On Monday's NBA-sanctioned conference call with international media, Kobe Bryant raised a few eyebrows when asked to list the top five players that he had faced.
Bryant listed Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Clyde Drexler.
Kobe says the top five players of his era were Hakeem Olajuwon, MJ, Durant, LeBron and, interestingly, Clyde Drexler. — Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) December 21, 2015
Immediately, the omissions of Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal became impossible to miss. Duncan is widely considered one of the greatest power forwards to ever play the game, and putting him into the grouping would have fit. Clearly, Bryant valued Durant's scoring ability and single MVP award over five titles Duncan has collected during his tenure in San Antonio.
Another glaring omission was former teammate O'Neal. However, to be fair to the 37-year-old superstar, Bryant did not face O'Neal in the prime of the big man's career. The two played as teammates during O'Neal's prime, and the big man played second fiddle to Dwyane Wade in Miami before slowly exiting the league after stopping in Boston, Cleveland and Phoenix.
Other notable omissions from the list included Kevin Garnett and Allen Iverson. Bryant has spoken glowingly about both players recently, but when the time came to pick his top five, both players got left out in the cold.
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146 reporters from 24 countries & territories joined Kobe's conference call, the largest global conference call w/ a player in NBA history. — Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) December 22, 2015
All that said, one would have a tough time arguing with the guys Bryant did mention. Drexler may have been on his way out, but "Clyde the Glide" was an all-time great and clearly made an impression on Bryant. James and Jordan are two that definitely belonged on the list, while Durant projects to finish as a first-ballot Hall-of-Fame player. Olajuwon's skill and basketball ability may have been the most unique in the entire list, even though Bryant played against a diminished, older version of the center.
Kobe didn't mention Shaq because of the nature of the question: Who were the top five players you faced? (I know, he later played vs. Shaq.) — Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) December 21, 2015
On the call, Bryant also reinforced his earlier stance that playing in the All-Star Game would be a welcome honor, but the 17-time All-Star did not obsess over making the team.
"I've been very fortunate to play in so many All-Star games," Bryant said. "For me not to be voted in, I know it might sound hard to really process when I say I'm completely fine with that. I've had an amazing run. At some point, you have to be okay with letting that go and you have to be okay with passing the game along and do all you can to help the game continue to grow and continue to evolve. That's my way of letting you know that I'm completely fine with whatever role I have at All-Star weekend."
Bryant echoed the same sentiment when asked about playing in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. However, the 20-year professional made it clear that his body would not permit him to play another season anywhere. As such, a trip overseas would not be forthcoming--Sorry, China.
Bryant sat out Saturday's loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder with a sore shoulder, but the player is listed as probable for Tuesday's game in Denver. Bryant, who managed to dunk in his last outing, referred to that moment as "personally gratifying" because it embodied his return from a series of major injuries that have hampered the twilight of the five-time champion's career.
Bryant said, "It was a reward for all the hours I spent from training, working and stretching. It felt good to see that hard work pay off."
