Since he walked away from the game in 2016, critics and fans have been able to look at Kobe Bryant's dominance in a more objective light. This has led some people to believe Bryant's game was not as great as his stats make it out to be. But on Tuesday, things got out of hand when ESPN's Max Kellerman had the nerve to fix his lips and say Kawhi Leonard is a better clutch performer than Kobe "Bean" Bryant.Â
Kawhi has been dominant throughout this year's playoffs. As a result, the Raptors' star is receiving some much-deserved praise. Yet, Kellerman combined this praise with the current wave of Kobe criticism to create a comment that shouldn't have been thought much less said.
"Under pressure? Yes, Kawhi is better than Kobe was," Kellerman stated.
Not only did this comment leave his always talkative co-host Stephen A. Smith nearly speechless, but it also forced their guest Jay Williams walk away from the camera that was streaming his image as he was visibly upset. When the two regained their composure, they immediately went on the offensive. Both Smith and Williams asked Kellerman to produce moments in Leonard's career where he put together a significant clutch performance.
While there are some, Kellerman was unable to say these mattered more than anything Kobe did to win. Still, Kellerman attempted to prove his statement to the point Williams left the studio out of frustration.Â
In addition to being railroaded on his own show, the unforgiving world of social media unleashed its furry on Kellerman. NBA fans immediately took to Twitter where they ripped him for uttering such a blasphemous statement. Â
