Without a doubt, one of the greatest talents the NBA has ever seen; Kobe Bryant may be the most overrated player of all time. However, this will come with a lot of backlash because Kobe has the biggest fan base the world has ever seen. We can quickly find that out as we constantly listen to crazed fans who think he’ll be back next season and be a top 15 player in the league. And this is well deserved. But this is not where the overvaluation comes in; it started a long time ago when Kobe was still recovering.
Kobe was traded to the Lakers his rookie year, immediately putting him even more in the spotlight with the well-known knowledge that his father was Jelly Bean Bryant and that he entered the league as a high school standout. . Once Shaq came along, deny if you will, he was the pinnacle of whatever championship team was about to be built. With Shaq’s overwhelming dominance, Phil’s championship record, and a very suitable supporting cast, the team was perfectly poised to achieve anything it wanted. Kobe was a great asset to have; Electrifying, high-flying, lightning-quick, smooth shooting and an uneven determination in his trade. So, three rings later and Shaq’s departure, the Lakers had to maintain one face, one moneymaker. Kobe was made to be the center of attention, he recalls. This is where Kobe’s ego and brand began to explode.
Kobe would go on to put up an incredible scoring performance, most notably 81 points against the Raptors, win two more rings, and capture an MVP trophy. However, Kobe ends his career with just one MVP title, so it’s hard to argue that he once dominated the league as the best and that’s where the overrating comes in; the notion that Kobe is arguably the best. Others who can reasonably argue for the title have more than one MVP trophy. Not to mention, there’s a long list of guards you could hypothetically put on those Lakers first teams and they still would have won and maybe won more because they wouldn’t have to deal with the Diva. In the second race in a row, it can be argued that the team was more the reason for the championships than Black Mamba. Gasol was unstoppable and provided the perfect match for Bynum’s strength. Add that to two 6-foot-9 wingers who can split the floor in Ariza and Odom with all three and you have tough problems long before you get to Kobe. Regardless, Kobe’s longevity to stay relevant and win subsequent championships under Gasol puts Kobe in a different stratosphere. But this fictional comparison of him to Jordan is egregiously confirmed.
Even with six titles, it won’t mean anything compared to the way Jordan achieved his. In addition, the fact that nobody wants to play with Kobe because it is difficult to train him and play with him on and off the field has counted against the sixth ring more than an injury. He is arguably one of the top ten talents of all time, but chill with the best.