Watch: Kobe Bryant Reluctantly Ranks LeBron, Jordan and Himself
Kobe Bryant didn’t want to go there.
But when push came to eating cow tongue, he decided to rank the following players — LeBron James, Michael Jordan and himself.
The question was posed by CBS late-night TV host James Corden in a segment called “Spill Your Guts,” where the guest is required to answer a revealing question or eat something disgusting.
“I would like you to rank these legendary basketball players from best to worse,” Corden said before naming the trio.
“Seriously,” said Bryant laughing.
“Best to worse, or tuck into that cow tongue, baby,” Corden said.
Initially, Bryant went for the cow tongue.
“You know what I’m going to answer, but I’m not going to answer because everybody is going to sit there and debate about it, so I’m just going to take a bite into this,” the Los Angeles Lakers great said.
Bryant grabbed the cow tongue and tried to figure out which end to bite.
Corden interrupted: “You can answer, it’s pretty straight forward, I think.”
Bryant put down the cow tongue and reluctantly answered the question.
“Fine, fine, I’m the best, Michael is the second best, LeBron is the third best,” he said.
We made @KobeBryant choose between eating a cow tongue OR ranking himself, @KingJames and Michael Jordan from best to worst ? pic.twitter.com/ktKDemDlQf
— The Late Late Show with James Corden (@latelateshow) March 27, 2019
You can’t fault a guy for believing in himself — that’s the Mamba Mentality. But most people would agree that Jordan is far and away the greatest of all time.
The more realistic debate is between Bryant and James for No. 2.
Bryant is third on the all-time scoring list with 33,643 career points, while James is fourth with 32,516 — and counting. James will surely pass Bryant and perhaps finish as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at 38,387.
Bryant won five championships (losing two NBA Finals) and two scoring titles and had career averages of 25 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. He made all-NBA 15 times, won one league MVP award and was named to the All-Defensive team 12 times.
Kobe Bryant takes a stance on the MJ vs. LeBron debate…with a wrinkle – National Basketball Association News – https://t.co/zV6P6p2B3D pic.twitter.com/w7OUbwGE6e
— Los Angeles Sports News (@Lakers_newsnow) March 27, 2019
James has won three titles (losing six), four league MVPs and one scoring title, has made the All-Defensive team six times and has been named all-NBA 14 times. He has career averages of 27.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game.
How would you rank them?
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
