Los Angeles Lakers: Did ESPN’s all-time NBA ranking get it right?

Kobe Bryant

ESPN rank: 9

If this isn’t the most controversial placement on ESPN’s list, it’s second-most controversial.

Anyone who follows the NBA via social media knows that the “Big 3” when it comes to basketball arguments are Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Three of the most polarizing athletes of all time in any sport, they each have scores of crazily loyal fans and scores of crazily obsessed haters.

Jordan is widely considered the GOAT, LeBron is constantly compared to him as a threat to that crown, Kobe is constantly compared to Jordan because he was almost a mirror image on the court, and Kobe and LeBron are constantly pitted as rivals because they were the two faces of the league for the 13 seasons that their careers overlapped.

Jordan fanatics get riled up when their guy isn’t recognized as the GOAT by an insurmountable margin, LeBron fanatics get riled up when their guy isn’t recognized as at least one of the all-time greats, and Kobe fanatics get riled up when their guy isn’t recognized as better than LeBron.

So when the late Kobe Bryant was ranked No. 9 by ESPN, it probably felt like he was an ocean away from Jordan and LeBron, who occupy the top two spots, when many believe he should’ve been ranked right alongside them. There’s a loud segment of fans who believe Kobe is either the GOAT himself or at least No. 2 behind Jordan.

While I agree that No. 9 is too low for Kobe, I wouldn’t put him in the top two or three, either. Personally, I have Kobe at either fifth or sixth.

Which shouldn’t be considered a knock or an insult at all. Kobe is a five-time champion, two-time Finals MVP, one-time league MVP, two-time NBA scoring leader, 12-time All-Defensive Team pick, and he ranks fourth in career points.

Unlike a lot of his critics, I don’t hold it against Kobe that he was a carbon copy of Jordan on the court. After all, if you’re going to pattern your game after someone, Jordan is a perfectly understandable choice. Millions have tried, but Kobe actually pulled it off and did it at the highest level. That is to be praised, not criticized.

What mainly keeps Kobe just out of GOAT range for me is that he was the No. 1 option on a contending team for only six of his 20 seasons. From his rookie year in 1996-97 to 2003-04, the Lakers were Shaquille O’Neal’s team. When Shaq and Kobe played together, Shaq won all three of the Finals MVPs during their championship three-peat. Shaq won league MVP, Shaq led the league in scoring, and Shaq led the Lakers in scoring six of the eight years they were together.

Kobe didn’t win any MVPs or scoring titles until after Shaq was traded. For the first three years post-Shaq, Kobe’s Lakers either missed the playoffs or were eliminated in the first round.

So Kobe’s run as the unquestioned top guy on a legit title contender actually ran from 2007-08 to 2012-13. That’s the stretch in which he led L.A. to two more titles, won Finals MVP twice, led the league in scoring twice and won his lone regular-season MVP, before when an Achilles injury marked the beginning of the end of his career.