There’s been a steady, and frankly embarrassing, wave of revisionist takes on Kobe Bryant’s legacy lately. What started as subtle jabs has now turned into a full-blown smear campaign, with platforms like Bleacher Report placing him outside the top 10 on their recent All-Time list.
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Talking heads like Tracy McGrady, Jeff Teague, and Gilbert Arenas have also jumped in to downplay his greatness. It’s disrespectful, transparent, and more than anything, pathetic. There seems to be a deliberate attempt to ensure that Kobe stays out of the conversation of the greatest of all time.
Olden Polynice is one of the few retired players speaking up about it. He called out the rising trend of “bums” with no real accolades, suddenly finding their voice when it comes to critiquing Kobe. Players who wouldn’t dare challenge him when he was alive are now spinning narratives because they know the man who shut them up with his game is no longer here to respond.
On Byron Scott’s Fast Break, Polynice said, “Bums are talking. And I’m not saying Tracy McGrady or Jeff Teague are bums, okay? But it’s a bum mindset to criticize this man, and he’s not here to defend himself. You didn’t say none of this sh*t when he was alive. Not one of y’all opened your mouths.”
And let’s be real: no one with a functioning brain, a memory longer than a TikTok clip, or any sense of what basketball excellence actually looks like is buying it. Kobe was one of the most complete players the league has ever seen. Offensively, he had every tool in the bag. Footwork. Midrange. Post moves. Handles. Range. And more importantly, will.
Defensively, he made All-NBA Defensive teams 12 times, a testament to how seriously he took both ends of the floor. This wasn’t a scorer who coasted; this was a killer who committed to greatness in every possession. Not to discredit Stephen Curry’s greatness, but even a one-dimensional player like him, who never made All-NBA Defensive teams, is placed above Kobe.
Kobe didn’t just inspire fans, he raised a generation of players. The current NBA Champion and league MVP grew up idolizing and imitating him; that’s Kobe’s legacy. The best player on the 2024 NBA Championship-winning team often goes out of his way to show his admiration for Kobe; that’s his legacy.
The all-time leading scorer of the NBA, LeBron James, puts Kobe on a pedestal and has admitted that he was one of his biggest inspirations. A player with no real talent earned all that in the NBA? How terrible is the state of the league?
But the conversation isn’t restricted to that. It includes many of the same voices now subtly trying to erase him from the conversation, including Dwyane Wade, who on odd days claims Kobe was the greatest of his era, the closest thing to Michael Jordan, the only person he wanted to earn the respect of and the one who made him create a super-team with LeBron and Chris Bosh in Miami, and on even days belittles Kobe’s championship by claiming Pau Gasol should’ve won the FMVP. You know who’d disagree with such an outrageous take? Pau Gasol.
Amid the growing stupidity around the NBA circles, Shaq wasn’t quiet about Bleacher Report’s ridiculous ranking. Shaq wrote, “Kobe at 11 is criminal.” He came to Kobe’s defense, reaffirming what real hoopers know: Kobe’s place in basketball history is untouchable. Top 5 minimum. Top 2 for millions.
