Epitaph No. 11! O Neal angrily criticized BR s historical ranking as a crime, Kobe suffered from advanced data

Ranking the top players in NBA history is a very difficult task, because no matter how the roster is ranked, there will be a lot of controversy about the position of some players. But one thing is certain, the legendary players of the Los Angeles Lakers will inevitably occupy a place in the top ten of this list, with LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Shaquille O'Neal almost all locking in a top ten position on the list.

At least most of the lists are like this, but in the recently released list of top 100 players in NBA history released by Bleacher Report, Kobe was only ranked 11th, which made his teammate O'Neal feel very dissatisfied, and felt that Kobe was being looked down upon. Then he directly stated on social media that simply ranking Kobe at No. 11 is simply a crime.

Bleacher Report's top ten players are Michael Jordan, James, Abdul Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, O'Neal, Tim Duncan, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain and Stephen Curry. Kobe followed closely behind in No. 11, and then the players behind are Olajuwon, Durant, Robertson and Jerry West.

No doubt everyone in the top 10 deserves a selection, but it's a bit far-fetched to leave Kobe out, even for those who aren't Kobe's most loyal fans. Whether it's data, honors, championships or just visible performances on the court, Kobe's name should appear on the top ten players, and O'Neal's claim that they put Kobe in 11th is a crime, because few people know Kobe's abilities better than him.

Since Kobe retired, over time, the current popular high-level statistics in the NBA are gradually damaging his position in the minds of many people because his efficiency data is not high and some indicators are not friendly to Kobe, which has led some people who have not watched him play to question whether he is really a top star. But any player who has worked with or played against Kobe will refute this view, and they will support Kobe as the top player.

Maybe the next NBA superstar is Cooper Flag's No. 2025 pick, but his recent poor performance in his summer league debut. However, former Mavericks boss Mark Cuban believes that Flag just needs time to grow and adapt to the rhythm of professional games, just like Kobe did when he first joined the Lakers.

Cuban said: "You have to think about Kobe's growth trajectory. It took him some time to get things done. I don't want to compare him to Kobe to put pressure on him because they are different. But great Kobe didn't become a good player right away, and it took him two years to do it."