Klay Thompson revealed his personal list of the five greatest NBA players ever, making the notable decision to leave Michael Jordan out.
During a livestream with PlaqueBoyMax, Thompson selected Shaquille O’Neal at center, Tim Duncan and LeBron James at forward, Kobe Bryant at shooting guard and former Warriors teammate Stephen Curry at point guard.
Thompson admitted choosing between Bryant and Jordan was difficult but ultimately went with the player he grew up watching.
“I gotta go with Kobe at the two,” Thompson said. “I love Mike, but I just grew up watching Kobe. I got to play against him. 81 [point game,] twelve threes, you know, gold medals. God, I love MJ, but Kobe is like a carbon copy of Mike. Imma go, Kobe just cause that’s my era.”
At point guard, Thompson picked Curry and explained that he is “loyal to my PG of the past.”
The selections quickly generated debate online, particularly because Jordan was absent.
One fan defended Thompson’s Curry selection, writing: ” ‘Stayed loyal to steph’ no he just has common sense and knows steph is the greatest player ever at the position and it’s not relatively close.”
Another reacted to Jordan’s omission by writing, “NO JORDAN FOR A REASON…DUDE A– FR…”
Despite the criticism, Thompson made clear that his decision to choose Bryant over Jordan was primarily based on his personal connection to the era in which he grew up and played.
Warriors’ Splash Brother gets ripped for leaving Michael Jordan out of his top-5 https://t.co/pcVbiaMtWd pic.twitter.com/lR7PHsIaFh
— New York Post (@nypost) August 15, 2026
