Tonight, Kobe Bryant will become the first player in NBA history to have two different numbers retired by the same franchise. Bryant, who played for 20 seasons, all with the Lakers, is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in NBA history. Together with Shaquille O’Neal, Bryant helped lead the Lakers to three straight championships from 2000 to 2002 before leading the team to two more championships in 2009 and 2010 without the services of The Big Aristotle, with Bryant being named NBA Finals MVP in both 2009 and 2010.
Bryant’s 33,643 career points put him third all-time behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone, his 18 All-Star Game appearances are second only to Abdul-Jabbar, and his 15 total All-NBA selections tie him with Abdul-Jabbar and Tim Duncan for the most all-time. Primarily known as one of the greatest scorers in NBA history, Bryant was also an elite defender, tied for second most all-time with 12 All-NBA Defensive Team selections. Accordingly, there is certainly no debate that Bryant deserves to be ranked in the hierarchy of NBA greats. The only question remaining is where/how high?
Obviously, no list would be complete without household names such as Michael Jordan, Abdul-Jabbar, Duncan, LeBron James, Bill Russell, or fellow Laker great Magic Johnson (in no particular order). Other popular selections often include Bryant himself, former teammate O’Neal, Malone, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Hakeem Olajuwon, Jerry West, and Oscar Robertson, again in no particular order.
So what do you think? In light of tonight’s ceremony, tell us where you think Bryant ranks within the hierarchy of the all-time NBA greats. Is he top-5, top-10? Does he even crack your top-20? Join the discussion and let us know!
He’s 3rd behind Kareem and Malone. Jordan is 4th. Took me 1 minute to look it up. Maybe you should too before you publish to the world?
Rough day man?
According to whom? Kobe isn’t even a top 10 guy. Maybe for the lakers, but let’s face it, how many other all time greats went to court because they raped women? Kobe played in a watered down league, and was a terrible ball hog that had a detrimental effect on basketball. Kobe can barely carry Jordan’s bags from the team bus.
Kobe will always be a Jordan wannabe.
A large part of his legacy is his narcissism and his selfishness. Perhaps the most unlikable player of his era (outside of LA)– the NBA equivalent of Barry Bonds in that regard.
In measuring his greatness, there are the numbers, sure, and here he stacks up reasonably well, if not very well. And get a question can be asked very legitimately: did he make the players around him better or did he leave some of them wanting, and ultimately resenting him to the point that they didn’t put forth all they could have had they been playing alongside someone else? He turns a lot of people off and pushed a lot of people away. He would like for this to be chalked up to his competitiveness, but we must also look at the net result.
Add to this that he was hardly a joy to watch relative to many of the others in the top 5/10 conversation.
If we are judging pure numbers Kobe’s stats put him top 8-10 with ease. If you factor in championships (all that matter) his 5 make him top 5-6.
The game has changed over the years so much, numbers don’t mean much. Teams score 70 points in a half now, they used to get that in a game.
The net result is 5 championships and countless individual achievements. I’m not a fan but your suggestion the net result is lacking doesn’t make sense
Not to mention to say he didn’t make the guys around him better is laughable. If he didn’t elevate guys like Fisher, Ariza, Shannon Brown, Farmer, Odom there’s no way they win three straight.
Odom is a druggie! Look at Fisher and Matt Barnes. You have a bunch of G Leaguers letting Kobe shoot all he wants.
Look at Shaq and Kobe. This team had character issues. Take away Shaq or Kobe and this team doesn’t even win it’s division.
Who cares he sold his soul peace of crap
Since you’re a warriors fan you’re talking about Durant right
Top 3 without a doubt
Too high. They’ve been playing basketball a long time. People now a days haven’t seen the older players play.
Exactly. People think because he played recently he’s better than he was. Basketball has been around longer than everyone who posts on here. Try to remember that kids.
Okay then name 5 better? Based on numbers and rings. The off the court stuff that might have happened does not impact him purely basketball wise.
Well rings isn’t an individual accomplishment
But Jordan, Kareem, Magic, Shaq, Wilt, Duncan.
There are your 5 plus one.
Without dipping into the next category of guys also better but behind these guys.
I would say around top 10 to 15.
The Lakers team that won the championship with Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Keith Erickson, Gail Goodrich, Happy Hairston, Pat Riley, etc. was all about the team
This group was all about Kobe and Shaq.
How about the teams from 08-10 when they won 3 straight? Kobe, Pau and maybe Fisher? Kobe elevated that team.
That team was all about Kobe. Kobe wasn’t a team player. The team with Elgin Baylor has 4 Hall of Famers on it!
2 straigt, they lost that first year to the Celtics
Shaq got traded because him and Kobe couldn’t get along. Kobe didn’t get along with his teammates or opponents. In the old days they scored 70 points a game and centers averaged 6’9″
Chamberlain and Jabbar were better than Shaq, but Shaq was good. Chamberlain was a pro tennis player too. Jabbar would still be using the sky hook today.
LeBron James
Not unless he wins more rings. He’s two shots away from being 1-7 in the finals.
If they played one-on-one, LeBron would beat Kobe.
Top 10. And I’m a Celtics fan.
Around 10-14th all time.
You can name 10 guys statistically better?
Yes, easily.
How I have it…
1. Jordan
2. Wilt
3. Russell
4. Jabbar
5. LBJ
6. Shaq
7. Oscar
8. Kobe
9. Hakeem
10. Bird
11. Magic
12. Duncan
13. West
I don’t think that’s a bad list. I’m a bucks fan so I’m bias towards Oscar but I have Kobe ahead of him and Shaq just because of titles
1. Jordan 2. Kobe 3. LeBron 4. Oscar 5. Bird
1. Kareem 2. Wilt 3. Duncan 4. Shaq 5. Russell
I always split bigs and wings. U can’t compare what Jordan Kobe and LeBron do athletically to Wilt and Kareem did with pure size
Wilt and Kareem were great athletes too, but you’re right you can’t compare positions, like you can’t compare great athletes to great shooters. I rate Jerry West higher than Kobe because he was a better teammate and I see how successful West is today, Pat Riley too.
Of the guys I’ve watched (I’m 35), Kobe is top 10. Since Jordan retired, Kobe was the closest to matching him.
But he raped a girl….
And he was married. Don’t forget when looking at stats. The old guys played slower, “actually played defense,” didn’t have a dunk shot, called traveling calls, called double dribble, and didn’t have a 3 point shot. Kobe wouldn’t have the same stats. If Kobe pulled on Wilt and Jabbar what he pulled on Shaq, Kobe would have been traded.
And then paid her off.
People who act like Kobe is in the GOAT conversation just behind Jordan are out of their minds. He’s unquestionably an all time great (so if you put together an allstar game of players from across history, he’d be in the game), but he’s not really in the discussion for GOAT. He’s in the mix of guys from 5th to 15th greatest, and where exactly you place him in there is pretty subjective.
and even if you say he’s worse than that, and more of a guy who places 10th-20th, I have no problem with that, because the top 20 of all time are all legends. It’s very tough to separate the guys in that top group.
The headline asked for a legacy, but the article asked for a ranking. A ranking is, say, #8. A legacy is more complicated, and in Bryant’s case, included disturbing elements, perhaps from being raised black in a small town ih Italy.
For a while he was getting increasingly racist, hitting white players who guarded him closely, and raping with violence a young white woman in a story that shouted out privilege. For the Lakers, he quit driving, just hanging at the 3pt line. Everything had to be about him.
Some long words: inscrutable, sophisticated, extraordinary, withdrawn, repressed, power-mad, arrogant, gentlemanly, icionic NBA elitist, jealous of Shaq, and in the finals series vs Philly & Iverson, solid amazing.
Well said. The guys on his championship weren’t the kind of guys you take home to mom and dad.
The Lakers have been losers since he retired. Outside of Kobe and Shaq, the supporting cast was pitiful, kind of like they have now.
LeBron can win with the Cavs, not with the Lakers. The more I see him playing with Wade, I see him happy!
Oh no!!!! Tristan got Khloe Kardashian pregnant! No wonder he’s been injured! Help!
I’d probably rank him around 10-20 range, he could have been higher if he was more of a team player. I don’t actually believe he raped that girl like all these comments are saying, that girl was looking for the payday she got. I don’t like Kobe either as a player and hate the Lakers but I just don’t buy her story for a second. Also the article says he was an elite defender but I think his defense was vastly overrated, no way in hell he deserved all those selections. He was an above average perimeter defender but nowhere near Jordan on the defensive end.