Kobe Bryant, in his 20-year NBA career, had established himself as one of the biggest stars of the game. His myriad of successes in the Lakers colors is more than enough to testify to the unmatched brilliance of Bryant. Despite all his legacy, Kobe is the impoverished one in the GOAT conversation, sometimes even out of the top 5.
The Michael Jordan-LeBron James dominated discussion has often baffled former players who have played with the late legend, and they had no hesitation in settling the GOAT hierarchy by giving Kobe his deserved respect. One such player has once again come forward to settle the top 5 debate with undeniable facts.
Tracy McGrady defends Kobe Bryant in Top 5 debate
Recently Tracy McGrady shared on his Instagram handle a video explaining why he thinks his childhood friend should be in the Top 5 list of the greatest basketball players.
The former Houston Rockets star Tracy McGrady feels that his friend Kobe Bryant is amongst the Top 5 players in the NBA and anybody who thinks otherwise should “get the f*** outta here!!”
Pinpointing those who think Shaquille O’Neal was the reason behind Kobe getting the championship titles, T-Mac says that Kobe managed 2 championship titles without his former teammate Shaq.
Talking of teammates, the 2-time NBA scoring champion gives the example of Magic Johnson, who is one of the best NBA players of all time. McGrady pointed out how Johnson played with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, and Michael Cooper and is still in the GOAT conversation.
The 7-time All-Star also claims that nobody comes close to the great Michael Jordan apart from Bryant. Moreover, he says, “So how is [Kobe] excluded out of the conversation if he’s close to MJ and MJ is the greatest of all time?! Help me understand that … They so disrespectful when it comes to Bean.”
The NBA community has shown their support for T-Mac. The Lakers have unveiled the Black Mamba’s first statue out of the three this month to give him the tribute he deserves.
McGrady revealed Bryant’s obsession with watching Michael Jordan footage
Kobe Bryant, who has been an inspiration to many, was himself inspired by the NBA legend Michael Jordan. Having spent most of the vacations in his childhood years with the 5-time NBA Champion, Tracy McGrady disclosed Kobe’s obsession with MJ.
T-Mac revealed on The Alex Kennedy show that the Lakers great would keep watching Karate and Michael Jordan movies when he accompanied Kobe and his family on a trip to Paris. The 44-year-old said, “I stayed with him and his parents back when I was 18 years old, all he did was watch these tapes, whether it’s karate flicks, Michael Jordan, home and grown movies like ‘Come Play With Me’ ‘Come Fly With Me’ ‘Playground.’”
McGrady disclosed another incident on Rachel Nichols’ “What’s Burnin” podcast that proves the Black Mamba’s obsession with MJ. Like childhood days, T-Mac spent his summer vacations with Kobe even after joining NBA. During the NBA off-season when he was at Kobe’s place, like any other adult he wanted to go out and party, but Kobe turned him down to watch MJ’s video.
He said, “I’m in the league, I want to go party, let’s go do this, let’s go chase ’em, let’s go chase ’em then there’s Kobe in the house, watching these Michael Jordan videos.”
T-Mac praised the Black Mamba’s work ethic and dedication towards the sport while speaking about his obsession with Jordan’s videos. No wonder why Kobe is the next best thing to Jordan, at least in the eyes of Tracy McGrady.
