2. Kobe Bryant
The reason Kobe Bryant jumps Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on this All Time Greatest Lakers player list is due to the fact that he spent his entire career playing for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Some players claim they bleed Purple and Gold, but Kobe is the only player whose actions speak louder than his words.
In 20 seasons, Kobe holds the record for the longest time tenured with the same team, close behind is John Stockton, Utah Jazz, with 19 seasons, and Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs, 19 seasons. That said, seeing that Tim Duncan has shown no signs of slowing down, he may take the record in years to come.
The Black Mamba is a five time NBA Champion, two time NBA Finals MVP, two time scoring champion and one time regular season MVP. Additionally, Bean (32,866) is the third all time leading scorer trailing only fellow Laker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and former teammate Karl Malone (36,928).
Oh, and you can’t forget that he holds the record for the second greatest scoring performance of all time, which put into context, is debabtly more impressive than Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 point game.
Despite the fact that during this farewell tour, Kobe Bryant is a mere shell of his former self, his accomplishments can’t be denied and players around the league continue to attest to this with their high praise of KB24.
Next: No. 1 The Magic Man