The last two-plus seasons have not been kind to Kobe Bryant. Injuries and age have caught up to him at the most inopportune time for a Lakers franchise that was hoping to make one last push before their superstar guard began his next chapter in life.
Thus, Sunday’s retirement announcement should not come as a surprise to anyone— Bryant merely confirmed what most of us had assumed for quite some time now. But as the farewell tour officially begins, the discussion and debate will rage: Where does Kobe Bryant rank among the all-time greats?
It’s such a subjective—and polarizing— topic. That said, here is my list of the top 15 players in NBA history:
1. Michael Jordan
Undefeated in the Finals. 6-0. Six Finals MVP awards, as well. Offence, defence, range and athleticism. He had it all. He’s the greatest ever. Period.
Slots 2 through 7, in no particular order (arguing one over the other is moot):
Bill Russell
His trophy case is too large too large to condense. So just drop the mike with this: 11 NBA championships…more than any player in history!
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Six-time MVP. Multi-time champ. League’s all-time leading scorer. Oh, and that DEADLY skyhook.
LeBron James
Six Finals. Two rings. Four MVP awards. And he’s still going—strong.
Wilt Chamberlain
Perhaps the most dominant player in league history. He imposed his will and skill on both ends of the floor and was as dangerous on the glass as he was scoring (and blocking…and passing for that matter, too). How good was Wilt? His 50.4 PPG in 1961-62 is just icing on the cake.
Magic Johnson
A 6-foot-9 point guard that could play ANY position. Five rings and 9 appearances in the Finals.
Oscar Robertson
Perhaps the most dominant player of the 1960’s (AVERAGED a triple-double in 1961-62 with Cincinnati). First-team all-NBA 9 times. Twelve-time all star.
8. Kobe Bryant
Five-time champion. Two-time Finals MVP. One MVP award. Seventeen all star nods. All-NBA 1ST team 11 times. All-Defensive 1ST team 9 times. Two Olympics gold medals. Tell me again why some are even debating Bryant’s rightful place among the greats?
Bryant does not deserve to be ahead of the seven players before him on my list. But I do rank him ahead of the following seven players (though I’m sure many Celtics and Spurs fans will disagree).
In no particular order, slots 9 through 14:
Larry Bird
Three championships and three MVP awards…as well as Rookie of the Year honours and one of the purest, smoothest strokes in history. Plus his post-playing career as a coach and executive has been beyond impressive too.
Elgin Baylor
Rings may have eluded him (Thank you, Boston) but aside from a 27.4 PPG for his career, his hardware still includes 10 all-NBA 1ST team awards, 11 all star appearances, rookie of the year (1959) and more.
Tim Duncan
Two-time MVP. 15 all-star games. Five rings. Quietly (?) one of the greatest power forwards in history.
Shaquille O’Neal
Sixth leading scorer in NBA history. Dominant at this position in an era of size and athleticism. Four championships. Three Finals MVPs. One MVP award as well, though many believe it should have been two (see: Nash, Steve, 2004-05).
Jerry West
Only one player can say ‘I’m THE LOGO’. Fourteen all-star appearances in 14 years in the league – averaging 27 points, 6.7 assists, and 5.8 rebounds for his career.
Julius Erving
Two-time ABA champion and three-time ABA MVP. But success came in the NBA too with the MVP award in 1981 and an NBA championship in 1983. Throw in five all-NBA 1ST team honours as well (four in the ABA).
15. John Havlicek
Eight NBA titles. One Finals MVP award (1974) and 13 all-star appearances. And for all of the great Celtics that have come through Boston, nobody has passed “Hondo” on the team’s all-time scoring list: 26,395 points.
Of note…..With due respect to the metrics and analytics folks out there, I did not factor things like “Per-48” into my all-time list. Numbers and trends, effectiveness and efficiency all have their place in game. I support that and appreciate the importance of numbers. But MY equation, for Bryant and the others mentioned above, goes something like this:
Stats + championships + championship appearances + MVPs + Finals MVPs + All Star nods + All-NBA nods + All-Defensive NBA nods + gold medals = Greatest player(s) of all-time.
Hence, Bryant is most certainly among the best we ever have, and will, see.