Has San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama, AKA Wemby, angered a large portion of his team’s fanbase? When asked to choose between Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan on his all-time rankings list, Wemby boldly chose the Los Angeles Lakers icon over his Spurs predecessor.
“Tim Duncan or Kobe? Tough question. Probably Kobe All-Time… Eh, actually, I don’t know,” Wemby responded to a fan question.
It was rather wise on Wemby’s part to express doubt about his initial pick, considering the wrath he may endure from a rabid Spurs fanbase.
One user argued that Wemby, who was born in 2004, likely never watched a prime Duncan in action, and therefore leaned towards the more popular choice. Duncan won both his MVP awards (2002, 2003) before Wemby was born, and won his third NBA Finals MVP award by 2005, when the Frenchman was an infant. Wemby was a 10-year-old basketball fan when Duncan captured his fifth and final NBA title in 2014.
“He never watched Tim lets be honest,” wrote SOLtan.
Lakers Fans Rally Behind Wemby
Lakers fans widely praised the 7-foot-4 Frenchman for choosing Bryant over Duncan, despite the potential backlash he could endure.
A few fans argued that although Bryant and Duncan each won five NBA championships, the latter was not the overall gifted basketball player that the “Black Mamba” was.
“Wemby is not wrong. Kobe can will a team to a W. Duncan was not quite in the same level,” wrote Kurt Nimphius’ Hair.
“Nah he knows. I’ve never understood why that was a question,” wrote KDM.
Another fan felt that it was hard to separate Bryant and Duncan, two all-time great players, but he gave the slight edge to the Spurs legend.
“It’s close,” wrote Chris Reilly. “I have Tim 7 Kobe 8.”
Kobe, Duncan Had Mutual Respect
The comparisons from fans and analysts aside, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan shared a lot of mutual respect after going to war numerous times in the playoffs.
When Bryant (posthumously), Duncan and Kevin Garnett all went into the Hall of Fame in 2021, Duncan explained how Bryant helped him become a better player.
“Your greatest competition brings the best out of you. That’s what he always did,” Duncan said of sharing the court with Bryant, via LA Times.
“You always had to be at your best and bring your best from start to finish if you were playing against him or any of his teams. And I think that’s what I appreciate about and remember about playing against him and being on the court with him — a fierce competitor. And always demanding more of his team and his teammates than probably was possible.
“But he wanted to win that much. He wanted it that much. And it was an honor to share the court with him.”
When Duncan led the Spurs to their first two NBA titles in 1999 and 2003, they had to go through Bryant and the Lakers.
“The intensity was always that much higher because of the level of competitor he was, the teams that he brought with him, coaching on down,” Duncan said of Bryant.
Ultimately, Bryant held an 18-12 head-to-head postseason record against Duncan’s Spurs, with Bryant winning four out of the six series.
