Custom Authentic Jerseys

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabar: 38,387

2. Karl Malone: 36,928

3. Micheal Jordan: 32,292

4. Wilt Chamberlain: 31,419

5. Shaquille O’Neal: 28,596 Kobe Bryant: 28,597

Last Tuesday, Kobe Bryant broke the former teammate Shaquille O’Neal’s scoring mark of 28,596 points, for 5th place on the all-time scoring list. Entering his 16th season Bryant, 33 years old, has already climbed the NBA’s stairs of greatness, and now is yanking down the ladder of achievement to the attic where the all-time greats are retired.

Throughout his career Bryant has already passed John Havlicek, Elvin Hayes, Hakeem Olajuwon, Oscar Robertson and Dominque Wilkins on the spiral staircase in the eyes of historians and peers. Currently, there is only one NBA guard that shines above him in overall prestige and prominence, his airness himself, Michael Jordan. Bryant may never have the same hand of influence Jordan did over society and basketball fans. Moral misconduct has been a minor plague on Kobe’s career and celebrity status; though, his stronghold on one of the top two jersey selling spots over the last three years has proven his image as a basketball icon is still pliable enough to endure the heat of tabloid scandals.

Reaching (probably) the final ten year stretch of his career, Bryant has only to chase Jordan from the spotlight of basketball’s best player. The body of work is close, even averaging a supbar clip of around 20 points per game, Kobe should pass MJ sometime during the 2013-2014 season. A stat that all NBA greats should strive towards (ahem-Lebron), number of NBA championships, is only 6-5 in favor of Jordan, and can realistically be met, even passed, in the next few years if the Lakers can keep surrounding Kobe with talent. Throwing out other awarding stats, such as number of Finals-MVP’s and First Team All-NBA selections, both equally attainable in the next few years, the most intriguing stat to follow will be happening this summer in the London Summer Olympics, where Team America and Kobe hope to win a Gold Medal, tying Bryant with Jordan for number of Gold Medals – Two.

In the end, Kobe’s run at Jordan’s spotlight is one of the best things the NBA has going for it. Growing up having watched Kobe in his youth, and now seeing how he’s evolved through the ups and downs of his career, how he’s changed from a young exciting talent to a stifling leader on the court, has been one of the most shifting experiences of my young life. Jordan always felt unreal and Disney-related. His story and talent seemingly went above who he was as a person. But with Kobe, I can feel the wax and wane of his career more over time, the obstacles throughout each phase and how he has kept steering through the doubters. People keep wondering if Kobe has any hope of sharing the spotlight with Jordan… I keep wondering if Kobe won’t be successful at creating his own.