Bleacher Report has dropped its list of the top 100 NBA players of all-time, and naturally, everyone is acting completely reasonable about it. Juuuust kidding, basketball fans are ready to go to war over it in order to defend the honor of their favorite hooper.
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To give a brief summary, here’s the top 10, in order: Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Steph Curry.
One name conspicuously absent from that list is Kobe Bryant, because he came in at No. 11. Kobe’s acolytes, of which there are many, are not taking this well at all.
Kobe fans are legion, and they’re also littered all throughout the league. Remember that most of today’s pros grew up watching Kobe perfect his craft. Most saw him as a role model, and some were even lucky enough to call him a mentor.
Klay Thompson doesn’t make many voluntary appearances on social media (though that might be changing now that he’s hard-launched his relationship with Megan Thee Stallion), but he had to comment on Bleacher Report’s list to express his disbelief that Kobe was outside the top 10.
“WTF is wrong with y’all?” he posted on his Instagram story over a montage of Kobe highlights. He also wrote “SMH” in agreement with Etan Thomas, who said, “The level of Kobe disrespect is crazy to see. In what world is he number 11 all-time? But this has really been getting out of hand for some time now. Let’s be honest, none of this disrespect was happening when he was still here.”
Just as you shouldn’t be able to say someone was snubbed from the All-Star Game without also saying who they should replace, Klay needs to come out and say who Kobe should be above. That’s where it really gets interesting, because one spot ahead of him on the list is Klay’s former teammate and fellow Splash Brother Steph Curry. Would he really slander Steph to defend Kobe?
Keep working your way up the top 10 and it gets even more difficult to remove somebody. Wilt, Bird, Duncan, Shaq? It’s hard to envision any of those players being outside the top 10, either. Kobe stans would undoubtedly have him above Shaq; that much has always been certain.
The article itself shows the highest and lowest rankings for every player. For instance, Michael Jordan was ranked either No. 1 or 2 by every one of Bleacher Report’s voters. Kobe’s range is much wider, as he was ranked as high as No. 4 but as low as No. 18.
The blurb about Kobe is effusive in its praise of him, saying, “There’s a case to be made that Kobe is actually the most influential to ever set foot on the NBA’s hardwood.” Further down, it says, “From a basketball-reputation perspective, no one’s impact on the game has actively spanned more generations.”
Kobe fans can argue that he deserved to be higher, but Bleacher Report definitely didn’t dis him. Honestly, it’s a very reasonable list, and the blurbs on each player help deliver some much-needed context and explanation.
Kobe is an all-time great. That much isn’t in dispute. Whether you believe he should be higher or lower, that’s what makes lists like this so much fun to debate.
