Michael Jordan and LeBron James have dominated the GOAT discussion. However, most NBA players often bring up the late Kobe Bryant in the talks. Stars like Paul George, DeMar DeRozan and Jayson Tatum have repeatedly mentioned the Los Angeles Lakers star as their inspiration. This is why NBA players bring up Bryant in GOAT discussions.
The Lakers legend ended his career as one of the highly decorated superstars in the league. He led the LA team to five NBA championships, including being part of the most recent team to win three titles in a row. Bryant was also a one-time MVP, a two-time Finals MVP, a 15-time All-NBA and an 18-time All-Star.
Even with the amount of accolades he’s collected in his career, most fans don’t think about him when talking about the GOAT talk. Even NBA insider Nick Wright dismissed his case to be part of the conversation on the latest episode of his podcast, “What’s Wright? With Nick Wright.”
Wright argued that there are only six players who can be part of the GOAT debate. They are: LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Magic Johnson.
“There are six people you’re allowed to have the opinion are the greatest of all time. You can point to something specific as their thing, something they were clearly the best at,” Wright said.
There are six people you can argue as the NBA GOAT:
1. LeBron James
2. Michael Jordan
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
4. Bill Russell
5. Wilt Chamberlain
6. Magic Johnson@getnickwright breaks down why no one else belongs on the list pic.twitter.com/ek02NKSfie— What’s Wright? with Nick Wright (@WhatsWrightShow) July 30, 2025
To the insider, Russell is the best winner, Chamberlain is the greatest individual player and Abdul-Jabbar was the greatest high school and college player. He added that Johnson is the best passer the league has seen and expressed that Jordan and James are self-explanatory.
“Those are the guys. Then there’s Kobe, who some people try to make a case for. The problem is, Michael has him beat in every single category… If you were never the best at anything, how can you be the best ever? That’s not a viable opinion.“
Fans react to Wright’s opinion about Kobe Bryant
Wright’s opinion about Kobe Bryant did not sit well with the fans. On X, they aired their frustration over what the insider said about the Hall of Famer.
“Nick Wright is an idiot…” a fan said.
“Dumbest s**t ever, this literally makes zero sense,” another fan commented.
“I don’t agree wit wilt n I feel like if u got Magic there Birds gotta be there too. And Kobe, Kobe should definitely be in that debate,” one fan argued.
I don’t agree wit wilt n I feel like if u got Magic there Birds gotta be there too. And Kobe, Kobe should definitely be in that debate.
— 04 (@krazyhors3) July 31, 2025
“Nick just a Kobe hater. It’s Mike and Kobe than everybody else.”
“magic himself have kobe over him . 😭 what yall gon say kobe played with shaq but magic can play with kareem 😭😭😭”
“Kobe is the best ever at winning, relative to the talent he played with.”
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Follow me on X at @BarbecueBro, and follow us at @HardwoodHeroics and @GridironHeroics. You can also reach out to Reign Amurao via email at reignamuraonba@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
