Draymond Green addressed why he thinks Kobe Bryant doesn’t belong in the GOAT debate during a conversation with Shaquille O’Neal on ‘The Big Podcast with Shaq’. Green explained that Kobe playing with Shaq was held against him, as no other player in the GOAT debate had such a dominant force as Shaq as a teammate. Furthermore, after Shaq left the Lakers, Bryant didn’t dominate the NBA in terms of championship success (34:18 onwards).
Draymond Green: “Here’s why I think he’s not (in the GOAT debate). Because, number one, he played with you and people hold that against him. Number two, I think Kobe kind of fell in a weird time. And what I mean by that is Mike left the league. When Mike left the league, y’all were dominating. And then you left the Lakers. When you left the Lakers, they had a few rough years, it wasn’t great. They didn’t have a great roster. Rudy Tomjanovich, that was an epic fail like it just wasn’t great.”
Green added that Kobe was eclipsed by LeBron James as the new dominant force in the NBA very quickly. And while Kobe’s numbers were great, he wasn’t the consensus best player in the league for long enough for him to be considered in the GOAT debate.
“And while it wasn’t going great, there was a young guy in Cleveland starting to make his way. And so, in the years where Kobe could have been dominating, which he was from a number’s standpoint, they weren’t winning. So in those years, LeBron (James) was making his way and starting to make his name as the best player. And I think the amount of time that it was a consensus that Kobe was the number one in the league, like the top guy, I don’t think it was long enough for everybody to say to put him in that conversation because Bron then came and put his name in the conversation. And so I don’t think he accumulated enough people saying that he dominated the way Mike dominated in the length of the time that Mike dominated, Bron the length of time that he’s dominated. I don’t think Kobe dominated himself for that length of time. And I think that’s why people don’t put him in the conversation.”
Green certainly is entitled to his opinion. While there might be a lot of fans who agree with him, there are also those players who disagree and consider Kobe to be a strong contender in the GOAT debate.
Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, Jayson Tatum, And Gilbert Arenas Think Kobe Bryant Belongs In The GOAT Debate
Shaquille O’Neal is someone who has staunchly debated Kobe’s place in the GOAT debate. In fact, it was he who asked Draymond why Kobe isn’t in the debate, as he has never understood why people have sought to undermine his former teammate’s greatness.
In another recent episode of his podcast, Shaq argued that Kobe Bryant belongs in the conversation with Michael Jordan and LeBron James to be named the greatest player of all time.
“The only thing I don’t like about the (GOAT) conversation is that they don’t put my boy’s name (Kobe) in it. If you’re gonna be throwing names around, you gotta have my boy’s name in it. That’s like saying, ‘What are the best luxury cars out there: Lexus or Beemer? You gotta put Mercedes in there, too. Mike, LeBron, or Kobe, now y’all debate.”
Jayson Tatum, who has long expressed his love and admiration for Kobe Bryant, has also said that he thinks Kobe Bryant is the greatest of all time in his eyes. Tatum spoke about why he considers Kobe to be his GOAT.
“For me, it’s an inspirational thing. The way he inspired people, the way he inspired somebody else 2000 miles away. Just watching him on TV, watching his interviews, watching how hard he worked, the ups and downs of his career… Me seeing myself in him.”
Gilbert Arenas, someone who played against Kobe Bryant frequently during his time in the NBA, also explained why Kobe Bryant deserves a seat at the table of the GOATs of the NBA. Dismissing the accolade-based arguments, Arenas highlighted Kobe’s attributes and his general excellence.
“What makes Kobe (Bryant) special? We don’t go by the accolades. We go by how the person played, what was his attributes… He didn’t have the big hands. He wasn’t quick, he wasn’t fast, 38″ vertical… what he did with that body, it’s like you took an S 500 and he was pushing it like a Bugatti. That’s what we look at. We look at the normal person fighting gods.”
One of Kobe’s major rivals in the league, Allen Iverson, also noted that Kobe Bryant not only belongs in the debate but is actually ahead of LeBron James in the conversation, with Michael Jordan being the one true GOAT.
“With Kobe it was so different, he was like, ‘Phil I want the assignment.’ Take Fisher off him, I want the assignment. I’ve never seen anybody competitive like him. When people talk about the best players in the world, I say Mike, and I say Kobe, and then everyone else. LeBron is definitely after that.”
Kobe certainly has the resume to be mentioned alongside Jordan and LeBron. He has more championships (five to four) than LeBron and more All-Defensive Teams than Jordan (12 to nine).
Who do you think is the GOAT? Does Kobe belong in that debate? Bryant is one of the greatest players in NBA history, and his supporters will definitely disagree with Draymond Green and maintain that Kobe belongs in the GOAT conversation.
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