top five. Like I mentioned, MJ is number one without any debate, and I would put Kareem at number 2. The NBA’s all time leading scorer clearly has the second best resume in NBA history, and his 38,387 points should stand alone at number one for quite some time.
Russell then falls at number three because of the insane amount of NBA titles, another record that will never be broken. As for Bird and Kobe, I have to give Kobe the advantage on this one. This is another situation where I really value Kobe’s spot on the all time scoring list. Believe it or not, Larry Bird is only 36th on the NBA’s all time scoring list, making the margin between him and Bryant too large to ignore. If Bird was a point guard it wouldn’t mean as much, but Bird was a wing player who was known to be a great shooter.
Yes Bryant has played much more years than Bird did, but that shouldn’t be held against him. The fact that Bryant has been able to be such an elite scorer in this league for so long, and even 19 years in the league is putting him amazing numbers shows just how great this man is. Sure it is just my opinion, but Bryant has solidified his long, successful career as a top 5 player in NBA history.