Michael Jordan is often regarded to be ahead of Kobe Bryant in all-time discussions. However, a lot of young fans who grew up watching the Mamba tend to disagree. Trae Young is one such fan who refuses to put MJ ahead of Kobe in his all-time squad.
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During the 290th episode of the Million Dollarz Worth of Game pod, Young was asked to pick his All-Time team. He selected himself to start as the point guard. His forward positions were occupied by LeBron James and Kevin Durant. Then he had no hesitation in picking Shaquille O’Neal as his Center.
But Young picked Kobe Bryant as his 2 guard before naming anyone else. When asked by the host why he went for Bryant over Jordan, Young termed the Mamba the MJ of his time.
However, he designated Jordan to the Sixth Man role. Young added that if he himself didn’t start at the point guard position, then the 6x Finals MVP would have taken his place.
Apart from that, he was reluctant to start Jordan at the Small Forward position because he entrusted his inspiration Kevin Durant at the Wing. Young said,
“In history, I got to have Bean at two, Kobe at my two… Mike’s my sixth man.. If I wasn’t starting, I put Mike in my place. I can’t put him at three, cuz that’s KD’s spot, that’s one of my idols.”
Apart from Jordan, Young also picked Reggie Miller, Tim Duncan, Dwyane Wade, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Klay Thompson to come off the bench.
On the list, Young reflects his willingness to acknowledge great players across the eras.
The guard didn’t show much of a recency bias and gave respect to all positions. Although he isn’t fond of Centers, he knows that KAJ and Shaq deserve a spot on the list.
Of course, the biggest surprise was him starting Bryant over MJ, but it shows how much influence the Mamba has on the current generation. These All-Time Great lists aren’t necessarily about picking the best players of all time, but rather an exploration of one’s fantasy lineup mostly.
