Tracy McGrady recently took to his Instagram highlighting that Kobe Bryant is often disregarded within the Top 5 All-Time players discourse. Upon hearing the naysayers’ argument for Kobe Bryant not being among the top five all-time players, T-Mac reacted by saying,
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“Kobe Bryant ain’t Top-5? Get outta here.”
T-Mac also highlighted that critics’ main argument for disregarding Kobe was his pairing with Shaq. Indeed, Shaq was a dominant figure during the Lakers’ three-peat campaign, being the Finals MVP all three times. However, McGrady believes Kobe Bryant’s contributions cannot be refuted either.
To explain his take, the former Houston Rockets star used the example of Magic Johnson playing alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, “Didn’t Magic Johnson play with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was the all-time leading scorer? But you wanna sit here talk about Kobe playing with Shaq? You gotta play with great players to win championships, right?”
He found it hypocritical for fans to criticize “Bean” for having Shaq while supporting Magic, who played alongside Hall of Fame legends throughout his career. Even after Shaq left the Lakers, Bryant won two more championships with the Lakers. On the other hand, Shaq won just one with the Miami Heat.
T-Mac wanted to prove how great players need the help of other legends, worthy of complementing their game to win chips in the league. Adding to this, McGrady said, “You wanna associate Shaq with Kobe. But then, when Shaq leaves, he [Kobe Bryant] goes to get Pau Gasol and wins two more but plays for three.”
McGrady found it disrespectful how most fans fail to acknowledge the heights Kobe Bryant has reached in his career. However, veterans who have played alongside or against the Lakers legend can definitely contend the Black Mamba to be a top-5 player,
“You ask anybody that has played against Michael Jordan and played against Kobe Bean Bryant, they will tell you Bean is top five.”
Whether or not Kobe Bryant is a top-five player is still debatable among fans. However, it’s pretty refreshing to see Mamba’s former colleague supporting the late superstar and contending for the respect he deserves for his incredible NBA career.
NBA vets seem in consensus about Kobe Bryant as a T0p 5 all-time
Jamal Crawford had the opportunity to face Kobe Bryant as a rival in the Western Conference several times during his NBA career. Further, the former shooting guard also contended that Bryant is a top-five player of all time. He highlighted how Bryant’s elite ‘Mamba mentality’ had set his class apart and allowed him to win five of his seven finals appearances.
Furthermore, the Golden State Warriors forward, Draymond Green, also listed Kobe Bryant third in his list of top five all-time players. Bryant had enamored several generations of players with his talent and work ethic, which continues to inspire all the young hoopers aspiring to be like him and make it big in the NBA. Moreover, having played with the 18x All-Star, and being a legend himself, McGrady’s take holds immense value.
