LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA – AUGUST 23: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics wears a purple armband in honor of the late Kobe Bryant during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game Four of the first round of the playoffs at The Field House at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 23, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kim Klement-Pool/Getty Images)
An old Jayson Tatum quote about Kobe Bryant was dragged into the Shannon Sharpe war to keep Mamba out of the NBA’s Top 5.
Skip Bayless isn’t the only Undisputed host who can rile up NBA Twitter with a few keystrokes and the push of a button.
Shannon Sharpe isn’t quite antimatter to the scorching hot takes that Skip fires off on a daily basis, but he usually has a more measured approach. However, not even Sharpe is immune to the desires of kicking the hornet’s nest and watching the chaos that ensues.
With no NBA Finals games between Thursday and Sunday, Sharpe helped fill the void by stoking the coals of Kobe Stans by saying the Lakers legend wasn’t a Top 5 all-time player.
Somewhere, as Sharpe hit send on his tweet, Skip was both smiling with pride and punching a mirror while screaming at his own broken reflection over the fact that he wasn’t the one to get everyone all worked up.
That’s exactly what the reaction was. It wasn’t just Kobe Stans rushing to his defense isn’t he wake of the perceived slander from Sharpe. An old Jayson Tatum quote was brushed off that combated Sharpe’s critique almost verbatim.
Tatum hasn’t been shy about his love of Kobe or the fact that he grew up watching him at the peak of his powers. The Celtics star was clad in Kobe tributes following his death back in 2020, and recently talked about how much of an honor it is to be wearing Kobe’s jersey as a member of Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics.