I like to hear caveats and disclaimers when the term “greatest” is used for Kobe. Greatest player “I ever watched growing up” or greatest “guard since Jordan” or having one of the greatest “impact” or “influence” on the NBA. But if I hear a player or fan or sports writer use “greatest” in general terms for Kobe, it’s clear and obvious that it’s exaggeration spurred by the moment of the emotional immediacy of his death. He was never in the conversation as one of the greatest. Even some players and writers (Wilbon) talking about him as a top 5 to top 10 greatest of all time is pretentious exaggeration.
Now when people talk about how hard he worked, his compe ive fire, his will to win in superlative terms, that I wouldn't really argue. That’s not the type of thing that can be proven in tangible or statistical terms. And it’s widely agreed that no other player was as obsessed with greatness and how he put in the work to achieve it as Kobe was. But his greatness as a player and player alone has absolutely been over the top.
Some of these players now didn’t watch Jordan or Magic or Bird growing up, let alone guys like Wilt, Kareem, Russell, Oscar for a frame of reference. And many of these younger NBA players have also seen and experienced a different and older Kobe who mentored them, advocated as an ambassador for the game, without the -ass tendencies of younger Kobe. The Kobe they know or think they know is different from the Kobe perceived, ridiculed, and trashed on these boards.
So it’s the context of what they know or what they experienced that may determine how they choose to describe Kobe.
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