To this day, Shaquille O'Neal does not understand why Kobe Bryant isn't on the same level as Michael Jordan and LeBron James in the GOAT debate. Shaq has always maintained that Bryant should be at least a co-equal part of that conversation. O'Neal thinks about that so much that whenever an NBA player visits him on The Big Podcast , he makes it a point to discuss that topic with them.
So, when Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green appeared on the latest episode of his podcast, Shaq asked Green why the Black Mamba isn't always cited in the same breath as Mike and Bron in the greatest-of-all-time debate, and Dray gave Shaq two reasons.
"Number one, he played with you, and people hold that against him. Number two, I think Kobe kind of fell in a weird time," said Draymond.
Kobe wasn't the No.1 guy long enough
According to Draymond, Kobe arrived at a time when Mike came back to reclaim the league. Then Mike retired again, and the Lakers dominated with a three-peat. But after Shaq left, the Lakers had several rough years, with Kobe singlehandedly carrying a mediocre team.
Bryant returned to the top of the mountain when he won two titles with Pau Gasol. But then, after that, the Lakers regressed, and Kobe missed the playoffs in his final three seasons in the league. In Kobe's last year, the Lakers had their worst regular season ever.
"I think the amount of time that it was a consensus that Kobe was the number one in the league, like the top guy, I don't think it was long enough for everybody to put him in the conversation because Bron then came and put his name in the conversation. And from that point on, it's a tug of war," added Green.
Shaq says it's disrespectful
Kobe has always been labeled as the closest player to Michael Jordan. But while being closest should've translated to being next to Mike, the number 2 spot has been bestowed on LeBron James. To Shaq, that is being disrespectful to Kobe .
" I find it quite disrespectful that they don't bring Kobe's name up. That kind of pisses me off how they just skip over him and say, 'LeBron.' I don't understand that. Because I was there with him, and he was a bad motherf*cker, too.
The GOAT debate is never-ending, and it's subjective. It depends on who is holding the microphone and speaking to the audience. However, when it comes to which players should be included in the conversation, Kobe Bean Bryant should be part of it, even if he isn't winning the debate.
Related: "I hope so" - Kobe Bryant once revealed if he was a Top-5 in the GOAT debate
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