Kobe Bryant was a basketball prodigy whose physical gifts were off the chart, and that was one of the big reasons why he was able to win five NBA championships.
However, it was his mental state of mind that elevated his game to otherworldly heights, a unique style of playing that’s widely known as the Black Mamba mentality.
Bryant honed his killer instinct with his work ethic and never-give-an-inch mindset driving him to eleven All-NBA First Team honors and two Finals MVP. During his career, Kobe scored 33,643 points, with 81 of those daggers coming on January 22, 2006 in a game against the Toronto Raptors.
Kobe is ahead of LeBron, according to Matt Barnes
Due to his accolades, Kobe Bryant is always mentioned in the greatest basketball players of all time conversation, putting him in the top 5 that includes Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal.
The topic came up in the latest episode of former NBA player Gilbert Arenas‘ podcast, where he had another former baller, Matt Barnes, as a guest. During his 14 seasons in the league, Barnes played against Kobe Bryant but also as his teammate in the Los Angeles Lakers, so he knows a thing or two about Black Mamba.
Barnes said that, for him, the three greatest players in NBA history are Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James, in no particular order. However, when it came time to rank their abilities and skills, Barnes didn’t have a problem in putting Bryant ahead of James.
“It’s weird that I feel like outside of the non-athlete media, always kind of leaves Kobe out of the top five, sometimes the top ten, and it’s crazy because the guys that played with him or against him understand what he was about understand that drive in that killer he had.” Barnes said.
He went on to make it clear that he wasn’t knocking” because I think Kobe is ahead of Bron that doesn’t mean I dislike LeBron. I think Bron is f****** incredible, and for him to still be doing what he’s done and the doors he has opened, and he got his son on the team, and he’s gonna be the owner of the Las Vegas franchise when that happens.” Barnes stated.
The former NBA player admitted that LeBron James, on and off the court, is probably the all time greatest of all time “but I just think that, when it comes to basketball, I think it’s MJ, Kobe, and then Bron as a respectful third.” he added.
Kobe’s numbers speak for themselves
Kobe Bryant was an 18-time All-Star and he led the NBA in scoring four seasons while still managing to make the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team nine times, making him one of the best two-way players in history. The fact that he stayed all of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers talks about his loyalty for the franchise.
Bryant was relentless, and when he matched wits with superstar center Shaquille O’Neal – one of the most dominant players in the history of the NBA – in 1996, there came a renewed sense that playing for the Lakers meant playing for the ring.
Bryant and O’Neal opened the 21st Century with three championships in a row. Bryant’s encore performance came in 2009 and again in 2010 when the Lakers went back-to-back with teammates like Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Ron Artest.
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