Since the late 90’s, two players have been synonymous with with the words NBA Champion; Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan.
The two future Hall of Famers combined have won 9 of the last 15 NBA titles and one of them has appeared in 12 of the past 15 NBA Finals. Those are mind-boggling numbers of consistent success.
Each has taken a different path to greatness however. While Duncan has had nothing but consistency in his organization, Kobe has been through peaks and valleys in his time with the Lakers.
With LA on the market for their third head coach in as many years, and the tenth in the Kobe Bryant era, the Black Mamba admitted to Marc Stein that he does have some envy of the stability Duncan has seen his whole career.
“I’m jealous of Tim,” Kobe Bryant tells ESPN.com, “playing for the same historically great coach for his entire career.”
With all of the recent turmoil Bryant and the Lakers have experienced, it’s no surprise the All-Star guard looks at Duncan’s situation with Gregg Popovich enviously. Despite having played for the greatest coach in NBA history in Phil Jackson, Bryant has also dealt with coaches like Mike Brown and Mike D’Antoni.
The Lakers are hoping their next head coaching hire is the right choice after striking out on the last two go-rounds. Duncan and Popovich continue to plug along, winning games and contending for titles just like they’ve been doing for the past 17 years.