The GOAT Debate Is a Trap — Here’s Why I Don’t Buy Into It Anymore

 Lately, I’ve been noticing a narrative pop up in my timeline: that people have changed their tune on Kobe Bryant ever since he passed. And while I agree that’s true, I think the deeper issue lies in the toxic culture surrounding the “Greatest of All Time” conversation.


Basketball — like life — is a team sport. Sure, individual talent stands out. That’s why we have awards like MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, and so on. But if you ask anyone who’s competed at the highest level, they’ll tell you the same thing: no one gets to the top alone. It takes a team.


A perfect example? The 2025 NBA Champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. While they may not get all the recognition they deserve, I deeply respect them because they embody what happens when a team-first mentality leads the way. Even when one player shines, the whole squad celebrates like they all won MVP — and in a way, they did.


What bothers me most about the GOAT debate is how often it becomes a competition rooted in tearing others down. It’s become common to bash one player just to uplift another. I don’t think that’s ever okay. Everyone’s story resonates differently — and that’s the beauty of it.


For me, Kobe Bryant represented hard work, resilience, and breaking through limits. I don’t usually cry over celebrities, but I cried when Kobe died because of what he symbolized in my life. He was my GOAT — not because he was flawless, but because he failed, learned, adapted, and transformed into a killer on the court who earned his greatness.


At the same time, I’ve grown to appreciate the greatness of others — even those I didn’t always support. My late mother was a LeBron James fan. Back then, I was a die-hard Kobe head, so naturally, I didn’t like LeBron. I was taught that if you had a favorite player or team, everyone else was irrelevant. But life has a funny way of humbling you. After my mom passed, LeBron signed with the Lakers — my team. And over time, I came to respect and admire his game. I realized how narrow my thinking had been, and how much I’d missed by holding on to that mindset.


So I say this from experience: you don’t need to tear someone down to lift someone else up. The GOAT debate, in many ways, is a trap — designed to keep us divisive, nitpicking flaws, and overlooking greatness simply because it doesn’t resonate with us personally. But at the end of the day, it’s subjective. It’s about who you connect with.


Even as an artist, I used to think I couldn’t coexist with certain types of music or artists because their subject matter didn’t align with mine. I thought it was trash. But I’ve come to realize that there’s some kid out there whose life was changed by that very artist. And who am I to deny that?


We all have unique roles to play in this life. Not every role looks the same — and that’s the point. No one is superior or inferior. We’re all part of a greater collaboration on this project called Earth. Your unique input matters.


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