Former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant has gotten credit for being the inspiration for most current players in the NBA. When it comes to the GOAT conversation, however, Bryant tends to get overlooked. Usually, fans, players and experts keep talking about Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Both players have always been the face of being the greatest of all time.
Bryant has enough accolades to be included in the talk. The late star was a five-time champion, an 18-time All-Star, a one-time MVP, a two-time Finals MVP and a Hall of Fame talent. However, that doesn’t seem to be enough for him to be part of the conversation. It’s always about Jordan and James.
Fortunately for Bryant, he left a great impression on everyone he encountered and inspired. The most recent former NBA star who spoke highly of him was his ex-teammate, Dennis Rodman.
Rodman appeared as a guest on N3on’s live stream. The content creator was interested to know who he thinks the GOAT is. While the former Chicago Bulls star chose Jordan, he still gave the Los Angeles Lakers icon his flowers.
“We know who that is, Jordan all day long. Get mad at me all you want. Guess what? People forgot about that one guy. That one guy, that’s called Kobe Bryant. People forget about him. They talk about everybody else. They don’t talk about Kobe for some reason,” Rodman said.
Rodman and Braynt were teammates for a brief moment — 23 regular-season games to be exact. Although their time together was short, the five-time champion still earned the respect of the undersized power forward.
Rodman watched Bryant’s career and saw his greatness unfold.
Former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson honored Bryant on his birthday
The sports world was united on Sunday as they celebrated what could have been the 47th birthday of the Los Angeles Lakers legend. In 2020, Bryant tragically passed away due to a helicopter crash together with his daughter, Gigi and seven others.
The world remembered his birthday, including former NBA star Magic Johnson. On X, he posted a photo of the two of them back when Bryant was a young up-and-comer in the league. Johnson paid tribute to the late basketball icon.
“Remembering husband, girl dad, entrepreneur, friend, five-time champion, and one of the greatest to ever lace them up, Kobe Bryant on his birthday 🎁” Johnson posted on X.
Remembering husband, girl dad, entrepreneur, friend, five-time champion, and one of the greatest to ever lace them up, Kobe Bryant on his birthday 🎁 pic.twitter.com/oTUfmMionU
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) August 23, 2025
The two Lakers icons had mutual respect and contributed a lot to the franchise’s history. Between the two of them, they won 10 championships, a testament to the impact they had in the league and in LA.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
