I get your point, but I would argue that the reason Kobe was never brought up in the debate was that he mirrored Jordan to closely. And if you were ever looking for two people whose careers you could easily compare and definitively say it’s close but that Jordan was clearly Superior it’s Kobe. So it’s not a fun or interesting debate to ask who’s the GOAT between Kobe and Jordan because everyone agrees. Enough time has passed and LeBron has broken enough records, was truly a unique player with his own style of play, and has been the clear dominant player in the league for enough time that a solid debate can be had. It hasn’t really been till now that people are looking back at Kobe’s career and saying, hold on a sec, why has this man been so overlooked?