Lakers News: Matt Barnes Shockingly Ranks Kobe Bryant Higher Than LeBron James

March 23, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24) laughs with small forward Matt Barnes (9) at the end of the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Staples Center. Lakers won 103-96. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers have a long history of greatness. A number of the best basketball players have played for the Lakers at some point in their careers.

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While Luka Doncic is the newest star of the franchise, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have largely dominated the headlines of Los Angeles for the last two decades.

Bryant earned a beloved legacy as the Lakers' biggest stars, and James will likely also finish his career with the team.

Retired NBA player Matt Barnes, who had his fair share of on-court battles with Bryant and was also a teammate of the Lakers legend, was recently ranked the top three all-time NBA players on the Gil's Arena podcast.

The ranking from Barnes may surprise some fans.

"I feel the three greatest players of all time are MJ, Kobe, and Bron," Barnes said. "So to me, you can throw any of those three up and however you slot them, I don't have an issue. It's weird that I feel like outside of the non-athlete media, always kind of leaves Kobe out of the top five or you know sometimes the top ten and it's crazy because the guys that played with him or against him, understand what he was about, understand that killer instinct he had.

Matt Barnes says Kobe is ahead of LeBron when it comes to strictly basketball

“On and off the court LeBron is the all-time GOAT but when it comes to basketball it’s Jordan, Kobe, then Bron…”

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"But again, to me that's not knocking just because I think Kobe is ahead of Bron, that doesn't mean I dislike Bron. I think Bron is (expletive) incredible, and for him to still be doing what he's done and the doors he's opened and got his son on the team. He's going to be the owner of the Vegas franchise when that (expletive) happens."

"He's done (expletive) that we normally don't get the opportunities to do so I think as far as on and off the court, I think Bron is probably the all-time G.O.A.T. I just think when it comes to basketball I think it's MJ, Kobe, and then Bron as a respectful third."

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