Victor Fraile / Reuters file

David Beckham is one of the world's most famous athletes, which makes him perfect to ascend the Los Angeles celebrity ladder, writes MSNBC.com's Michael Ventre.

In sports, Kobe Bryant has been king. But he’s a paper tiger, for a few reasons. First and foremost, he wants out of L.A. He currently resides in the only area where an ego as large as his can be accommodated without major structural modifications, and yet he wants to be elsewhere.

Also, Kobe’s star is on the wane. He did himself no favors in recent weeks with his blistering attack on his employers, which angered a good chunk of his fan base. And frankly, although he’s been a spectacular player in an individual sense, he’s been a failure as a teammate and a leader. The only three championship rings he possesses came about with the help of Shaquille O’Neal, Phil Jackson and role players like Robert Horry, Derek Fisher and Rick Fox.

Much of Bryant’s luster comes from his self-professed status as a winner. But that image is wearing as thin as Nicole Richie.

Beckham doesn’t have to worry about being a winner. Few in the U.S. really follow soccer, and particularly the MLS, closely enough to lose sleep over win-loss records. All he has to do is look good, smile and not demand a trade.

Beckham also is, by most accounts, a decent guy. There may not be an individual on the planet whose professional and personal lives have been pried into more enthusiastically, and yet he seems to handle it all with a level head and good humor. That will give him extra points on the Celeb-O-Meter.

As for some of the other sports stars … Guerrero either can’t, or won’t, speak English, so he is mostly ignored by the press. Brand is underrated and underappreciated. But he’s a humble man who toils for the Clippers — a bad combination. Carroll is the most successful coach in college football over the past five years, but he’s hardly a pinup/nightclub type, and the closest he gets to Hollywood is when Will Ferrell visits the locker room after games.

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No, Beckham’s real competition lies outside of sports. Actors, musicians, directors, chefs, designers, politicians, sportswriters (don’t laugh, we get the best tables in restaurants; all we have to do is wait two hours) and the like are all that stand in the way of Beckham’s ascent to the pinnacle of celebrityhood.

It should be an easy climb.

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