Michael Jordan has won six championships, Kobe Bryant has five, and LeBron James has four across three different franchises. The figures contribute to one of basketball’s most persistent debates, and Trevor Ariza, an 18-year NBA veteran, has weighed in.
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“I’m going with Kobe, but Mike is him,” Ariza said on the Straight Game Podcast. “It’s sad to say, but if he was here, I don’t believe people would be on him, acting the way they’re acting, because this is crazy. He literally slit everybody’s throat when he played… But if you have to choose, just because Kobe is the guy for me.”
Bryant, the five-time NBA champion and 18-time All-Star, retired with 33,643 total points and a memorable performance of scoring 81 points in one game against the Toronto Raptors. Ariza played alongside him for two seasons, including the 2009 championship year, and saw the Mamba Mentality firsthand.
The discussion was not over, however, as Ariza also had an opinion regarding LeBron James, his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate from the 2021-22 season.
“His complete skill set and everything that he does, to me, it’s like the ultimate winner,” Ariza said, turning his focus to James. “Although he only won four championships, quote-unquote, he’s been there nine or ten times. It’s hard to get there and to be able to get there for a whole decade—not a lot of people have done that, and can’t do that.”
James has won championships with three different franchises, the Miami Heat, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Lakers, while at the same time getting Finals MVP in each of his four championship series. He is the all-time NBA scoring leader and has been part of 22 All-Star teams in his 23-year career, facts that validate Ariza’s argument on excellence.
It would be impossible for any version of this debate to ignore the fact of Jordan, regardless of who they are debating. The great Chicago Bulls star has six championships in his career and has been Finals MVP in each. He has never failed to win the Finals MVP award in each of his championship series, an impeccable record.
This flawless record is precisely why Ariza still refers to Jordan as untouchable, despite choosing Bryant as his favorite. It was also because of this connection with Bryant at his peak that Ariza witnessed one of the most memorable evenings in his life, one that would define his next season completely.
Kobe Bryant and the Boston Bus That Fueled a Championship Run
The Lakers were coming off what would be considered one of their worst nights in Kobe’s career, something that would be forever etched into his memory after the game was over.
Boston won Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals by an embarrassing 131-92 scoreline, outrebounding the Lakers 48-29 and forcing 19 turnovers. The Lakers’ bus was immediately surrounded as it attempted to exit the building, with fans rocking it back and forth.
Ariza recalled the scene from inside. “So the police escorts end up coming around. They end up knocking the police escorts over; that’s on the bikes the whole time. Kobe is just laughing, just shaking his head up and down,” Ariza said.
The situation had not shaken Bryant at all. As Ariza explains, he was already planning how he would exact his revenge, “Looking back on it, he’s over there plotting on revenge. You know, what we want to do the next year, or when we play them again the next season,” Ariza said.
He transformed that defeat into an opportunity right away, and the Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic in five games the next season. He finally won his first title without Shaquille O’Neal and his first Finals MVP.