Nick Wright’s list of the 25 greatest NBA players had Kobe Bryant in the third tier, and this irked most fans who slammed him for disrespecting the Black Mamba.
Here’s a quick look at his Top 25 by tiers:
Tier 5: Dirk, Mailman, Barkley, Wade, Jokic, KG & Oscar
Tier 4: West, Doc, Moses, Durant, Giannis & Isiah
Tier 3: Duncan, Kobe, Bird, Hakeem, Shaq & Steph
Tier 2: Magic, Russell & Wilt
Tier 1: LeBron, Kareem & MJ
And here’s what fans had to say. Please note some of the comments have been edited for the purpose of clarity.
“Kobe not being in tier 1 lets me know you’re a casual” one of the fans wrote.
https://twitter.com/siddelldenzel/status/1668952999610204162
This was seconded by another: “Kobe tier 3 is an absolute joke.”
Kobe tier 3 is an absolute joke https://t.co/pSIyI3RKkn
— Anthony Quagliano (@ViatorLion10) June 14, 2023
The rant continued.
Putting KOBE BRYANT at tier 3. Men you messed up.
Achievement wise and skill wise he is Tier 2 at least. Can consider him tier 1 too https://t.co/vEY3wfUAme
— Owbiii (@lxndrLO) June 14, 2023
“The Kobe disrespect is crazy since he passed,” a fan tweeted.
The Kobe disrespect is crazy since he passed https://t.co/1z5JoCjSFf
— J2 (@j2wittdajuice) June 14, 2023
As did one more.
Kobe, Bird and Duncan all tier 1 or 2 idc how you put it https://t.co/1GwgHfgbZN
— Ty Gee (@Tygee__) June 14, 2023
“Kobe being the greatest player to ever play and being tier 3 is crazy…” a tweet read.
Kobe being the greatest player to ever play and being tier 3 is crazy… https://t.co/fswLQHfOhh
— “YoungShiner” (@IonRappp_) June 14, 2023
This marks the second instance where putting Kobe at a lower place saw Wright garner flak. Last year, he released his list of Top 50 players of the last 50 years and had Bryant at 6 and Larry Bird at 7,
Nick Wright’s Colleagues Felt Kobe Bryant Was Placed Well Below In The Analyst’s Top 50 Players List
It wasn’t just the fans who felt there was an injustice to Kobe for being put in at No. 6 and called out Wright for it. One of them was Ric Buchler on First Things First.
“For me, he’s (Kobe) ranked too low. There are only 3 players that I would indisputably put ahead of him on any list. And that’s Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. So wherever you wanna put anybody else, Kobe Bryant would be in my Top 5.”
To be honest, it’s tough to have a list that every fan will agree with. The consensus is purely subjective sometimes and for that Wright gets some of the heat off. But ideally, such is Kobe’s greatness that he surely deserves a better slot on the analyst’s list.
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