Kobe Is Still not the Greatest Laker



By Scott Burks

 

It's funny to see people who tend to always become a prisoner of the moment.

Most, if not all, of us have fallen prey to it at least once in our lives.

I've heard several talking heads in the sports world -- whether it is ESPN, Fox Sports, whoever -- who at the conclusion of the Lakers-Celtics epic Finals proclaimed Kobe Bryant to be the best Laker of all time.  Chris Broussard, who is not only an ESPN NBA insider but is also one of the best in the business, thinks so.

That, my friends, is an example of being a prisoner of the moment. 

To me, to proclaim Kobe as the greatest Laker of all time totally lacks some perspective.  By perspective I mean knowing a bit of NBA history earlier than the year 2000.

Let me point out why Kobe is not the greatest Laker...

• He had help in winning his first three titles.  In fact, that help made Kobe the second banana on that squad.  That help's name was Shaquille O'Neal.

• He cannot play all five positions at a high level. 

• He was not really embraced by his teammates and beloved (okay, that one was a bit gratuitous, but I had to throw it in there).

Now compare that to who I think is the greatest Laker: Magic Johnson...

• While Magic had some help in the form of Kareem and James Worthy, Magic was always considered the alpha dog on those squads.

• As demonstrated in the 1980 NBA Finals, Magic could play all five positions at a high level.

• In those same Finals, he was the first and only rookie to be named MVP of the Finals, scoring 42 points, and grabbing 15 rebounds in the place of an injured Kareem in Game 6 of that series.

• Johnson was also a better teammate than Kobe (okay, another gratuitous shot, but I'm on a roll here).

I'll take it a step further.  Here is how I rank the greatest Lakers of all time:

1. Magic Johnson

2. Jerry West (he's "the Logo" for Christ's sake!)

3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

4. Shaquille O'Neal

5. Wilt Chamberlain

6. Kobe Bryant

That, my friends is why Kobe is not the greatest Laker, and why one should not be a prisoner of the moment.

Any questions?

  

Your feedback is wanted!!!

What do you think?

Right on!
You're so full of crap!!!
We can agree to disagree...

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