Candace Parker has gone down as one of the greatest players in WNBA history, and she was recently tasked with ranking some of the NBA’s all-time greats. Parker appeared on the All The Smoke podcast, where she was asked to rank Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant.
“I believe that if you are the blueprint, then you are what everyone is trying to copy,” Parker said. “And I grew up in the Chicago land, and MJ was like all of those things. And so I would say MJ one, Kobe two, Bron three, and I know I’m going to get killed being out.”
No matter what order you choose, you’re going to anger somebody. While Parker has James third, she made it clear she holds him in very high regard.
“Bron is Karl Malone size doing the things that he does,” Parker stated. “And I just am enamored by how he has continued to reinvent his game, continued dominance, all of those things. So, hats off, respect to Bron. I idolized the little like footwork and the like critique… You could just tell, like Kobe was the blueprint 2 of blueprint.
“I mean, just from working with Kobe in the gym,” Parker continued. “He’s like, ‘Are you a toe spinner or are you a heel spinner?’ Nobody’s ever asked me that before… So, like, I’m a student of the game, and I geek over that s***.”
Parker grew up in Naperville, Illinois, as part of a family of Chicago Bulls fans. Her choice for the top spot was never really in doubt.
Jordan won six titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, one DPOY, and 10 scoring titles in his career. He made 14 All-Star, 11 All-NBA, and nine All-Defensive teams.
Jordan three-peated with the Bulls from 1991 to 1993 and then again from 1996 to 1998. He was a perfect 6-0 in the NBA Finals, and none of those series even went to a Game 7.
As for Bryant, he won five titles, two Finals MVPs, one MVP, and two scoring titles. He made 18 All-Star, 15 All-NBA, and 12 All-Defensive teams.
Bryant is one of four players, along with Stephen Curry, Tim Duncan, and George Mikan, to win multiple titles without having a teammate who made the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. He accomplished the feat when he led the Los Angeles Lakers to back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010.
Lastly, James has won four titles, four Finals MVPs, four MVPs, a scoring title, and an assists title. He has made 21 All-Star, 21 All-NBA, and six All-Defensive teams.
James is also the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, and the GOAT debate in the NBA tends to come down to him and Jordan. That said, a lot of former players do tend to rank Bryant above him. This podcast’s co-host, Matt Barnes, believes Jordan and Bryant rank above James when it strictly comes to basketball.
There are those outside the basketball world who share a similar opinion as well. Actor Charlie Sheen went with the same order as Parker and Barnes. Sheen doesn’t believe there is anything even worth debating when it comes to these three.
