How Can Kobe Get into the 'Best Ever' Conversation?

What will it take for Kobe Bryant to be considered one of the greatest NBA players of all time?

As much as anyone might dislike Kobe Bryant - and he has some detractors out there (Kobe Haters Blog) - we all must agree that Kobe is among the elite players of his generation. No one can deny Kobe this much. He is, at least, one of a handful of players in the league today guaranteed to make it into the hall of fame.

To give Kobe a little more credit, it could be argued that the NBA is Kobe's league today. It was his NBA last year and it is his NBA this year...because Kobe is the best player on the best team.

(This is not to say that Kobe Bryant is the best player in the NBA. He might be. There is competition for this accolade. Between Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and several others, the NBA's greatest/best player crown does not have a clear winner.)

Let it suffice for a premise for our argument that Kobe Bryant is possibly the greatest player currently in the NBA who, despite his rivals, his opponents, and his dramas, has had great success as a professional basketball player.

For quite a while NBA talk has been rife with the question, "Who will be the next Michael Jordan?" As Jordan's stature and legacy have begun to solidify into history however, the question is finally beginning to fade.

The question then for Kobe Bryant is not "Can he be the next Michael Jordan?" The question surrounding Kobe Bryant - the one that keeps him doing push-ups, keeps him shooting in the gym, and keeps him hungry - is this one: What does Kobe Bryant need to do in order to be considered one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA?

Consider first the post-season career of Kobe Bryant.

Bryant has played (with the Lakers) in the NBA Finals six times. He has won the ring on four of those occasions. Only in the last trip, his fourth championship run, however, was he awarded with the Finals MVP nod.

Clearly, Kobe Bryant has been on some very, very good ball-clubs. And with a league MVP trophy and a Finals MVP trophy in his collection of achievements, only two players in the league today can be said to rival Kobe. Those players are Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq has won four championships too, the same number of NBA championships owned by Tim Duncan.

Each of these three players will go to the NBA hall of fame. There can be no doubt about this. When Shaquille O'Neal retires, perhaps the discussion will begin as to where he fits in historically.

If Shaq wins another ring, this time with LeBron James, he will have six championships. This number will certainly be part of the discussion when we begin to talk about where Shaq fits, historically, with the titans of the NBA. But will a sixth title change anything? The championship will belong to the team MVP, Lebron James and Shaq will be credited as a "complimentary piece", rightfully. This particular ring won't bolster Shaq's resume like his first four championships did, wherein he was a key player, usually the key player, and a Finals MVP.

Tim Duncan could still add to his legacy, fill it out, and remind the world that he is the most dominant power forward since Barkley. But we will leave the Duncan story for another day.

Kobe Bryant is the man of the hour. Kobe Bryant is the reigning champ. Kobe Bryant is the one player of these three who can be argued to be at the top of his game. Kobe Bryant is the one that has the most left to prove as well.

Due to his position as a shooting guard, Kobe is forced to compete with the legend and legacy of Michael Jordan, even if Jordan's shadow is beginning to fade.

It would seem that Kobe Bryant, as a Laker's team leader, has to compete with Magic Johnson too.

Magic was a three time NBA MVP and a three time Finals MVP who garnered 5 NBA championships. Magic Johnson also won a gold medal in the Olympics on the first Dream Team.

Michael Jordan won six NBA championships and six Finals MVP awards. Jordan was a 5-time NBA MVP and one time defensive player of the year and he also won two gold Olympic medals, one with the first Dream Team and the other just prior to his professional basketball career.

Now, no one is saying that Kobe has to match Jordan's mark. He is hailed as the greatest player ever. And no one is saying that Kobe has to do what Magic did, exactly.

The question is not about Kobe becoming the very best ever. Rather, the question here is how can Kobe Bryant get into the "greatest in history" bracket? How can he squeeze into the conversation of the top ten or top twenty players in NBA history?

If Bryant were to win two more championships, playing an instrumental role on those championship teams, win two more Finals MVP awards and win one more NBA MVP trophy, would Kobe then enter the upper echelon? He would, in that case, have won six championships, a la Jordan. He would have won three Finals MVP awards, a la Magic Johnson.

He would have a ring for every finger on one hand, with one ring to spare, which is more than many hall of fame players can claim. In that case, Kobe Bryant would have more rings and Finals MVP's than Isiah Thomas (2 and 1, respectively). He has achieved more than almost any other player of his age playing in his era already.

Would he need to win two more NBA championships in order to become "one of the best ever"? Is he already there?