Brandon Jennings picks Kobe over MJ and LeBron in the GOAT debate: "That hit different for me"
Oh, the all-so-popular GOAT debate, where everyone seems to have a different pick depending on who they watched, who they played with or who inspired them in their earliest basketball beginnings.
For Brandon Jennings, the choice wasn't so close that it required a prolonged discussion. He went with what he knew best, the guy who defined his childhood and turned pressure into performance on the biggest stage in basketball. Kobe Bryant was his go-to guy.
"Yeah, Kobe" answered Jennings when asked about his pick for the GOAT title.
"And it's not that I don't know Michael Jordan. I was just eight years old, so me being a kid, being 12-13 and being able to feel the moments of Kobe Bryant winning Championships at the Staples Center. And being the part of that, that just hit home, that hit different for me," the retired lefty added.
Growing up seeing Kobe's greatness
Jennings grew up in Compton, California, surrounded by Lakers culture at a time when Kobe was stacking banners left and right (together with Shaq, of course) and rewriting the franchise's history books.
By the time B-Jennings was in middle school, Bryant was already the face of the City of Angels and one of the most feared players the league had ever seen. For a kid like Brandon, those earliest memories stuck with him all the way to the days when he lit up the Association's hardwood, and now, well beyond his playing career, it's all said and done.
After becoming a high school standout and a trailblazer by skipping college to play professionally in Italy, Jennings entered the NBA with plenty of buzz surrounding him. He hit the ground running, dropping 55 points in just his seventh career game, which is still one of the most explosive rookie moments in recent history. But despite the flashes, injuries slowly caught up with him and eventually shortened what could've been a much longer career.
Still, his respect for Kobe never wavered. It was built in those early years, in that city, when winning championships in that purple and gold jersey meant everything in the world.Kobe deserves to be at the top of the GOAT debate
Players who got the chance to compete against Kobe, or simply watched him dominate night in and night out, often place him higher on their all-time lists than analysts and metrics ever seem to allow.
Jennings isn't alone in that feeling, and he's definitely not the first to defend the late Lakers legend's legacy in these types of conversations.
Former teammate Matt Barnes has made that clear on numerous occasions. He's gone after media members and basketball voices who try to nitpick Bryant's resume or brush him aside when GOAT conversations come up, especially since Mamba's untimely passing.
For Barnes, it's simple: if you were there, if you felt what it was like to prepare for him, play against him or watch him elevate under pressure, then you understand. Everything else is just empty talk.
"I don't like the energy around it," Barnes said on the "All The Smoke" podcast episode. "I just don't like it. Because none of this weird talk was going on while he was here."
For Jennings, it's not about numbers or debates on sports shows. It's about memories, emotion and that feeling he had as a kid watching Kobe dominate under the bright lights at Staples Center.
And honestly, that's as valid a reason as any.This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
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