Pivot Points: Will Kobe Bryant Wear the Crown of History's Greatest LA Laker?

The history of the Los Angeles Lakers is littered with some of the greatest basketball players ever to grace the court: players who not only dominated the game, but changed the way it was played.

Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Kareem-Abdul Jabbar, James Worthy, Wilt Chamberlain, and Elgin Baylor are but a few of the evolutionary players who have contributed to the phenomenal legacy of the Lakers.

Kobe Bryant has earned a place in that rare company, but where does he stand amongst the shadows of the aforementioned legends?

In my own guarded opinion, the two best players to ever don the purple and gold are West and Magic, two players whose impact goes far beyond the confines of the NBA.

Jerry West sits among the clouds as the top scorer in Los Angeles history, and his silhouette has become the face of professional basketball as the NBA logo. His fingerprints remain on the franchise even today.

The man known simply as Magic is universally recognized as the greatest point guard ever to walk the earth, and although he is no longer the career leader in assists, he remains the standard by which his position is judged.

Both players earned NBA championships, and both grace the walls of the NBA Hall of Fame. They are equally omnipotent in their regard as two of the most treasured Lakers in Los Angeles history.

Other players, most notably Kareem, Chamberlain, and Baylor, deserve consideration for the top spot, but due to circumstances did not make my own biased cut.

Kareem and Chamberlain are two centers that changed the offensive point of view at their positions, but both made their legend before coming to L.A., and only added to it afterwards.

Baylor, who was perhaps the definitive player at small forward failed to win a championship, retiring one year before the Lakers reached that pinnacle.

So where does that leave Bryant, a player who can match West and Magic in most regards, and judging by his play this season, has more than a few years left in his tank?

At some point this season Bryant will overtake West as the career scoring leader for the Lakers, and barring unforeseen events will eventually conclude his career as a life-long Laker.

He lacks the charm of Johnson, but is almost able to match him in championships, and could very well add more before the sun sets on his distinguished career.

What sets Bryant apart is that he is possibly the most fundamentally skilled guard that the game has ever seen, and that statement includes everyone, even the great Michael Jordan.

No player in the last 20 years has had such complete control over the various aspects of the game that Bryant's talents encompass, and he is still adding elements even as we speak.

Bryant is the game's ultimate historian and his knowledge has allowed him to grasp the importance of molding his game to take advantage of what worked for other players who were considered great.

A perfect example is his work with Hakeem Olajuwon in the offseason to hone his play in the post. What better way to learn the nuances of the post than from a player who had the footwork of a ballerina?

Kobe has had the luck to avoid major injuries in his career and the ones that he has had were also used as learning moments in an effort to improve his game.

The hand and finger injuries have enabled him to fully develop his left hand to the point where he is comfortable shooting with either hand, and his play with the recent broken finger on his shooting hand has been exemplary.

As great as Bryant has been, there are still numerous points of contention that detractors will use to his detriment, and some of them if not entirely fair, are valid.

Kobe has always existed on the outside of the NBA fraternity due to his dis-similar upbringing and understanding of the game.

He has long been perceived as a loner and his back story is not nearly as interesting as other players in the NBA.

There are no tales of tragedy, poverty, or the will to succeed against all odds in Bryant's biography. To the contrary, Bryant lived a life that was unfamiliar to most of today's stars.

As the son of a former NBA player, Bryant was afforded luxuries in youth that most of today's players were never able to realize, and for some reason that fact has been held against him.

His persona was crafted as a player who could do no wrong and when the Colorado incident happened and his mortality was realized, the facade came crashing down around him.

Although the worst thing that Kobe was guilty of was bad judgment, that mishap has left a stain on Bryant's legacy that runs as deep as the volatile manner in which he is perceived.

In most people's minds a line was drawn in the sand, and both his supporters and detractors spend most of their time alternately tearing him down or singing the praises of his virtues.

This has created an unprecedented climate in which the debates over his character and value to the game has superseded all of the unimaginable moments that he has achieved.

His 81-point game is the second highest point total scored in the history of the NBA, yet at times it is treated in almost a trivial manner due to the extreme dislike voiced by many observers.

Likewise, the fact that he has four championships is minimized by the insignificant fact that he won three of them with Shaquille O'Neal. There is no disclaimer inscribed in his rings that suggest they are of O'Neal's consequence.

Never has the validity of a player's worth been argued with the passion of Bryant's, and yet there is no one who can debate the impact and presence that he has on today's game.

The final voice should be the players in the NBA who, almost to a man, say that Bryant is the greatest talent in today's game. The Sporting News panel only upheld what was universally accepted when they confirmed this.

For all practical purposes, Bryant will end his career not only as the greatest Los Angeles Laker in history, but as one of the greatest players ever to dribble a basketball.

Although I am sure that this will be argued, Bryant and his magnificent body of work will bear this out, and even if we are unwilling to admit it, his status as an NBA legend has already been verified.