Not long enough? The data is not outstanding enough? BR reviews 5 reasons why Kobe didn t make it to the top ten in history

(This article was published on July 15, and the author is Andy Bailey, a reporter from Bleacher Report. The content of the article does not represent the translator's views.)

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BR Top 100-51: Luca 57 Maddie 59 Melon 60 Irving 69 George 78 Clay 98

BR Top 100-21: Wade 23 Letters 24 Paul 30 Little Card 32 Harden 34 Westbrook 48

BR Top 100 Rankings: Jordan 1 James 2 Duncan 7 Curry 10 Kobe 11 Durant 13

Bleacher Report released this week the latest list of the top 100 players in NBA history voted by experts, writers and editors. As expected, the rankings of several legendary stars have caused considerable controversy online.

The most shocking one is Kobe Bryant's position. In this selection, he ranked only 11th, and even one voter ranked him 18th.

Kobe's former teammate Shaquille O'Neal said that such a ranking is simply a "crime".

For many NBA fans, it is difficult to understand to see Kobe not in the top ten. So, we are here to provide more background information to help you understand why Kobe failed to make the top 10.

1, peak period and ability durability

Kobe ranked fourth in history in total career scores (including regular season and playoffs), tied for second in the number of selected teams, ranked third in the number of selected All-Star Games, and third in the number of games with more than 40 points (including playoffs). There is no doubt that for nearly two decades, he has been one of the best players in the world. But "one of the best" and "the best" are two different concepts.

Kobe has never led the league in positive and negative values or player efficiency ratings. He has only won one MVP and has failed to enter the top ten in history in the number of career MVPs. For most of his career, Kobe has not been crowned the "NBA Best Player".

His teammate O'Neal has had this honor in his early career. And for some time, Tim Duncan may be the holder of this title. Eventually, LeBron James appeared, took the title and maintained it for years. Even Stephen Curry may have received the title before Kobe retired.

Meanwhile, the top 100 players in history ahead of him—including all mentioned above—have peaked in multiple seasons, during which they obviously wore this "laughter". The only exception might be Wilt Chamberlain, because he has Bill Russell as his opponent.

2. During the three consecutive championships, O'Neal was the team's number one star. The NBA championship team often has multiple superstars. Michael Jordan has Scotty Pippen, Magic Johnson has Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Larry Bird has Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, Tim Duncan has David Robinson first, and later won the championship with Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard. Stephen Curry played side by side with Kevin Durant twice in four championships.

But the first player in each of the above combinations (including Curry) obviously dominates their respective championship ranks. Kobe was the team's number one star when he partnered with Paul Gasol in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons, but in the 1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons, he was clearly the second-ranked No. 2 player after O'Neal, the sixth best player in history.

Onneal led the team in terms of win contributions (a total of plus or negative values), scores, rebounds, blocks, playing time and net points during these three seasons.

If Kobe hadn't played with O'Neal at the beginning of his career, he might not have won so many championships. The first three championships may have ignited his enthusiasm for winning two more championships next.

Five championship rings are crucial to Kobe's legend, so it is reasonable to analyze who contributes the most to the Lakers' three consecutive championships in the early 21st century.

3. Comparison between other figures in the league history and other characters

Since the first NBA season started in 1946, the league has gone through nearly eighty years. During these long years, countless world-leading basketball players have left their footprints here. Those who can make it to the top ten Bleacher Report list not only have amazing performances on the court, but are also considered the "world's best" at their peak, and their status often lasts for years. In addition, they have numerous honors and multiple championship titles, and they each have something unique to them, which makes them surpass Kobe, although this is not one of the criteria for judging.

Michael Jordan won five regular season MVPs and six finals MVPs.

The gap between LeBron James and second in the all-time scoring list is becoming more and more exaggerated.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the six-time regular season MVP and six-time championship winner.

Magic Johnson won three regular season MVPs and three finals MVPs, and ranked first in history in his career assists per game.

Bill Russell won 11 titles early in the league.

Shaquille O'Neal is the best player in Kobe's team.

Tim Duncan has three Finals MVPs, two regular season MVPs and fifteen best defensive team selections.

Larry Bird won the regular season MVP for three consecutive years, entered the top three of MVP voting seven times in eight years, helping save the NBA in the 1980s and is a pioneer of forward ball handlers.

Wilt Chamberlain averaged 30.1 points in his career, won four regular season MVPs, and averaged as high as 50.4 points in the 1961-62 season.

Stephen Curry is the greatest shooter of all time. (It turns out that it is very important to be the best person in the most important skills of basketball!)

Of course, Kobe also has a brilliant personal resume. However, it is almost impossible to overcome nearly eighty years of professional sports history, although he has almost done it.

2, James and Curry's existence

Among the active players, LeBron and Curry are the only two players who rank higher than Kobe. If they are not on this list, Kobe will be in the top ten. But as their careers are approaching their end, it is becoming increasingly difficult to believe that they should rank behind Kobe in historical status.

LeBron not only maintained his longest career among all legendary players in NBA history, but also surpassed Kobe in scoring, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks per game, and his three-point shooting percentage and shooting percentage are also higher. LeBron has a positive and negative value of 8.53 per game in his career, ranking third in history (after Nikola Jokic's 10.28 and Michael Jordan's 9.21), while Kobe's 4.55 is only ranked 32nd in history.

For Curry, this ranking is even more controversial (so the two are ranked tenth and eleventh respectively). But Curry averaged only 0.3 points less than Kobe, with significantly more assists, and 20 positions higher in the plus-negative rankings. Curry's real shooting percentage is 62.5%, far exceeding Kobe's 55.0% and his average league average during his career.

Although Curry and LeBron both entered the NBA after Kobe, they have surpassed him. This is the natural law of professional sports, and many fans and even some voters in Bleacher Report believe that LeBron has surpassed Jordan. Other players will also appear over time, and many will think they are better than Curry and LeBron. The

league is constantly evolving, and human beings are constantly improving.

5. Ranking 11 does not mean derogating Kobe

Although Kobe is only ranked 11th in this historical ranking, this should not be regarded as a derogatory measure against him.

Looking at the careers of the players ahead of him, their achievements are incredible.

Looking at the players behind him, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo's statistics are undoubtedly better. Although Kevin Durant's reputation has been damaged since leaving the Warriors, his resume is still comparable to Kobe. Old fans will certainly defend legends like Oscar Robertson or Jerry West as the top ten.

Every player on this list has great talent and achievements, and the gap is minimal.

Kobe's failure to enter the top ten by just one difference does not mean a denial of his career.

On the contrary, recognized as one of the 11 best players in NBA history, this is an amazing achievement for the league's iconic genius.

Original text: Andy Beiley

Compiled by: JayChan