During their Playback stream of tonight’s New York Knicks-Milwaukee Bucks matchup, the Gil’s Arena panel briefly went off-topic to discuss Kobe Bryant. The conversation featured a debate between Gilbert Arenas and Nick Young, which started when the latter claimed that Bryant was among the best players in the league during the 1999-2000 season.
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Arenas didn’t hesitate to disagree with his former teammate. The three-time All-Star boldly claimed that the Black Mamba didn’t even rank among the top 15 players in the league during the campaign.
“Kobe wasn’t even top 15 then… He averaged 22 points, bro. He wasn’t him yet,” Arenas argued.
Gil says Kobe wasn’t a top 15 player in 2000
(: @GilsArenaShow @NickSwagyPYoung) pic.twitter.com/MqyRQ57Bi2
— Playback (@WatchPlayback) January 12, 2025
He used the 2000 MVP voting list to highlight the top 10 players from that season. Interestingly, the list placed Kobe 12th, confirming that he was among the top 15 players, or at least was considered to be by many voters.
Moreover, Kobe capped off the season with an All-NBA Second Team selection. This further suggests that the Los Angeles Lakers star was undeniably among the league’s best players.
Kobe averaged 22.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 66 games in 1999-00, which might not make the cut for Top 15 right now in the league. But the NBA was not as scorer-friendly at the time as it is right now.
Bryant consistently worked hard to become a better player
Kobe might not have been considered a top 10 player during that specific season, but his relentless work ethic set him apart in the coming years. Determined to be recognized among the league’s best, Kobe pushed himself to incredible lengths. Through countless hours of practice, he transformed into one of the greatest players in basketball history.
In one of Bryant’s most iconic quotes on hard work, he emphasized that starting his day earlier than everyone else gave him a competitive edge.
“You wake up at 3, train at 4. 4-6. Come home, eat breakfast, relax. Now you’re back at it again 9-11. Relax … Back at it again, 2-4. Now you’re back at it again, 7-9. Look how much more training I have done by simply starting at 4.”
“So now you do that and as the years go on the separation that you have with your competitors and your peers just grows larger. By year 5 & 6, it doesn’t matter what kind of work they do in the summer – they’re never gonna catch up,” Kobe preached.
Unconventional methods like these allowed Bryant to become one of the greatest players in league history.
