"Everybody's got their perspectives or opinions" - Former Laker hates the disrespect Kobe Bryant has received in all-time discussions

The late great Kobe Bryant understandably left his mark on almost all his former Los Angeles Lakers teammates.

One way or another, they recognize Bryant’s greatness and legacy. In fact, some of them are still very passionate about discussing where Kobe sits on the GOAT rankings.

For former Lakers power forward Josh Powell, people who don’t have Bryant in their top three greatest of all time list would have to do a lot of arguing with him. Powell is convinced that as far as achieving greatness with remarkable consistency, Bryant deserves to be on top of the list.

“There’s been a lot of disrespect in regards to him, his name, his legacy,” Powell recently said on Courtside Les. “Everybody’s got their perspectives or opinions, but he’s one of the best to ever do it.”

“So, anything [with Bryant] below the top three on anybody’s list, I’m not in favor of,” he stressed. “He has a hell of a resume. To do it as long as he did and then on his way out to drop a 60 ball at that age, it’s only him that you can script it like that.”

Powell on why Kobe beat MJ in GOAT debate

As it turns out, it wasn’t the first time Powell voiced his thoughts on Bryant’s GOAT status. In a separate discussion, he argued that Kobe should even be ahead of Michael Jordan in the GOAT debate.

To back his bold claim, Powell implied that he had witnessed Bryant’s overall game both as a teammate and a rival. Based on his assessment, Black Mamba dealt with more pressure but still managed to dominate his competition.

Moreover, Powell could never say Jordan is the rightful GOAT because of his personality as a player. For Powell, Bryant also beat MJ in that category as the Lakers legend wasn’t a demanding but an inspiring leader.

“For me, I put Kobe over Mike because I felt like how the game came to Kobe and just how he would manipulate the game too. I mean, it was just crazy how easy it was for him. I’ve been on both sides of it,”said Powell.

“Last I checked, Mike ain’t out here giving nobody no keys to the game,” he emphasized. “He ain’t really sharing that knowledge with everybody… If anything, Mike’s going to bust your ass to let you know why he’s the greatest, but Kobe would give you the game and still bust your ass with it. He’ll give you the teaching pointers and still give you this work.”

It’s hard to argue with Kobe’s witnesses

Even though the NBA GOAT debate is getting old and overused, it is still quite interesting to hear some fresh perspectives from the people who had firsthand experiences with any of the GOAT candidates.

In Bryant’s case, he had already solidified his GOAT status and it’s safe to say that he rightfully deserved it.

All throughout his career, Kobe tirelessly worked hard to always exceed not only his rivals but more importantly, himself. Bryant’s former teammates didn’t only witness his consistency and determination. They were also influenced and motivated to push themselves to be better.

That being said, it’s totally understandable that those who played alongside Bryant really think he deserves to be hailed as the GOAT.

From their point of view, Bryant had done more than what it takes to be the greatest player of all time.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 24, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

“Everybody’s got their perspectives or opinions” – Former Laker hates the disrespect Kobe Bryant has received in all-time discussions

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