Kobe Bryant‘s former teammate and enigmatic figure Matt Barnes recently referred to Bryant as the greatest player of his generation in an interview with Bleacher Report.
We transcribed a portion of it below:
"He’s the greatest player of my generation. I missed out on Michael Jordan, so Kobe is that player of my generation. He tries to get that mental advantage on ya."
Barnes also talked about their infamous altercation in Orlando where he and Bryant battled and Barnes faked throwing the ball in Bryant’s face.
He also talked about Bryant’s recruitment of Barnes to join the Lakers.
"When my contract fell through in Orlando, I talked to him the second day of free agency. He’s like ‘You wanna come be a Laker’ and I’m like ‘That’d be a dream come true.’ Three days later, I was a Laker."
This is the first time Bryant has been shown admiration from his peers and it likely won’t be the last. For Barnes and Bryant, though, they clearly have a respectful, yet competitive relationship.
Bryant recently got the better of the match-up with Barnes after his thunderous reverse dunk against the Clippers, blowing by Barnes in the process. While the Clippers won the game, Bryant dazzled despite his age, lighting up the Clippers and showing flashbacks of younger Bryant.