Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant sank a jumper from the top of the key Monday night with 5:07 left in the second quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers. It’s a shot Bryant has drained countless times in his stellar NBA career.
The only thing different about that jumper — it buoyed him past former Laker teammate Shaquille O’Neal for fifth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
It’s a tremendous achievement for the 16-year veteran, who has spent all 16 of those seasons in a Laker uniform.
 
When you add that Bryant has won five NBA titles, been named an All-Star 14 times and was the league’s MVP in 2008, one begins to consider where Kobe ranks among the all-time greats to don the purple and gold of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The players that come to mind when I think of the Lakers include Magic Johnson, Jerry West and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. For Kobe to be mentioned with those NBA legends is an honor in its own right.
There’s still one thing Bryant needs in order to feel completely vindicated about his time spent in the NBA — a sixth title.
Kobe told reporters after the game that he was more than humbled with the accomplishment of passing O’Neal on the all-time scoring list, but also said he wants to have six rings when it’s all said and done. If Kobe is able to deliver a sixth NBA Championship to the city of Los Angeles, he will be without a doubt the best player in Lakers history.
Some NBA experts before the season thought the 33-year-old was past his prime, saying fans would never see flashes of the old Kobe.
He’s silenced those doubters so far this year, leading the league in scoring with 29.4 points per game.
After Michael Jordan retired in 2003, Bryant has been the most dominant force in the NBA.
The biggest argument against Kobe being the best Laker in the history of the franchise is that he never won a title by himself.
When the Lakers won the title three years in a row from 1999 to 2002, Kobe played second fiddle to O’Neal in all three of the championship runs. No denying that.
But, in the last two titles that Bryant won with the Lakers, he put the team on his back. There were no legitimate superstars on the roster with him on those teams. Looking at you, Pau Gasol.
The only player I believe might stand in his way for supremacy as the best Laker is Magic Johnson.
Johnson revitalized the Los Angeles basketball scene in the ‘80s with his ability to play every position and fast-paced up-tempo style that got his teams dubbed the “Showtime” Lakers.
Kobe and Magic both have the same amount of NBA Championship rings and All-NBA First Team selections.
But Kobe has performed under some of the most daunting circumstances — his rape trial in 2003 and now he’s in a divorce with his wife.
When fans of the NBA of the last 20 years think about the Lakers, Kobe’s name is usually the first one that comes to mind.
This year’s Laker team might be the least talent Kobe has had around him since before the trade that brought Gasol to Los Angeles.
In a shortened lockout season this year, Kobe has the steep task of leading a team with so many new players and a new head coach to the promised land.
This is Kobe’s chance to show the basketball world he’s still the Black Mamba and to cement his legacy as the best Los Angeles Laker of all time.
Micah Bedard is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Houma. Follow him on Twitter @DardDog.
 
 
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Contact Micah Bedard at [email protected]