Judging by his resume, Kobe Bryant should be squarely in the conversation for the greatest player in basketball history. Instead, he's barely mentioned in the debate and Draymond Green said on the BIG podcast, it's because of the Lakers.
Shaquille O'Neal: "Do you think my guy deserves to be in the GOAT conversation?"
Draymond Green: "For sure, 100%."
Shaquille O'Neal: "So how come he's not all the time?"
Draymond Green: "Number one, he played with you and people hold that against him. Number two, Kobe kind of fell into a weird time. Mike left the league and when he left y'all were dominating. And then when you left the Lakers, they had a few rough years, wasn't great. [The Lakers] didn't have great rosters. It wasn't great. While it wasn't going great, there was a young guy in Cleveland starting to make his hay. So in the years where Kobe could've been dominating... [LeBron] was starting to make his name."
The NBA GOAT debate is a complicated exercise that will likely never reach a consensus. At one point it was Wilt, then Magic, then Michael Jordan, and now LeBron James is making a strong case. The criteria are always changing and the context for certain accomplishments can sometimes get lost completely.
At one point, former NBA shooting guard and Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was on track to lead the GOAT conversation but you'll rarely find anyone today who ranks him above LeBron, Michael, or even Magic Johnson.
Statistically, Kobe Bryant's greatness cannot be denied. Over 20 years in the league, he averaged 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game on 44.7% shooting. He retired from the game in 2016 as a 5x champion, 1x MVP, 18x All-Star, 15x All-NBA player, and 2x scoring leader.
He played for the Lakers all 20 years of his career and poured his heart and soul into representing the city, its people, and all Lakers fans around the world. Today, while Bryant is no longer alive to share his wisdom, stories of his greatness and his legendary work ethic continue to keep his legacy alive and inspire millions around the world.
Sadly, when it comes to his place on the NBA hierarchy, most can agree that Kobe is not the greatest player of All-Time. As Draymond explained, his run with Shaquille O'Neal for the first eight years of his career is often used against him, with critics arguing that a GOAT candidate cannot play a sidekick role at any point in his career.
There's also the matter of Kobe's wasted seasons. After Shaq left in 2004, the Lakers weren't considered a title threat for another four years, when they traded for Pau Gasol in 2008 which empowered their subsequent Finals run.
After Bryant led the Lakers to two more titles in 2009 and 2010, they had another period of difficulty which critics still use against him today. In fact, after 2010, Bryant's Lakers never really got close to another title run and things turned downright ugly after Kobe tore his Achilles in April of 2013.
In the end, Bryant retired as a legend and a hero for his franchise but he left some things on the table. Had the Lakers managed to build him a better roster, we might remember Kobe's career differently and maybe he'd have a better case for being the greatest of All-Time.
