Jason Williams explains his thought process behind his ranking of Kobe Bryant in Lakers history

By Jason Simpson
Updated: March 24, 2022

Former NBA guard Jason Williams recently made waves by making a bold statement about Kobe Bryant’s all-time ranking within the Los Angeles Lakers organization.

Initially, Williams said he was unsure of whether or not Bryant stands among the “top five of the all-time greatest Lakers.”

That take ruffled some feathers, but after his quote started getting some attention around the basketball world, he clarified what he meant. Williams explained that Bryant is indeed the “greatest Laker ever.” He added that he merely believes that there are a handful of better players who have played for the Lakers at some point in their careers, making the argument a little bit muddy.

Williams recently spoke about the topic again and offered his latest thoughts.

“I said what I said, and I mean what I meant,” Williams said. “Kobe Bryant is the greatest Laker of all time, but that doesn’t mean that he’s the greatest basketball player that ever played for the Lakers. You know what I mean? It’s kind of like if I said D-Wade (Dwyane Wade) was better than LeBron [James]. LeBron is a better basketball player than Dwyane Wade, but when you think about the Miami Heat, who do you think of?

“… I think there were five better basketball players that played for the Lakers at one time, but that’s not taking anything away from Kobe Bryant. He’s one of the greatest basketball players that’s ever walked the face of this earth.”

It certainly seems like Williams has a great deal of respect for Bryant despite the way his original take was perceived.

After all, it would be virtually impossible to discuss Lakers history without bringing up Bryant’s name. During his storied career, the late great racked up 18 All-Star selections and won five NBA titles. All of those accomplishments came with the Lakers.

Today, he’s in the Hall of Fame. His legacy is kept alive by basketball fans all over the world.