Kobe Bryant lists his all-time NBA starting five

As Kobe Bryant sat down to discuss his upcoming retirement at the end of this season, he also listed his all-time starting five.

After 20 remarkable years, five championships, countless great moments, and 32,703 points, Kobe Bryant will be retiring after this season. His departure will be a heartbreaking loss for Los Angeles Lakers fans and lovers of basketball alike, and he appeared on Good Morning America to discuss his decision to walk away and various other topics.

He revealed that during his times of thought and meditation in the morning his mind hasn’t always stayed on basketball (a change that indicated the end was near), that his goal was to win eight championships not five, while naming his all-time starting five, too.

What’s interesting is that Kobe said he would “never” put himself in his own top-five players of all time. He’s always had incredible confidence in himself, but instead he selected the five players that he said he’s learned the most from as a player.

Here they are:

• Magic Johnson — as the name suggests, he was simply magical with the basketball in his hands. He’s the best passer to ever play the game, he was such a unique point guard at 6’9″, and had the versatility to play at all positions, including center. Along with Larry Bird, he revitalized the entire sport during the 1980s.
• Jerry West — “The Logo” himself made an appearance on Kobe’s list as well. He was an absolutely prolific scorer and shooter (27 points per game for his career), although only won a single championship in 1972 during his 14-year career with the Lakers.
• Michael Jordan — nothing needs to be said when it comes to Michael. He was unbelievable to watch, had otherworldly talent and athleticism, and had two three-peats and six Finals MVP’s to go along with countless other records and accolades. He’s the best player of all-time and everyone knows it.
• Larry Bird — it’s hard to pick Magic without choosing Bird, too. They gave the NBA and it’s fans the best rivalry they’ve ever seen during their careers, and went back and forth with their Lakers and Boston Celtics to compete for championship after championship. Bird was not only an incredible scorer who could hit impossible shots with ease, but was a passing wizard and rebounding machine at the same time. He had a combination of skills that are almost impossible to replace.
• Hakeem Olajuwon — one of the best defensive players to ever grace the court, Olajuwon will always be remembered for his ability to deny anyone at the rim while being able to score on anyone at the other end of the floor. His play in the post was poetry in motion, and there was no way to stop his footwork and mid-range game as he fooled players with fakes, up-and-under-moves and any scoring trick you can imagine. The Dream could do things that no others have been able to match, and he led his Houston Rockets to back-to-back championship in 1994-95 because of it.

There aren’t enough adjectives to depict just how good these five players are. Kobe chose well of course, and as a player himself, his insight and reasoning will be far different to us fans. Whether it’s Jordan’s obsessive work ethic, Magic’s versatility or Olajuwon’s post prowess, Kobe chose a group of players that he could have learned so much from to hone all aspects of his game.

Basketball fans will always enjoy the debate of who the top-five players of all-time are. Jordan will almost always be an easy choice, Bird and Magic aren’t far behind in most people’s minds, but equally you could leap to today’s era and put LeBron James in. As well as talent and legacy, it’s about personal preference and who you’ve grown up with or look up to most.

The frontcourt is far harder to decide on. Do you go for the older generations and the big men who dominated beyond belief such as Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain? Or do you put them aside due to them facing less competition while being so superior both in terms of talent and athleticism in comparison to the limited pool of NBA big men at the time? If you leave them out the picture, is Shaquille O’Neal not an easy choice as probably the most powerful, uncontainable force down low that the league has ever seen? Or would you go for Olajuwon like Kobe, or even the all-time scorer with the unstoppable skyhook, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?

There are so many ways the discussion can go, and there’s no way to create a starting five that everyone will agree on. There are just too many legends, even if the popular three of Jordan, Bird and Magic make the cut for most.

Yet, that’s the joy of basketball. We’ve seen so many legends who have been great for so many reasons, and after this season we’ll see another leave as Kobe Bryant calls it a career.