Every analyst that covers the NBA at some point or another has given their list of the best players of all time. While these lists differ wildly according to the age of the analysts and what players they have covered themselves, there are not a lot of changes in who the Top 25-30 players in league history are. But within that, and especially within the Top 10, different players are often at different rankings.
Nick Wright is someone that often gets a lot of criticism for his takes because they tend to be a bit different from the consensus. For example, he has been supporting the narrative that LeBron James is the GOAT for the longest time, despite most fans and other analysts choosing Michael Jordan.
He has released his list of Top 50 players of the last 50 years, though, and while the Top 5 remain unknown, he has included Kobe Bryant at 6 and Larry Bird at 7, something fans have a lot to say about.
https://twitter.com/getnickwright/status/1543634863202488320
“Kobe Bryant is ranked too low.”
“Duncan higher than Bird. No. Bird is Top 5.”
“How can you put Duncan above Kobe?”
“Kobe is 2 not 6.”
“Y’all need to put more respect on Larry Bird’s name!!”
“Tim Duncan over Kobe Bryant is crazy.”
“Kobe is easily Top 3, this man don’t know what’s up.”
“I’m not feeling Curry at 10 or Kobe at 6.”
“Man Kobe deserve more respect y’all.”
“This entire list seems whack, Kobe too low, Bird at 7 is crazy, and why is Luka at 20??”
“Having 5 players over Kobe Bryant just shows your lack of basketball knowledge.”
“The Kobe Bean Bryant disrespect needs to stop.”
“Nick Wright has Kobe at no.6?? What a huge suprise!”
And it’s not just the fans that think Nick Wright has put Kobe too low on his list, his colleagues on First Things First also see it as a problem. There was immediate disagreement when the list was shared, even on the show itself.
https://twitter.com/FTFonFS1/status/1544404926285205504
“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.”
The one thing that is an eternal truth when it comes to basketball talk is that no list will ever satisfy every NBA fan objectively. Because there are so many variables to factor in, there can never be a proper consensus on a Top 5 list, let alone a Top 50. One thing can be said though, Kobe Bryant and Larry Bird both have a strong case to be considered Top 5 in the league all time, let alone in the last 50 years.
