January 14, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; (L-R) Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30), NBA referee Curtis Blair (74), NBA referee Matt Boland (18), and Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) listen to NBA referee Scott Foster (48) before the game at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Lakers 116-98. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

3x NBA All-Star Reacts to Controversial Steph Curry, Kobe Bryant Ranking

Originally posted on Memphis Grizzlies on SI
By Liam Willerup | Last updated Jul 16, 2025 12:32 AM ET

The NBA is full of all-time greats, and even though eras are completely different, players from the start of the league in the 1950s and 60s are compared to players in today's game. Once LeBron James retires, the argument between him and Michael Jordan may go on for decades, but there are also other debates that some fans will continue for as long as there is time.

Bleacher Report recently released the Top 100 NBA Players of All Time list, ranked 100 to 1. While this list gave Jordan the nod over LeBron, it put Steph Curry ahead of Kobe Bryant, a move that is controversial to many. Addressing it, three-time NBA All-Star and ex- Memphis Grizzlies guard Gilbert Arenas shared his thoughts on why the rankings

Gil breaks down why Bleacher Report got Steph Curry ahead of Kobe in their Top 100 list pic.twitter.com/01PvZ8Ep7H
— Gil’s Arena (@GilsArenaShow) July 15, 2025

Arenas went on to share that when comparing accolades between Bryant and Curry, weighing each one differently, he's not surprised to see that Curry ended up out-ranking Bryant in the Top 100 Player rankings.

"You can't argue an opinion, there has to be a standard and you argue that with facts," Arenas said. While Bryant has the current edge in All-Star appearances, All-Defensive selections, and one more title, Curry has one more MVP, the same amount of scoring titles, the most made threes in NBA history, and has been a far more efficient scorer than Bryant ever was.

“The only people who came in to this list since then [the 90’s] would have been LeBron James and Steph Curry”@NoChillGilZero reacts to Kobe being outside the Top 10 in Bleacher Report’s Top 100 all time NBA list pic.twitter.com/xF6L8jPzxV
— Underdog (@Underdog) July 15, 2025

However, Curry's impact on the game of basketball is one hard to measure. Even though Bryant may arguably be more popular globally, Curry changed the way the game is played with the heavy usage of the outside shot. The reality is, there may never be another Curry. And at the end of the day, both players are all-time greats and should be celebrated before being compared.

This article first appeared on Memphis Grizzlies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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