Lou Williams takes issue with idea that Kobe Bryant was never best player in NBA

While Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in NBA history, his career overlapped with those of some other NBA icons.

For that reason, Bryant, in the eyes of some, might’ve lacked a time in his career where he was definitively the best player in the world.

That’s how sports analyst Nick Wright sees it, but former NBA guard Lou Williams isn’t going to let that claim go unchecked.

Williams and Bryant were in the NBA at the same time for many years and were even teammates in the 2015-16 season, so Williams got an up-close look at how Bryant operated.

Wright explained his viewpoint in detail earlier this month, noting that he sees Bryant as the eighth-greatest player in NBA history even though he was “never the best player in the world.”

It is theoretically possible for an all-time great to never be the No. 1 player in the NBA. Whether or not Bryant fell into that category is up for debate.

Bryant had a remarkable five-year run in the middle of his career in which he accomplished something huge each season. Here’s a look at that stretch of his career:

• 2005-06 season: won scoring title (35.4 points per game)
• 2006-07 season: won scoring title (31.6 points per game)
• 2007-08 season: won league MVP
• 2008-09 season: won NBA title and Finals MVP
• 2009-10 season: won NBA title and Finals MVP

Wright maintains, however, that fellow NBA legends Tim Duncan and LeBron James held the reins at different points during that part of Bryant’s career.

This topic, like the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) debate, is something that can’t truly be settled due to its subjective nature. Even today, some will argue over who is currently the best player in the NBA, which demonstrates how the waters get murky at times.

But Bryant, with his five NBA titles and countless personal accolades, certainly put together one of the best careers in league history, and his status as one of the top basketball players of all time isn’t in doubt.