Getty
Tracy McGrady is adamant Kobe Bryant is a top-five NBA player ever … and he says anyone who disagrees with that sentiment should “get the f*** outta here!!”
The seven-time All-Star went on an expletive-laden rant on the topic on his Instagram page this week … explaining that anyone who thinks Kobe doesn’t deserve a spot amongst basketball’s GOATs is just being “disrespectful.”
He said those who argue that Bryant’s resume deserves to be knocked down due to the talent surrounding him don’t have any leg whatsoever to stand on.
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
“Did Magic Johnson play with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was an all-time leading scorer?” McGrady said. “But you want to sit here and talk about Kobe playing with Shaq?!”
McGrady — who played 15 seasons in the NBA — continued to make his point … saying Bryant won two NBA Finals without O’Neal. He added that if Kobe is widely considered the closest thing to Michael Jordan, how can he not be considered a top-five player?
Getty
“Tell me the other motherf***er that’s close to MJ that played the game?!” he said. “Ain’t nobody else close to MJ.”
“So how is [Kobe] excluded out of the conversation if he’s close to MJ and MJ is the greatest of all time?! Help me understand that … They so disrespectful when it comes to Bean.”
Getty
Fans and NBA stars all over agreed with T-Mac in the comment section of his post … with Stephon Marbury, Richard Hamilton, Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson all leaving notes of support.
Bryant, meanwhile, will be honored in a big way by the Lakers regardless on Thursday … with the team unveiling his statue outside of Crypto.com Arena.