• Kobe Bryant was ranked 14th in a list of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time.
  • The list, published by Bleacher Report, ranked the five-time NBA champion behind Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, and Magic Johnson.
  • Bryant is one of the NBA’s most decorated ever players, and holds the record for the most ever points scored by a single player in am NBA game, having hit 81 against the Toronto Raptors in 2006.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Kobe Bryant was ranked 14th in a list of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time, behind Shaquille O’Neal (sixth), Tim Duncan (seventh), and Magic Johnson (fourth).

The list, published by Bleacher Report, also ranked the former Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard behind Stephen Curry (10th).

“Kobe had a whopping 17 seasons in which he played 500-plus minutes, had a usage percentage of at least 25 and posted an above-average box plus/minus,” Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey said of Bryant, who retired in 2016.

Bailey added: “Scoring at that level for that long is ridiculous. And it doesn’t hurt his case that he won five championships, was named an All-Star 18 times (topped only by Kareem’s 19), made 15 All-NBA teams and made 12 All-Defensive teams.”

Bailey's heavy praise for Bryant, however, still didn't put the 41-year-old in his top 10, which was, unsurprisingly, headed by Michael Jordan.

The current Lakers star LeBron James came in second, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a 7-foot-2 six-time NBA champion, was third.

Read more: Kobe Bryant criticized after calling out one of his girls youth basketball players for missing a game for a dance recital

Bryant had a glowing career in the NBA, all of which was played with the Lakers. The "Black Mamba" won five NBA championships and is among the league's most impressive individuals.

Bryant scored the second-most points ever hit by a single player in an NBA game: an astonishing 81 against the Toronto Raptors in 2006. He also holds the record for the most NBA points scored by a guard, managing 33,643 during his career.

He was the youngest player to start an NBA game, having done so at just 18 years and 158 days old in 1997, as well as the oldest player to manage 60 points in a single game.