Los Angeles Laker owner Jeanie Buss called Kobe "Black Mamba" Bryant the greatest Laker ever. No one in the organization disputed her, and even basketball analysts agreed.
I can understand why Jalen Rose gave Kobe Bryant 👍👍. The Black Mamba dropped 81 points on his head. On the other hand, there is usually more controversy with a subject like this. Kobe hasn't been gone that long, and I understand the pause. Any negativity may have caused a severe pushback. Kobe Bryant is loved!!!
Furthermore, Kobe Bryant was a bad bad boy on the basketball court. He played all of his 20 years in Los Angeles, scored the most points (33,643) in Laker history, won 5 NBA Championships, as well as several other accolades. The Black Mamba even ended his amazing career by scoring 60 points in his final NBA game. Kobe Bryant was a first ballot Hall of Famer in absentia (R.I.P), and he 100% deserved the honor.
With all of this being stated, the question still remains; Is Kobe Bryant the really the greatest Laker ever? Instead of accepting Jeanie Buss' opinion, I decided to actually check to see if her claim was valid. Was Kobe Bryant getting this acclaim because of his considerable talent, his unexpected passing, his incredible popularity, or the fact that he played with the organization longer than anyone else?
Be advised, the Los Angeles Laker organization is one of the most successfull in NBA history. They have also had some of the greatest players of All-time on their rosters. I decided to include only the players that played at least 4.5 seasons, the average length of an NBA career, which left out Top 75 players like Lebron James, Anthony Davis, and Karl Malone. This requirement left Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, and Magic Johnson to compare to Kobe Bryant for overall Laker greatness.
I will compare each player's primary stats; points, rebounds, assists, championships, finals appearances, and Player Valuation Numeric scores. Blocks and steals were not officially counted for all of these players, so they were not used for these comparisons. Also, for those that do not know, the Player Valuation Numeric is an accurate and objective formula designed to calculate true player value. Here are all of the results.
SCORING
True, Kobe Bryant has scored more points as a Los Angeles Laker than any other player, but he has not scored the most points of all Lakers. Kareem Abdul Jabbar hilds that distinction, and he is the current All-time leading scorer in NBA history. In addition, Kobe Bryant''s points lead has a lot to do with his career longevity with respect to the other players, except for Magic Johnson. Wilt Chamberlain (30.1 ppg), Elgin Baylor (27.4 ppg) and Jerry West (27.0 ppg) all played 3 times as long as the average player, but still played more than 400 less games than Kobe Bryant (25.0 ppg). If they played as many games, then they easily would have surpassed his points total.
REBOUNDS
Kobe Bryant averaged 5.2 rpg. This is nowhere near the lead or even better than any of the others reviewed; Wilt Chamberlain (22.9 rpg), Elgin Baylor (13.5 rpg), Kareem Abdul Jabbar (10.4 rpg), Magic Johnson (7.2), and Jerry West (5.8).
ASSISTS
Kobe Bryant averaged 4.7 apg during his career. Here are the other Laker legend's assist outputs; Magic Johnson (11.2 apg), Jerry West (6.7 apg), Wilt Chamberlain (4.4 apg), Elgin Baylor (4.3 apg), and Kareem Abdul Jabbar (3.6 apg)
CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Black Mamba had 5 championships and 7 Finals appearance. In comparison, Kareem Abdul Jabbar had 6 championships and 10 Finals appearances; Magic Johnson had 5 championships and 9 Finals appearances; Wilt Chamberlain had 2 championships and 6 Finals appearances; Jerry West won 1 championship along with 9 Finals appearances; and Elgin Baylor had 1 championship and 8 Finals appearances. Kobe Bryant was an unquestionable winner
PLAYER VALUATION NUMERIC (PVN)
Kobe Bryant PVN = 38.8
* Other Laker Legends *
Magic Johnson PVN = 46.4
Jerry West PVN = 49.8
Elgin Baylor PVN = 49.2
Kareem Abdul Jabbar PVN = 51.1
Wilt Chamberlain PVN = 73.4
PLEASE NOTE: I did not include the George Mikan nor Shaquille O'Neal in this analysis. Mikan played well before all of these legends, and O'Neal would immediately be compared unfavorably to Chamberlain, which is not the point of this summary. Since both George Mikan and Shaquille O'Neal are Top 75 players, refusing to mention them would be blatantly disrespectful. Here are their Player Valuation Numeric scores:
George Mikan PVN = 44.3
Shaquille O'Neal PVN = 42.8
As stated earlier, the Player Valuation Numeric is an accurate and objective formula that calculates each player's value on the court. It uses each player's own production as well as championships, excellence points, and premium points, while also penalizing all players with 'weak points'. Be advised, all differences in PVN scores of 1.5 or more are significant.
In conclusion, after doing the research for this article, I have learned quite a bit about the Los Angeles Laker elite players that I did not know definitively. First of all, Jerry West is legitimately more valuable guard than both Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson. In addition, four out of seven Laker legends examined have PVN scores more than 10 points higher than Bryant's.
Finally, if Lebron James (PVN = 47.7), George Mikan (44.3), Shaquille O'Neal (42.8), Anthony Davis (PVN = 40.3), and Karl Malone (39.9) had been included, then ALL of them would have been rated higher than Kobe Bryant on the merits. Therefore, it is safe to say that Kobe "Black Mamba" Bryant is NOT the greatest Los Angeles Laker ever. In fact, he is not even close. He either ranks 6th or11th depending on whether James, Mikan, O'Neal, Davis, and Malone are considered. I will leave that to the Laker fans who now have quite a bit of previously unmentioned facts and reality to consider.
* Are you tired of the heated player debates like, Who is the G.O.A.T? Or, Is Kobe Brysnt better than Lebron James? Have no fear, each player's true value can be accurately and objectively calculated. In fact, the formula is so easy to understand that even a 5th grader can use it. For more information click the link below.
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