1. Stephen Curry
There is no player currently in the NBA that resembles Kobe Bryant more than Stephen Curry. His game is much different than Kobe’s as Curry is the greatest shooter in NBA history, but Curry checks all of the boxes that equate to what made Kobe so special.
Curry is obviously elite. He is a two-time MVP that arguably could have won more if he did not sacrifice some stats for Kevin Durant to come to town. His best season was arguably this past season as well and if Klay Thompson was healthy and the Warriors were better then he probably would have won the award.
He is absolutely loyall. Curry has stuck with the Golden State Warriors until now and he is not leaving anytime soon. Curry is under contract for one more year before becoming a free agent and while he could walk away, Curry is the Golden State Warriors.
That is what makes him so similar to Bryant. While there was plenty of history for the Lakers prior to Kobe, nobody encapsulated the fanbase like Kobe did. He was the face of LA sports and is the most popular Laker of all time. Curry is the face of Bay Area sports, and is the mots popular Warrior of all time.
Curry also has done plenty of winning. He has three championships under his name and easily could reach Kobe’s mark of five if his cards fall right late in his career. Sure, he had KD, but he also won without KD and Kobe won the majority of his rings with Shaq. We cannot take away Steph’s rings with KD without mentioning that Shaq was the league MVP.
He has the success, he has the all-time talent and he has the loyalty. Curry is this generation’s Kobe.