Originally Posted by KDOS

Shaq took over after Jordan retired but my only gripe with him is he lost an aweful amount of games and has questionable work ethic to be considered as the best. Duncan had his championship reign, but I never saw him as dominating in "Jordan-like fashion" meaning offensively besides 01-02. Defensively though Duncan is the best of all three bar none. Kobe was the most constant IMO, though his defense is nowhere near Duncan nor Jordan in some years, he has the most balanced resume to fill Jordan's shoes and carry his torch. With his unlimited scoring arsenal and a defensive repertoire, he easily fits the bill to continue Jordan's legacy. Kobe already had several "best player of the game" type of seasons in different phases of his career. There's the attack mode like 02-03 and 05-06 seasons and now his well balanced 07-08 year. 06-07 could be up there, but too bad that run ended pretty shortly.



Shaq and/or Kobe are the safest pick, but Kobe has the best chance to make this unanimous in a few years. He has a great situation and he's still young. Evidently he also has no signs of slowing down because of his prep and conditioning in the offseason, and with two talented big man roaming the paint of Los Angeles, I can only imagine that it will get better.