Michael Jordan angered Kobe Bryant fanatics, including sportswriters at the Los Angeles Times, when he said Bryant “only” ranked as a top 10 NBA guard of all time.
“I think he is always going to be within the conversations of some of the greatest players who’ve played by the time he is finished,” Jordan told USA Today. “Where does he rank among those, if you are talking about positions? If you are talking about guards, I would say he has got to be in the top 10.”
The LA Times became irate with what they saw as Jordan’s insecurities about Bryant’s ascendance up the NBA historical hierarchy as Bryant closes the gap in NBA titles [Jordan won 6 and Bryant has 5 currently]. The Times believes Jordan tried to hate on Bryant by trying to downplay his greatness.
MJ did nothing wrong by designating Bryant as one of the top ten guards ever. First of all, a top ten designation is not an insult whatsoever. The top of the list for any position should be reserved for the elite group of true basketball revolutionaries. Bryant has a more illustrious resume than his contemporaries, but he didn’t fundamentally alter or transform the game the way Julius “Dr. J” Erving or Wilt Chamberlain or Oscar Robertson — or Magic Johnson for that matter, since the conversation is about guards. Does Bryant belong above folks like Magic?
Jordan has no reason to feel insecure about Bryant. MJ is considered the greatest ever because he not only perfected what Dr. J did, but he exemplified fundamental soundness offensively and defensively en route to his six titles and became the greatest product endorser sports had ever seen (until Tiger Woods came along). The NBA also rode Jordan’s appeal as the game went global and players today are the beneficiaries of what Jordan accomplished, Bryant included.
Bryant can be considered the best of today’s guards — and players for that matter — based on titles alone, especially since he won the last two without Shaquille O’Neal, who was the undisputed MVP of the first three titles that Bryant shared in with the Lakers. Dwayne Wade and LeBron James, two players considered to be within Bryant’s sphere of greatness, have only one title between the two of them.
But while that conversation is brewing about who the top NBA guards are, there is still debate about who the greatest Lakers player is, Kobe, Magic or Jerry West. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, of course, elevated the NBA to another level as they became the first 6-foot-9 players to dribble, pass, shoot and do everything on the court that only “small men“ were thought to be able to do. Magic permanently changed the game his rookie year when he famously played all five positions in the 1980 NBA Finals, scoring 42 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out 7 assists in a trouncing of Dr. J’s Philly squad to win the series 4-2.
Has Bryant altered the game the way Magic did? If not, how can the LA Times or the throngs of Bryant fans justify placing Bryant above folks like him? He cannot be. The top ten designation by Jordan, therefore, is a correct one. –terry shropshire
