Kobe Bryant played in the NBA for 20 years and in most of them, he was one of the best players in the league. Don’t believe us? Just take a look at Kobe’s incredible resume, and you’ll understand how amazing of a player he was.
He was a 5x NBA Champion, 2x NBA Finals MVP, 1x NBA MVP, 15x All-NBA Team, 12x All-Defensive team, and gave fans hundreds of memorable moments throughout his sensational time.
So after taking a look at his achievements, one will think that Bryant is arguably one of the best players to ever play in the NBA. He might not be a top 3 choice for everyone, but he should at least be included in the top 5 lists, right? Well, that’s what we used to think as well.
NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith recently unveiled his top 5 greatest NBA players of all time, and he didn’t include the name of Kobe Bryant.
Stephen A. Smith’s Reason For Snubbing Kobe Bryant From His Top 5 List
On his list, Smith included Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, and finally Magic Johnson instead of Kobe. Smith knew it was a controversial choice, and he decided to explain it right away.
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“Kobe doesn’t make the top five because Kobe was measured against MJ and MJ played the same position, had the same style of playing, MJ was number one. So for me when I think about Magic, even though Kobe was a better individual talent, Kobe didn’t lead and galvanized to the degree that Magic did. Magic was the dude that got everybody else better, that got everybody else on their game. Kobe would drop 80 on you right, but Magic would accumulate 80 by having 20 points and 20 assists and making sure that this dude and that dude got fed, and it led to 5 championships and nine title appearances.”
As Smith mentioned, when it comes to individual talent, Kobe certainly beats Magic Johnson. But basketball is a team game.
Magic’s ability to ensure that his teammates are getting quality balls timely is still unmatched, and this is the reason why Stephen A. has decided to put him over Kobe in his list of the top 5 greatest NBA players of all time.
