Why Kobe Bryant belongs in the GOAT debate, per Gilbert Arenas

Gilbert Arenas explains why he believes Kobe Bryant deserves to be in the GOAT debate.

Gilbert Arenas and Kobe Bryant

Former NBA players and fans alike constantly debate who the GOAT is. Michael Jordan and LeBron James tend to lead those conversations all the time. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar even gets some nods too. However, Gilbert Arenas believes Kobe Bryant deserves to be mentioned as one of the GOATs.

During an episode of Gil’s Arena Show, the former NBA point guard explained why he believes Bryan deserves to be considered a GOAT. Arenas claims that Kobe Bryant as a player is one of the best ever, even though the accolades are slightly under Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

“What makes Kobe [Bryant] special? We don’t go by the accolades. We go by how the person played, what was his attributes… We look at the normal person fighting gods.”

It’s an interesting argument by Gilbert Arenas. Sure, Bryant doesn’t have the same accolades as Jordan. But when he was in the league, Kobe Bryant was easily one of the best players on the court. He could score at will and was wildly clutch in important moments.

On top of that, nearly everyone in the NBA who had played with or against him has a great Kobe Bryant story. Whether it was trash talking or being incredibly competitive during practice, players around the league were always in awe of the Lakers’ legend.

Kobe Bryant is a legend in his own right. Especially for the Los Angeles Lakers’ franchise. I mean he’s in the NBA Hall of Fame. As for his other accolades, Bryant finished his career with five NBA championships, 18 all-stars, four MVP awards, two Finals MVP awards, and made the All-NBA team 15 times.