Kobe my favorite player. Been a Laker fan for life.
But man back in the AI's era
I watched as many 6ers games as I could. I had the I3s and all that. 2k1 played as AI and broke EVERY record. Knocked points 123 pts one game. Kobe is and was my favorite but there's a small part that held AI really high in my heart. He embodied basketball superstardom. It wasn't just stats or wins it was him, his persona his on court toughness and his off the court aura or whatever.
He gets a lot of press still, but for what he did, it's not enough and I think he's still underrated because the media can't do him justice unless he gets the Tom Brady media blitz.