Welcome to 94WIP's G.O.A.T. of Broad Street, where we will finally determine who the greatest athlete in Philadelphia sports history is. Remember, in order to qualify, the athlete must have played in Philadelphia in the last 50 years (1970). Please cast your vote here to help us decide!
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All this talk about the G.O.A.T. of Broad Street and no one has even mentioned his name yet. He belongs well ahead of the likes of Nick Foles, Smarty Jones (thanks DeCamara), and Bobby Clarke.
The G.O.A.T. of Broad Street is Kobe Bryant.
Before you dismiss him saying he did not play for a Philadelphia team, consider that Kobe actually played on Broad Street 20 times in his career and was a perfect 3-0 against in Philly during the 2001 Finals.
Yes, plenty of athletes have played on Broad Street against the Sixers, but Kobe was there before he even entered the league. If you talk to Moses Malone about it, he will tell you about a 17-year-old kid beating up on Jerry Stackhouse and the rest of the Sixers team scrimmaging in the offseason. Also, let's not forget about Bryant's exceptional high school career at Lower Merion were he was named Pennsylvania State Player of the Year after he won a state championship. He surpassed Philly legend's Wilt Chamberlain and Lionel Simmons as Southeastern Pennsylvania's all-time leading scorer.
Related: G.O.A.T. of Broad Street: Glen Macnow and Big Daddy Graham
He couldn't be more of a Philly Guy, even if he had a cheesesteak named after him.
Philly Guy aside, how does Bryant compare to the best Philadelphia athletes?
Kobe said it perfectly: "I'm the best."
Everyone who watched The Last Dance knows that Michael Jordan is better than Lebron James. Michael Jordan even said he could beat Lebron 1-on-1. You know who he said he would loose to 1-on-1?
Kobe.
Let's look at him against Philly athletes we have discussed this week like Julius Erving, Eric Lindros, Reggie White and Mike Schmidt. Kobe has more championships than all of them combined. He won them before age 23 and after he was 30, including back-to-back titles where he was named Finals MVP.
Let's specifically compare Kobe Dr. J. Erving won four MVPs (three of them were ABA) and was an 11-time all-star. Kobe was an 18-time all-star and waved by Dr. J in the scoring department earlier in his career. He is the only player in NBA history with 33,000 points and 6,000 assists. That's what happens when you're the only guard to play 20 years in the league. He outplayed Barkley when he was 19. He handled Lebron in his mid-30s. He beat the Celtics' Big Three in the Finals.
He handled Iverson every time they met, including on the biggest stage during the Finals.
I get it: the G.O.A.T. of Broad Street should be an athlete that plays for a Philadelphia team. Let's not talk about the two incredible boxers from this town, Bernard Hopkins and Joe Frazier. Can't include one of the most decorated women's soccer players ever, Carli Lloyd. Don't even need to bring up Mike Trout at this rate. There are so many who grew up in and around Philadelphia that represented this city, albeit in another team's uniform. And you can discredit all of their cases when it comes to dubbing the G.O.A.T. of Broad Street.
Not Kobe's though.
He has as strong a case as anyone, and a better case than anyone who actually played for a Philly team.
He is the G.O.A.T. of Broad Street.
