The late Kobe Bryant is often in the mix when people talk about the greatest of all time. Generally, the debate is between Michael Jordan and LeBron James, but Kobe has never been far off from that consideration. Kobe lived a spectacular career, and his willpower, dedication, and resilience always set him apart.
There aren’t many players who would stand ahead of Kobe Bryant on the list of the greatest players ever. However, Kawhi Leonard apparently differs from that opinion. Recently, Leonard’s teammate, Fred VanVleet, shared what Kawhi thought after winning the 2019 NBA title.
“Kawhi changed my point of view on a lot of things. But there was one thing in particular, that I overheard. He didn’t say it to me, I just overheard it. And it was a conversation that was happening. And the sentiment, I don’t want to quote nobody but the sentiment of the conversation and all that sh*t was like, ‘I’m better than Kobe,'” Fred said.
“I had the same reaction ’cause Kobe’s my man, like Kobe’s, that’s it for me. That’s as good as it gets. For me, as a little kid to a man, like I know what I have seen. But I started thinking to myself, I know how I feel about where I stand because I am on the court. And I am playing against some of these guys. Your favorites and who people might,” he added.
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Many fans did not agree with this, including the son of Kobe Bryant’s former teammate, Shaquille O’Neal. In the comments section, Shaqir O’Neal dropped two words, writing, “yeah bye.” This showed that Shaqir was in absolute disbelief upon hearing Leonard’s comment about Kobe Bryant.
Fans React to Kawhi Leonard’s Take On Kobe Bryant
Fans online were just as dumbfounded as Shaqir O’Neal.
“In the most respectful way possible… That was the wildest statement I’ve heard in a LONG time,” one fan expressed shock.
“You ever heard Kobe’s nickname be ‘street clothes’ quit it,” another trolled Kawhi Leonard.
“Him thinking this explains ALOT of his LA tenure,” one fan claimed.
“no way he was sober when he thought that,” another joked.
“Y’all just opened a very popular topic of 2019 first take ifykyk Stephen a boutta do crazy,” another remembered.
“Meanwhile kawhi hasn’t played a full season since then,” one fan commented.
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