Arriving in the NBA in 2001, Tony Parker had the privilege of facing three potential GOATs, namely Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. An honor of which he was not a little proud with Konbini and which allows him to decide between the three legends.
Even if his record doesn’t necessarily reflect it, he arrived in the league during one of the most competitive eras in history. Drafted in 2001 by the Spurs, Tony Parker made his debut there during the domination of the Lakers embodied by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant . He often crossed paths with the two men thereafter, and particularly that of the legendary full-back until 2016.
Joining the North American league in the early 2000s also allowed him to meet Michael Jordan , who was then making his last stand with the Wizards. Last stand whose end coincided with the no less documented arrival of LeBron James , with whom the Frenchman also played numerous duels. And despite this enormous competition, the latter has 4 championship titles.
Tony Parker cash on LeBron, Kobe and Jordan
Invited by Konbini to do a little retrospective of his NBA career in 2020, Parker couldn’t help but consider himself lucky by comparing himself in particular to LeBron and Jordan:
When you look at the history of the NBA, one of the best players of all time, LeBron, he is only 3 rings away (4 now, editor’s note). Same for Steph Curry (also 4 nowadays, editor’s note). It’s hard to win 4, 5, let alone 6 rings like Jordan. It’s very, very hard.
Quadruple sacred, TP9 thus managed to deprive LBJ and Kobe of this immense happiness on several occasions. This, while he rubbed shoulders with both men in their heyday. However, he does not attribute GOAT status to any of them:
I played against LeBron and Kobe in their prime and against Jordan at the end of their career and for me, the best of all time is Jordan.
More marked by MJ’s exploits in the ’90s, the former leader of the French team therefore continues to give him 1st place in his historical ranking. And no offense to James fans, the 2nd does not go to the King either:
Kobe was incredible. Afterwards, LeBron, of course, he is very, very strong but I found that Kobe was even stronger! When we played the Lakers with the Spurs, it was a big rivalry. So I never told myself that we had beaten the best player in the world twice (in the Finals), because for me, it was Kobe at that moment!
It remains to be seen whether the title won in the Orlando bubble by Bron in 2020 encouraged our national Tony to review his hierarchy since then!
Due to his privileged position as a former opponent of the three icons, Tony Parker is well placed to classify Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Michael Jordan. And according to him, even if his end of career left something to be desired, it is His Airness who remains above the rest!
