NBA great Kobe Bryant has all the credentials to deserve mention among the all-time greats.

But longtime league beat reporter Rob Parker feels Bryant doesn’t deserve a spot in the Top Five. He says Bryant’s chances were hurt by playing alongside Shaquille O’Neal when they won three straight titles with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Kobe’s not in the Top Five either,” Parker said during an appearance on The Breakfast Club Show. “You know why? But the only problem is, even on his team when he was Shaq, Shaq was the most dominant player in the league, not Kobe.”

In Bryant’s defense, he did win two championships without O’Neal. Parker downplayed this because the Lakers added Pau Gasol when they won titles in 2009 and 2010.

“He didn’t win two immediately,” Parker said. “He had to go get Pau Gasol. Remember when he was with Smush Parker? I don’t think he was winning back then, was he?

For the record, Parker chose Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Bill Russell as his top five.

BIRD FALLS IN SCORING RANKINGS

Three NBA players fell on the all-time scoring list Saturday.

Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook passed Alex English for No. 22 on the all-time list. Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard moved ahead of Boston Celtics great Larry Bird for No. 39. Also, Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George jumped Rick Barry for No. 75.

The record books for Bird have been rough the past few weeks. He was recently passed by Celtics center Al Horford on the franchise list for 3-pointers made. English and Barry were also two of the league’s best scorers during their playing days.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

Follow our coverage on Facebook

X: @BackInTheDayNBA