
The current NBA season is already in its post season, and several Kapuso personalities already placed their bet on what team is going to face-off in the finals.
READ: Kapuso hunks place their bets on who is likely to play in the 2019 NBA Finals
But one of the greatest debates in the NBA is who is the greatest player ever played in the league: 'His Airness' Michael Jordan, 'The King' LeBron James, or 'Black Mamba' Kobe Bryant?
Unang Hirit host Juancho Triviño, who is also a basketball player, argued that NBA legend Michael Jordan is the league's greatest player of all time.
He stressed that during his prime, His Airness had no All-Star teammates.
“Si Michael Jordan!” Juancho said excitingly when asked who he thinks is the GOAT of the NBA.
“Kasi yung team niya, hindi stacked with All-Stars. He had just [Scottie] Pipen but he carried the team, yung leadership niya maganda, lahat ginagawa niya: offense and defense,” he explained.
MJ played for the Chicago Bulls in 1984-1993 and again in 1995-1998, in which he led the team to two 3-peat championships, bagging the NBA Finals MVP trophy every time.
He came out of retirement in 2001 to play for the Washington Wizards but decided to hang up his jersey again after three seasons.
Air Jordan, one of MJ's monikers, was a five-time NBA MVP, 14-time NBA All-Star, three-time NBA All-Star Game MVP and 10-time All-NBA First Team.
He is also a 10-time NBA scoring champion, and an NBA Rookie of the Year awardee.
The Chicago Bulls retired MJ's number 23 jersey. Miami Heat also retired the number 23 jersey, even though Jordan never played for the team.
Inagaw na Bituin star Manolo Pedrosa and Kara Mia hunk Paul Salas agreed that LeBron James is the greatest player of All-Time.
Manolo expressed that LeBron is still breaking records at 34 years old, “[LeBron] is not slowing down.”
“He's breaking so many records. He is still going up there. Malamang, he can even break more records in the future especially with Lakers.”
Paul added, “Makikita niyo naman e. Noong nawala siya sa Cavaliers, nasa pinakababa yung Cavaliers pero noong bumalik siya, binuhat niya 'di ba?”
“Naging number 1, muntik pang manalo ng championship kung hindi lang na-injure si Kyrie Irving.”
LeBron returned to Cleveland Cavaliers, his first team in the NBA, in 2014, where he led the Cavaliers to its first-ever NBA Finals appearance. The Cavaliers lost the best-of-seven finals to the Golden State Champions in the same season.
The following season, LeBron brought home to Cleveland their first-ever NBA Championship in the memorable 4-3 win over then-defending champions Golden State.
During his last two years in Cleveland, he carried the team to the finals but was defeated by the Warriors in both seasons.
Comparing LeBron's finals record of 3 wins and 3 losses to Jordan's perfect 6-0 record, Paul explained that MJ has All-Star teammates.
“Si Michael Jordan kasi, nandoon na siya sa team na malalakas yung teammate parang si [Stephen] Curry sa Golden State, talagang team work na 'yun, malakas na talaga sila e.”
Paul also saw a unique quality between LeBron's team and that of Jordan's, “Si LeBron talagang kakaiba, binubuhat niya yung team niya. Siya yung nagpapagaling sa team niya.”
The King is a three-time NBA Champion, winning championships for the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers. He is also a three-time NBA Finals MVP, four-time NBA MVP, 15-time All-Star and three-time NBA All-Star Game MVP.
On the other hand, Ruru Madrid, David Licauco, and Jak Roberto all agreed that the greatest player who ever played in the NBA is the Black Mamba, Kobe Bryant.
Kobe played for the Los Angeles Lakers in his entire 20 years at the NBA, winning five championships. After winning his last two in 2009 and 2010, Kobe's season-plague injury hampered his sixth championship dream to tie Jordan's.
Winning only five championships, compared to Jordan's six, didn't stop David to idolize Kobe, “'Yung mamba mentality niya is just on a different par from everyone else.”
Kobe is known for his Mamba Mentality, which means “to be able to constantly try to be the best version of yourself.”
Many young NBA players instilled Kobe's Mamba Mentality in their game, like Oklahoma City Thunders' Russell Westbrook and Boston Celtics' Kyrie Irving.
Meanwhile, Ruru and Jak saw Kobe as an inspiration when they were still active on the court.
“Wala akong ibang ina-idol, ginagaya na tira, yung laro kung hindi [si Kobe],” Jak said.
Ruru echoed Jak's sentiments saying, “Iba yung inspiration na nabigay niya sa mga katulad kong aspiring basketball player. Iba 'yung dedication niya sa basketball, sa trainings.”
Kobe is a one-time NBA MVP, 18-time NBA All-Star, four-time NBA All-Star Game MVP and 11-time All-NBA First Team and a two-time NBA scoring champion.
Comparing Kobe's stat with those of MJ's and LeBron's, Ruru explained that Kobe's legacy will go beyond statistics and championships.
“It's not all about the stats, it's not all about the championship rings, it's all about the hardwork na binigay niya sa court and natulong niya sa teammates niya.”
Lakers had retired Kobe's number 8 and number 24 jerseys.