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Victor Wembanyama causes stir with answer to Kobe Bryant-Tim Duncan question

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated Sep 9, 2025 10:57 PM ET

San Antonio Spurs fans might not be too pleased about their franchise player’s latest remarks.

Spurs star Victor Wembanyama appeared Tuesday on an Instagram Live stream from the team’s official account. Wembanyama conducted a Q&A with fans, who were encouraged to leave questions for him on the live stream.

Kobe Bryant or Tim Duncan? Victor Wembanyama makes his pick

One particular question though caused a major stir online. A fan asked Wembanyama who he thought was the greater player all-time between Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan. “Tough question,” said Wembanyama. “Probably Kobe all-time. Actually, I don’t know.”

Wemby just said he taking Kobe over Tim Duncan all time… pic.twitter.com/lHVFZwDTzJ
— . (@GreggPopowich) September 9, 2025

It sounded like Wembanyama believes that Bryant is indeed the greater player all-time between the two … but backtracked a bit when he realized how that answer might come across to the San Antonio fanbase.

Between Bryant, the late Los Angeles Lakers icon, and Duncan, the Spurs legend, the debate is a good one. Both players competed in the same era in the same conference and each came away with five total NBA championships. Bryant was the better scorer and overall athlete while Duncan was the superior defender and fundamental player. In a pure greatness debate, the two are close enough that the answer probably just comes down to personal preference.

As for Wembanyama, who was born in 2004 and only got to watch Bryant and Duncan during the back halves of their respective careers, he has already built a strong relationship with Duncan in particular as a fellow member of the Spurs fraternity. But even so, that was not enough for Wembanyama to pick Duncan over Bryant this week.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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