Shaquille O’Neal puts Kobe Bryant in controversial spot on his list of top 10 NBA players of all time
O’Neal’s ranking of Bryant — and Lebron James — will surely raise some eyebrows
Shaquille O’Neal recently created a top-10 list of the NBA’s best players of all-time. While O’Neal’s list doesn’t include himself (he initially had himself at No. 10 before he took himself out), it does include former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant, whose spot on the list will surely generate some conversation among fans.
O’Neal kicked things off list by naming former 76ers legend (and O’Neal’s childhood idol) Julius “Dr. J” Erving as his 10th greatest player of all time. Spurs great and former O’Neal rival Tim Duncan took the ninth spot on the list, followed by Hall of Fame center and fellow former O’Neal rival Hakeem Olajuwon at No. 8.
Celtics legend Larry Bird, Hall of Fame center Wilt Chamberlain, and fellow Hall of Fame center Bill Russell garner the seventh, sixth and fifth spots on O’Neal’s list. Lakers Hall of Fame point guard Magic Johnson received the fourth spot.
Here’s where things get interesting. O’Neal placed current Lakers forward LeBron James as the third-best player of all-time. He put Bryant at the runner-up spot just behind Michael Jordan, who is widely considered the greatest player in NBA history.
Shaquille O’Neal’s top-10 players of all-time
1. Michael Jordan
2. Kobe Bryant
3. LeBron James
4. Magic Johnson
5. Bill Russell
6. Wilt Chamberlain
7. Larry Bird
8. Hakeem Olajuwon
9. Tim Dunacn
10. Julius Erving
For most people, O’Neal’s decision to put Bryant ahead of James will undoubtedly come as a surprise. But for those who have listened to him speak about Bryant in recent years (especially following Bryant’s death in January 2020), O’Neal placing Bryant as the No. 2 all-time player on his list is very much on brand.
“You always hear LeBron, you always hear Jordan, but where’s my guy Kobe at?” O’Neal said last fall while addressing the greatest player of all-time debate. “LeBron is great. He’s a good friend of mine. He’s great. Jordan is great. But my guy was great, too.”
During that interview, O’Neal alluded to championships factoring into his thinking. He mentioned that Jordan won six championships, Bryant won five and James has won four — the same number O’Neal himself won during his career.
A longtime knock on Bryant was the fact that he had O’Neal as a teammate during his first three titles, but Bryant’s impact on those Lakers teams was, at times, just as significant as O’Neal’s; however, O’Neal was named MVP during each of the Lakers’ titles from 2000-02.
Consider what Bryant did in Game 4 of the 2000 Finals. With O’Neal fouled out, Bryant scored eight points in overtime to lead the Lakers to a pivotal win over the Pacers. The Lakers ended up winning the series in six games.
A year later, during the 2001 playoffs, Bryant averaged a gaudy 29.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game as Los Angeles went 15-1 en route to successfully defending its title. In the 2002 NBA Finals, Bryant averaged 26.8 points (on 51.8% shooting), 5.8 rebounds and 5.3 assist per game as the Lakers swept the Nets while becoming the latest three-peat champion.
As far as the Bryant-James debate is concerned, there’s no debating that James is the more versatile and efficient player. Bryant, however, was a more willing shooter who pattered his offensive game after Jordan. Bryant is also generally considered a better overall defender than James.
Aside from Bryant, another notable takeaway from O’Neal’s list is the omission of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a six-time NBA champion who held the league’s all-time scoring record for nearly 40 years until James passed him in 2023. The two Lakers legends haven’t had the coziest of relationships, but they did appear to make amends on the night James passed Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time scoring list.
