Ranking Kobe Bryant is becoming a more difficult task than one could imagine. Last month, Bleacher Report didn’t even name the Black Mamba in the Top 10 of the greatest 100 players, despite having one of the most impressive resumes in NBA history. Instead, the now deceased legend came in sharp at No. 11. Suffice to say, it’s led to some uncomfortable conversations amongst basketball fans.
Advertisement
Joining the convo is famed rapper and actor Ice Cube. The Friday star joined the Lakers Nation program, where he was asked where he would list the five-time NBA Champion in the all-time list. The 56-year-old icon paused for a moment, as if he was in deep reflection about where Kobe would be placed on his personal all-time rankings.
“Bill Russell is, ya know, he’s a winner,” stated Cube, confirming that the man with 11 rings was certainly on his list. “Wilt Chamberlain was an unstoppable force. You got Michael Jordan. The greatest competitor ever. Then you have Magic Johnson, who, to me, changed the game in a 1000 different ways.”
It then came down to a decision between Kobe and the game’s current face, LeBron James. “I feel like LeBron and Kobe, I mean who’s better, who’s left that’s better than Kobe Bryant?” The question was rhetorical, as Ice Cube was making a point. He seemed to be butting heads with whether LBJ or Kobe had the better resume.
Cube decided on Kobe, then broke down why behind Magic, MJ, Russell, and Chamberlain, he would put the Black Mamba fifth. The big reason? Because Kobe won in multiple eras.
“I would put him fifth. Because Kobe, what people don’t realize, Kobe played in both eras. He was able to succeed when it was a man-to-man world that Jordan played in. Jordan didn’t face a zone in the pros. So Kobe won championships when it was a man-to-man thing, and he won it in a zone thing,” he explained.
It’s a solid point. Bryant’s three rings with Shaq in the early 2000s were vastly different than his two rings in 2009 and 2010 due to the changes that the game went through. You can’t really argue with Cube’s list because the other names he mentioned are still referenced in discussions about ballers today.
Funnily enough, Ice Cube, an LA native who saw Kobe grow into the world-beater that he’s remembered as, has consistently put him in 5th All-Time, irrespective of what list you talk about. In July, while on the Games with Names podcast, Cube called Bryant one of his heroes, but left him off his Mount Rushmore of all-time LA athletes in favor of Magic Johnson.
So it really just depends on who you ask. Bleacher Report having Kobe at 11 is nuts, but it’s not like the other names on the list weren’t worthy. Bryant was behind the same four, plus Duncan, Shaq, Kareem, LeBron, Bird, and Steph. You could hypothetically put Kobe in any of those spots, but then, this same argument would be made about THAT player being No. 11.
Basketball is such a beautiful game for this very reason. The game caters to different types of fans, so whether you like a fierce competitor guard like Kobe or MJ or a dominant center like Shaq or Kareem, you get your pick. Never feels right to have the Mamba not in the convo as THE GOAT, but history is history.
