Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan shared many memorable battles throughout their respective legendary NBA careers. The two stars met in the postseason six times, with the Los Angeles Lakers defeating the San Antonio Spurs in four of those meetings. Zach Lowe recently revealed that he would likely rank the latter higher on his list of the greatest player of all-time.
Speaking on his podcast, The Lowe Post, the ESPN writer stated:
I’m not saying I’m definitively ranking [Duncan] over anybody. I’ve got to do the actual deep dive, but I have been pretty hard on the island of I think I’d rank him above Kobe for sure – well, not for sure, let me amend that – I think I would rank him above Kobe all-time.
I think he’s probably closer to the sixth, seventh, eighth range – I’m doing this off the top of my head – than he is the 12th, 13th, 14th range of all-time.
Bryant and Duncan competed against one another for 19 seasons, with the former drafted one year earlier and both players retiring after the 2015-16 season. They dominated the Western Conference during that stretch as the Lakers and Spurs reached the NBA Finals seven and six times, respectively. Each player led their franchise to five titles.
While Duncan is widely considered a top-ten player of all-time, Bryant is often labeled as a top-five player in league history – and in many cases, much higher. The former Lakers star has been labeled as the greatest of all-time by many of his peers.
Staples Center locker belonging to Kobe Bryant set to hit auction
![April 13, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) acknowledges spectators as he comes off the floor against Utah Jazz during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports](https://thedunkcentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/USATSI_9250233-300x217.jpg)
April 13, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) acknowledges spectators as he comes off the floor against Utah Jazz during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Memorabilia with a connection to Kobe Bryant can be worth a large amount of money. The long-time Los Angeles Lakers’ star’s Staples Center locker is set to hit the auction block. TMZ revealed that the locker had originally been set to be destroyed, reporting:
TMZ Sports has learned … the locker — which was set to be destroyed during renovations at the Staples Center in 2018 — was saved by a maintenance worker who realized it belonged to the Hall of Famer. The worker kept it in storage for years until an American collector, who had the locker nameplate, purchased it to reunite the two pieces. [h/t TMZ]
Sotheby’s is hosting the auction, which is expected to fetch over $1 million. The bid currently sits at $700,000. Staples Center, which was renamed the Crypto.com Arena in 2021, was widely labeled ‘The House that Kobe Built’. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer called the building – which opened in 1999 – home for 17 seasons.
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