Kobe Bryant won five championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, ranks fourth on the all-time scoring list and is one of the fiercest competitors in NBA history. He was posthumously inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021 and is regarded as one of the most influential athletes of his generation. His legacy is immortalized in sports lore, as Mamba Mentality continues to inspire players and fans today.
But ranking Bryant among the best to ever step on the court is a challenging task. The modern era is extremely high on the two-time Finals MVP, with many people believing he deserves to be slotted in right behind Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Someone who faced Bryant seems to think otherwise, however.
Chandler Parsons, who played for the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies and Atlanta Hawks during his nine-year NBA career, made a strong declaration regarding Bryant’s legacy.
“Just Google right now top greatest rankings of NBA players, Kobe Bryant would not be in most people’s top three [all time],” he said on Tuesday’s edition of FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back,” via ClutchPoints. “Not me, just Google it.”
“Just Google right now… Kobe Bryant would not be in most people’s top three [all time].”
– Chandler Parsons
(via @RunItBackFDTV)pic.twitter.com/PhaOsxaKb7
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 25, 2025
Where should Lakers icon Kobe Bryant land on all-time rankings?
Although Parsons emphasized that he was strictly referring to public perception and not his own opinion, the retired forward himself opined that Kevin Durant is above the Black Mamba. He also lauded Bryant and noted how he is “cut from a different cloth,” but it is clear Parsons is not willing to vault him right toward the top of the list.
And to be frank, it is a valid argument to make. While Kobe Bryant likely occupies a top-10 spot on most rankings, sorting out the order is not as easy as some fans might think.
Fellow Lakers greats Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shined in possibly the most important era in basketball history. Shaquille O’Neal earned NBA Finals MVP honors all three times he and Bryant won a championship together on LA. Tim Duncan enjoyed a more graceful decline and was one of the most well-rounded big men the game has ever known. Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell… The competition is stiff.
Denying Bryant automatic entry into the top five is not an indictment on the legendary guard’s body of work, but rather an endorsement of the other transcendent talents who have left an indelible mark on the hardwood. Even so, plenty of Lakers fans will take Chandler Parsons’ opinion personally. And perhaps the Mamba would too.
The post Chandler Parsons makes big claim about Kobe Bryant’s legacy appeared first on ClutchPoints.
