Draymond Green Explains Why Kobe Bryant Isn’t In GOAT Conversation

Michael Jordan and LeBron James are often mentioned as the candidates for who the greatest of all time in basketball is.

One notable omission from these conversations? Los Angeles Lakers legend, Kobe Bryant.

This week, Shaquille O’Neal and Draymond Green discussed why that is the case.

“Do you think my guy deserves to be in the GOAT conversation?” O’Neal asked him.

“For sure, 100 percent,” Green replied.

“So how come he’s not all the time?” O’Neal fired back.

That is when Green jumped into his answer.

“Number one, he played with you and people hold that against him,” Green said.

“Number two, Kobe kind of fell into a weird time. Mike left the league and when he left y’all were dominating. And then when you left the Lakers, they had a few rough years, wasn’t great. [The Lakers] didn’t have great rosters. It wasn’t great.

“While it wasn’t going great, there was a young guy in Cleveland starting to make his hay. So in the years where Kobe could’ve been dominating… [LeBron James] was starting to make his name.”

Draymond’s explanation on why people don’t have Kobe in the GOAT conversation 👀

(Ep. 22) pic.twitter.com/20deatiaeD

— The Big Podcast (@bigpodwithshaq) September 24, 2024

The GOAT debate is always a complex one, but there is no denying that Bryant’s name is often omitted.

Will that change when James retires? Time will tell.

Carlos Garcia

A longtime Sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB Games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.