Kevin Durant says Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan are the players he would most want to team up with in the NBA Finals

Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan are three of the best players to ever suit up in the NBA Finals, each as close to unstoppable as any player has ever been. But what if they were all on the same team?

That’s a crazy hypothetical that for many reasons (mostly the ages of Bryant and Jordan) will never happen, but if Durant had a time machine, it’s something he would want to give a try, as he told Vince Carter on ESPN (h/t Ball Don’t Stop on Twitter):

What legend would you want to have on your NBA team in the finals?

”It’s a tie between MJ and Kobe. They’re two guys that I think are a head above everybody else that ever played the game. Just their will to win is something that’s contagious and makes you a better player as an opponent as well.”

Color me shocked that Durant would want to somehow enter the finals with an even more talent-stacked team than he’s already one, but it is worth noting that he’s yet another great to put Kobe in the discussion among the best players of all-time.

While statistics make that case easier to dismiss (at least in regards to putting Bryant in the top-five), his peers continually point to him as someone who should be in the debate, which would seem to lend a different level of credence to his case, even if someone is still more inclined to rank players like Jordan, LeBron James, and Magic Johnson or others as above him.

Still, the respect Bryant has among his peers is notable, and it’s why that — despite the best efforts of the “blog boys” Durant has shown to be so fond of ribbing — Bryant will always come up when discussing the best players to ever play, even if he might not win the debate. Either way, just #EnjoyHisFive.

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