Only Two Men in NBA History Have 9+ All-NBA First Teams and 9+ All-Defensive First Teams — and They Defined the Mentality of Champions in All Sports
The NBA has witnessed generations of greatness — players who dominated offensively, others who locked down defensively, and a rare few who managed to excel at both ends of the floor. But in the long and decorated history of the league, only two names stand alone atop the mountain when it comes to a very specific — and telling — combination of accolades:
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At least 9 All-NBA First Team selections
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At least 9 All-Defensive First Team selections
Those two names are Kobe Bean Bryant and Michael Jeffrey Jordan.
No other player, not even the likes of LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, or Scottie Pippen — all elite in their own right — has ever matched that exclusive double-nine mark. It’s a stat line that doesn’t just measure excellence; it measures two-way dominance, decade-long supremacy, and an unmatched level of intensity and competitiveness. It’s also the kind of achievement that echoes across sports, especially in soccer, where complete players — attackers who defend, midfielders who control tempo, defenders who start attacks — are the difference between greatness and immortality.
The Meaning Behind the Numbers
To be named to the All-NBA First Team means you were one of the five best players in the league during that season, offensively and in overall impact. To be named to the All-Defensive First Team means you were one of the five best defenders. Doing either even once is difficult. Doing both consistently across nearly a decade means you weren’t just great — you were obsessively dominant.
Michael Jordan achieved:
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10 All-NBA First Team honors
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9 All-Defensive First Team honors
Kobe Bryant recorded:
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11 All-NBA First Team honors
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9 All-Defensive First Team honors
Let that sink in. These were players who not only led the league in scoring, won MVPs, and dominated the playoffs — they also took the challenge of guarding the best player on the other team. They weren’t hiding behind screens or saving energy for the other end. They wanted it all.
Mentality: The Real Separator
The numbers are just the surface. What sets Kobe and Jordan apart isn’t only how many awards they racked up — it’s how they earned them. The attitude. The obsession with being better. The refusal to be one-dimensional.
Kobe, known for his “Mamba Mentality,” was as intense in a June playoff game as he was at a random Tuesday practice. He watched film for hours, worked out at 4 a.m., and demanded the best not just from himself, but from everyone around him.
Jordan? Same intensity, different flavor. Known to invent personal slights just to fuel himself, he took every matchup personally and wanted to break your will as much as your scoring average. Teammates have shared stories of his ruthless competitiveness, while opponents knew they had to survive four quarters against someone who simply didn’t let up.
In both cases, defense was not a chore, but a challenge — an opportunity to impose dominance. It’s the kind of mentality that’s become a reference point for rising athletes in all sports.
The Soccer Parallel
In football (soccer), we often separate players by roles: attackers, defenders, midfielders. But the best of the best? They blur the lines.
Think of Zinedine Zidane — a creator, but also a tactician who dictated play without ever being one-dimensional.
Think of Cristiano Ronaldo, who in his prime tracked back, pressed defenders, and soared above everyone to win aerial duels. Or Lionel Messi, whose defensive stats may not scream volume, but whose pressure, interception IQ, and ability to win the ball in the final third were often overlooked in discussions of total play.
Then there’s N’Golo Kanté, a defensive midfielder by trade, but also the engine of both attack and defense — the kind of player you build your entire system around.
But in basketball, you can’t hide. Everyone switches. Everyone gets isolated. And that’s what makes Kobe and Jordan’s simultaneous two-way dominance even more astonishing — they weren’t just elite scorers who got help on defense. They were the help.
Endurance Over Hype
The longevity is part of the legacy. It’s one thing to be elite for three or four years — but 9+ years at the absolute top? In a league where rules changed, competition evolved, and injuries loomed, Kobe and MJ maintained an absurd level of excellence — not because they coasted on talent, but because they worked harder than everyone else.
In soccer, that’s the Cristiano Ronaldo story in a nutshell. When pace declined, he adjusted. When formations changed, he adapted. It’s also what we see now in players like Virgil van Dijk, Joshua Kimmich, or Declan Rice — players who contribute in multiple zones, take responsibility on both ends, and remain relevant across eras.
A Standard That Inspires Across Generations
Young basketball players idolize Kobe and Jordan for their scoring highlights, sure — but those who look deeper study how they played defense, how they locked down opponents, and how they refused to take possessions off.
Soccer academies are beginning to echo the same emphasis. No longer can you be a one-trick forward who waits up top. Players like Jude Bellingham or Bukayo Saka are being molded into complete athletes — creators, defenders, runners, and finishers. And make no mistake: part of that inspiration comes from watching basketball icons like Kobe and MJ prove that true greatness comes on both ends of the floor.
The Legacy of the Two
In the end, this isn’t just about records or rare combinations of accolades. This is about legacy.
Kobe and Jordan redefined what it means to be a complete player. They didn’t chase stats — they chased domination, impact, and winning at all costs. And they set a bar that transcends basketball.
The 9-and-9 club isn’t just a trivia answer — it’s a testament to greatness with no shortcuts. It’s about giving everything, every night, on every side of the game.
And that’s a lesson every young baller or rising footballer should take to heart.
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