Does Nikola Jokic Deserve His Ranking Over Kobe Bryant In Controversial List?

Coming in at sixth on the list, Bryant is ranked below current Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, who is fourth on the list. Arguably the most skilled big man in NBA history, has Jokic done enough to warrant his spot above Bryant?

The Case For Jokic

Given Jokic has played in just half as many seasons as Bryant to this point, it's difficult to stack up what the two have done when Bryant has a larger sample size. Regardless, the case for Jokic is in his individual success up to this point.

The last five seasons will be the focus for Jokic, as he's finished top two in MVP voting in every season and has won the award three times during that stretch. Additionally, in that five-year period, he's averaged 26.8 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per game.

For what it's worth, Jokic also became the first non-guard in NBA history this past year to average a triple-double for a full season, while also shooting 41.7% from three and finishing near the top of the league in steals per game with 1.8.

The Case For Bryant

While Bryant only captured one MVP award in his career, that's not a fair way to judge one of the greatest players in NBA history. His best stretch as a scorer came from the 2005-06 season to the 2007-08 season, where he averaged 31.7 points while playing over 40 minutes per game.

Jokic may be regarded as a better offensive engine, but the Lakers would've been nothing without the production of Bryant. Additionally, since the 21st century captures the best years of Bryant's career, he has more All-Star, All-NBA, All-Defensive, and NBA Finals wins than Jokic.

When it comes down to it, Jokic very well has the case to end his career as a better player, but there's still so much more he needs to do to be fairly ranked ahead of Bryant. Even with all the individual accomplishments, it's hard to make the case for Jokic if he has only one NBA Finals compared to Bryant's five.

Therefore, the verdict should be that Bryant is still the better all-time player now, but Jokic could very well take that crown fair and square by the time his career is over.