WNBA legend Candace Parker was given the toughest choices possible in the ‘start, bench, cut’ game during an interview with Complex. Parker had to pick between Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant, and while she didn’t hesitate with her first selection, the other two were a bit difficult.
“Okay, you know where I grew up,” Parker said. “MJ is the GOAT. He’s your favorite player’s favorite player. He’s your GOAT’s GOAT. So, I’m gonna start MJ. I’m sorry, Kobe, I gotta bench you. I’m sorry, Bron, but we grew up in the same era.”
Parker stated she struggles to idolize someone who was next to her, but still holds James in very high regard. She couldn’t bring herself to pick him over Bryant, though.
“I know numbers and things, LeBron has more points,” Parker stated. “But Kobe was the closest thing to Jordan. I can’t even say it, though. LeBron not, but I’m not going to say the C word. I’m not saying it.”
Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, and it wasn’t a surprise that Parker chose him to be the starter. She grew up in Naperville, Illinois, and her family was full of Chicago Bulls fans.
Parker watched Jordan dominate the NBA in the 1990s with the Bulls. He’d end up winning six titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, a DPOY, and 10 scoring titles. Jordan also made 14 All-Star, 11 All-NBA, and nine All-Defensive teams.
James is often regarded as Jordan’s closest challenger for that GOAT title, but Parker picked Bryant over him. Kobe won five titles, two Finals MVPs, one MVP, and two scoring titles in his career. He made 18 All-Star, 15 All-NBA, and 12 All-Defensive teams.
While Bryant’s resume is incredible, it’s not as good as James’. He has won four titles, four Finals MVPs, four MVPs, a scoring title, and an assists title. James has made 21 All-Star, 21 All-NBA, and six All-Defensive teams and is also the league’s all-time leading scorer.
Parker acknowledges that James has the upper hand when it comes to numbers, but she’s still sticking with Bryant, who was the closest player to Jordan. While that might prove to be an unpopular opinion, it should be pointed out that she has tremendous respect for all three of them.
Parker picked Jordan, James, and Bryant in her all-time NBA starting five. Joining them on her team were Stephen Curry and Kevin Garnett, much to Shaquille O’Neal’s dismay.
Gilbert Arenas Also Played The ‘Start, Bench, Cut’ Game With Jordan, James, And Bryant
Parker is by no means the first to be presented with Jordan, James, and Bryant as the choices in the game. Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas also had to choose between them, and his answer was slightly different.
“We’re just going to piss everybody off. Imma start LeBron, bench Jordan, cut Kobe. Kobe is my favorite player of all time, but I can’t have Jordan and Kobe on the same team. Obviously, if Jordan starts and Kobe is coming off the bench, Jordan ain’t coming out for him. If I start Kobe, he ain’t subbing in Jordan.”
“So I’m gonna go with a safe pick as a coach. I am gonna start LeBron, Jordan off the bench. You know Bron will come off the bench, you know he plays the right way. You switch it up, Jordan in, Bron ain’t never getting in the goddamn game, I can tell you that.”
How does one avoid angering everybody? Well, by going the Tim Duncan route, of course. Duncan hilariously stated he would start all three of them and bench, and cut himself.
