In response to Bleacher Report’s ranking of Kobe Bryant as the eleventh greatest player in NBA history, Kyrie Irving went livestreaming and had a broad discussion about his tenure with the Brooklyn Nets and Bryant’s impact on the game.
Irving added that the influence of Bryant, who was a mentor to him, extended beyond the realm of basketball when discussing the legendary Los Angeles Laker.
“I’m not going to stand for it when people bring up Kobe as if he wasn’t one of the greatest ever.
He entered the league at the tender age of seventeen, playing against adults. By the time he was twenty-two, he had already won a couple championships and was going head-to-head with the best of them.
Irving spoke to the audience, the media, and the talking heads, saying, “This man Kobe Bean Bryant is immortalized not just because of his basketball; that’s what I’m trying to tell y’all, he is way bigger because of the character, because of what we witnessed him go through.”
If the audience does not desist from expressing their disapproval, he threatened to address them at home.
Irving mentioned the bond he had with Bryant and their shared character during the 2024 NBA Finals, adding that he missed the Lakers star on a daily basis.
Irving wasn’t the only NBA superstar dissatisfied with Bryant’s ranking; he is generally regarded as one of the all-time greats.
In a similar vein, Hall of Famer Dwayne Wade scoffed at the Bleacher Report ranking and claimed that Bryant should be considered one of the best three players of all time.
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