For Kyrie Irving, this isn’t just a numbers game—it’s deeply personal. Kobe Bryant wasn’t just a basketball icon to him; he was family. In a clip that still tugs at hearts, Kyrie—voice trembling—spoke of losing his mentor: “Even if you didn’t talk every day… they were always gonna be there for you.”

So when Bleacher Report dropped Kobe to No. 11 on its all-time list, citing his efficiency and lone MVP as flaws, Kyrie and countless others weren’t having it. To them, Kobe’s greatness wasn’t confined to analytics. The “Mamba Mentality” shaped a generation—on and off the court—and no spreadsheet could ever measure that legacy.

Speaking on his recent Twitch stream, Kyrie Irving made it clear where he stands on this new wave of criticism. He drew a line in the sand. “When it comes to real recognizing real, this man Kobe “Bean” Bryant is immortalized not just because of his basketball…He is way bigger because of the character. Because of what we witnessed him go through,” Irving said, emphasizing that Kobe’s legacy was forged in resilience, not just efficiency ratings.

And he’s not the only one taking a stand. A chorus of NBA legends have come out swinging in defense of Kobe’s legacy. His former teammate, Shaquille O’Neal, called the ranking “criminal.” Kendrick Perkins, who battled Kobe in two NBA Finals, was even more direct. “The disrespect needs to f—— stop,” Perkins said passionately. “Let the man rest in peace.” He went on to call Kobe a “Top 3 most skilled player to ever play the game of basketball.”

Is that an exaggeration? Just look at the resume: five championships, 18 All-Star selections, 12 All-Defensive team nods, and, of course, the second-highest scoring game in NBA history with 81 points. Dwyane Wade, another of Kobe’s great rivals, recently highlighted the kind of respect Kobe commanded among his peers.

Wade shared a classic 2006 interview clip on his Instagram story where Kobe, asked to name his dream team of current players, immediately named a 21-year-old LeBron James. Wade was blown away by the gesture. “When I saw this, it just reminded me of the kind of competitor Kobe was,” Wade said. “He wasn’t afraid to give respect where it was due, even to the young guy coming for his throne. That’s real confidence. That’s Mamba.” For Wade, it was a perfect example of Kobe’s greatness, a quality that many feel is being lost in the modern, stats-obsessed debate over his legacy. But for Kyrie Irving, this fight is about more than just Kobe, it’s personal.

Kyrie’s War on the “Lazy Media Space”

So what’s really driving Kyrie’s passion here? For him, the numbers-obsessed debate over Kobe’s legacy is a symptom of a much bigger disease: his frustration with what he calls the “lazy media space,” a world where he feels players are treated more like stocks to be traded than actual human beings.

Take the money, for instance. Why, he wonders, does everyone need to know exactly how much they make? On a recent Twitch stream, he questioned the whole practice. “I wonder if people know how much that puts a target on someone’s life,” he said. “From a media standpoint sometimes it could get a little intrusive… When people know what you make and then ask somebody like, ‘Hey I saw that you got this negotiating your contract, how did you get it done?’ It’s like, bro, that’s personal.”

For Kyrie, the constant chatter about salaries turns a player’s contract into a weapon, used to criticize them when they don’t live up to the dollar amount and creating an “awkwardness” that feels like a constant invasion of privacy.

That feeling of being trapped under a microscope? Kyrie knows it all too well. He recently revealed that during his chaotic time with the Brooklyn Nets, a period defined by the controversy over his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine, he reached a breaking point and actually asked the team to let him go. “I even told the Nets to release me,” he said. “I said, ‘yo, can you please just release me?'” He felt his personal choices were being unfairly used against him, and he just wanted out of the constant storm.

It all circles back to one central theme for Kyrie: his deep-seated belief that the modern sports media has lost its way. “We do have a very lazy media space right now when it comes to certain topics and the way we discuss players and the way we discuss the craft,” he said passionately. He sees a “hot take industry” that chases clicks and controversy instead of nuance, a world where off-court narratives are more valuable than on-court brilliance.

So when he goes to bat for Kobe Bryant, he’s not just defending a mentor. He’s fighting for a different way of seeing the game—one that values character, resilience, and the human journey over cold, hard numbers.