The decade of the 2000s was an era in which the NBA boasted some outstanding skill and talent at the wing position. One such standout wing was Vince Carter, who played 22 seasons and was one of the best and most exciting players in the league during his prime.
But of course, the best player of that decade was late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. He led the Lakers to five NBA championships between the 1999-00 and 2009-10 seasons, and an argument could be made that he was the greatest closer in basketball history.
Yet Bryant’s name never comes up in the greatest of all time (GOAT) debates. Those debates only really include two men: Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan and current Lakers superstar LeBron James.
Carter, who played against all three legends, said that Bryant should be at the center of those debates along with Jordan and James.
“They deserved to be talked about as a trio – not a duo”
Vince Carter says Kobe should be included in GOAT discussion 👀🐐
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— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 30, 2024
“I’m truly thankful I got a chance to play against Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and of course LeBron,” said Carter. “I’m gonna name those three because we’re always talking about the greatest to play the game, Kobe Bryant should and will always, out of my mouth, be named as one of the greatest to ever play the game. They deserve to be talked about as a trio, not a duo.”
In 20 seasons, Bryant averaged 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists a game (he was at 26.6 points, 5.6 boards and 5.0 assists per game as a starter). Those numbers may not scream “all-time great,” but it was his “Mamba Mentality” and a nearly pathological need to win, as well as his surreal set of skills, that made him much more special than those numbers would suggest.
“I don’t understand why,” Carter said when asked Bryant should be in the discussion and why he isn’t. “The approach of MJ was just like Kobe. He looked at the blueprint of MJ and he said, ‘I’m gonna do that and more.’ And he’s won, it’s proven. Why is he not in that conversation?”
Many would say Bryant wasn’t quite as great a player as Jordan or James, but he does belong in the highest stratosphere of basketball icons, along with Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
