The debate for the greatest NBA player usually boils down to Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
Former rapper Ma$e, who once partnered with Diddy in the 1990s, thinks another player belongs in the discussion. During an appearance on his Come And Talk 2 Me podcast, Ma$e said Kobe Bryant is the No. 2 player behind Jordan.
"I actually hold Kobe over LeBron," the rapper said. "To me, because everything people saying, Kobe got his five championships with the team he was with. When they went down, he went down with his team. When they came up, he came up with his team. He never felt like he had to go play with Ray Allen to win. He put the team on his shoulders."
Bryant won five titles with the Los Angeles Lakers, spending his entire career with the organization. James is close behind at four championships, but he won them with the Miami Heat, Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers. Each time, he joined teams with All-Stars already present.
Bryant won his first three playing alongside Shaquille O'Neal but grabbed two more afterward. It should be noted the Lakers brought in All-Star Pau Gasol and Ron Artest.
"You can't say you're the King if you keep following other people to play," Ma$e said. "Not where I come from. You can't do that. I know today we have better media and we have better access to the media. We didn't have Internet and stuff like that, so you can paint narratives. But even when people act a certain way, when they get around real men, we know who's who. You can lie to other people, you can't lie to people like me. Great basketball player, No. 3 still to me. That's high, though."
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com
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