"Holdin' It Down"

"The greatest Laker ever!"

So many times we get side tracked by the amount of points a player scores or the amount of championships that they've won. Don't get me wrong they are important to a player’s legacy. However, they don't always tell the entire story and it can lead you to becoming somewhat misguided on the point. I wrote a joint last summer entitled “Rings Don’t Always Measure Greatness” that spoke to that very issue.

A few days ago Kobe Bryant passed Shaquille O'Neil on the all-time leading scoring list with 28,607 points. He's now 5th all-time behind Kareem, Karl Malone, Jordan and Wilt. He's in great company with that group for sure. When Magic was asked about Kobe he went on to say that Kobe was probably the greatest Laker of all-time! In my Ochocinco voice, "Child Please!" Magic was just being Magic and being humble!

HE was the greatest Laker of all-time bruh! Points don't tell the whole story. Besides Shaq, Kobe has never had a legitimate scoring threat to take the pressure off of him. He's had to score like crazy in order for them to win and that he did. But if you aren't at least 40 you really can't appreciate what Magic brought to the table.

I know only one person that is less than 40 that knows the history of the game better than anyone and that's my 35 year old cousin, Lovell Cox. If you ain't him you need to watch film before stepping into this one bruh! Some arguments are way over your head and this is one of them. Don't let Magic's humble comments fool you. He was a beast in every since of the word. This guy played all five positions in game 6 of the NBA Finals in 1980 his rookie year, I might add, when Kareem was hurt. He dominated with 42 points, 15 rebounds and handed out 7 assists to win the title on the road against Philly bruh!

Magic had nights like that throughout his career. He wasn't asked to score like Kobe because he didn't have to. He had Kareem and others to pick up the slack. He ran the point and did whatever else they needed for him to do to win. Yes, he has 5 rings just like Kobe but like I say, in basketball, rings don't always tell the complete story. He was a once in a lifetime talent at 6'9" that we'll probably never see again.

Now I give Kobe crazy props but he isn't capable of doing what Magic did. Plus the competition was better in the '80's than you have now in a watered down league if we‘re keeping it real. I know that whatever is in front of you right now seems to be the best but if you weren't there to see it, don't get into grown folks conversation.

That's like when these young bugs try  to say Lil’ Wayne is hot and could hold his own in the ‘80's and '90's in the rap game. Like my momma used to say, "Children should be seen and not heard!" Back in that day you had to be able to creative with the English language. Now all you need is a gimmick and a beat. Nicki Minaj is a prime example of that! Nick vs. Lil’ Kim is a joke of an argument. Lil’ Kim was nasty but she had crazy skillz lyrically. Nicki is a gimmick and has social media on her side to help sell records. It’s a different game now. That's why Nicki has sold more records. Trust me it's not because of talent bruh!

The only cats that are new in the game since 2000 that would have had a chance lyrically then would be Kanye, Ludacris, and Rick Ross! JayZ doesn't count because he's been in the game since '96 and he'll go down as one of the best ever. Top 2 or 3 if not the best ever to hold a mic bruh!

Kobe will retire in the top 10 no doubt but he'll always be the 2nd best Laker. I don't care what Magic says. This is grown man business right here and if you aren't fully grown sit on the stoop and let us talk this one out. This is when you gotta know that you can't contribute to the conversation. It's like when the ole timers would talk about Otto Graham being the best quarterback ever and I thought Joe Montana was the best because he'd won 4 Super Bowls. We'll I didn't know at the time that Otto had won 7 titles in 10 years bruh and for a quarterback those numbers really do count! The only great quarterback that never won a title was Dan Marino who was probably the most gifted at the position to ever play the game. Sometimes you have to let the ole timers take you to school patna!

Magic was the best Laker ever!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Hit me up on Twitter: @jaygravesreport