Coco Gauff's ex-coach makes controversial comments on LeBron James & Kobe Bryant with NBA Top players ranking list

Coco Gauff's ex-coach Brad Gilbert recently weighed in on a NBA Top players ranking list. As the 64-year-old shared his thoughts with fans, he made some controversial comments about basketball legends LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.

LeBron and Kobe are arguably two of the biggest stars the NBA has ever seen. Over the course of his career, the former has clinched four NBA Championships and he is currently the league’s all-time leading scorer. On the other hand, Kobe’s career saw him spend two decades with the LA Lakers. During this time, the Philadelphia-native led the team to five championships. He was also an 18-time All-Star and a two-time Olympic gold-medalist.

Recently, ‘Bleacher Report’ put out their ‘Top 100 NBA Players Of All Time’ ranking list. The list saw LeBron James ranked second behind Michael Jordan, while Kobe Bryant was ranked 11th. Reacting to this, Coco Gauff's ex-coach Brad Gilbert wrote on X,

“Labron way too high Kobe way too low crazy to have Harden that high and ahead of Rick Barry ridiculous.”

Fans were left unimpressed by the American’s opinions, with one X user writing,

“Stick to tennis.”

Another fan expressed a similar opinion, adding,

“Stick to tennis. Garnett over Jokic is insane.”

One X user showcase their disappointment in Gilbert’s statement about LeBron James, writing,

“Most absurd take I've seen in a while! Saying the top scorer of the NBA game in both regular and post season is ranked way too high is bonkers. You can be a hater but this is skip Bayless level.”

Brad Gilbert, who has also coached the likes of Andre Agassi and Andy Murray, first joined forces with Coco Gauff in 2023. The pair experienced strong success together, with Gilbert leading the youngster to her first Grand Slam title. They parted ways in late 2024.

Coco Gauff shares glimpses of her off season

Gauff at the WTA Finals 2025 (Image Source: Getty)

Coco Gauff had a busy 2025 season. The American kicked her year off with a quarterfinals finish at the Australian Open. She struggled a bit over the course of the next few tournaments, but found her footing on the clay courts, reaching the finals of the Madrid Open and Internazionali BNL d'Italia, before winning the French Open. The 21-year-old wrapped up her season with a victory at the Wuhan Open and an appearance at the WTA Finals.

Now, as she makes the most of her time away from the courts, Gauff recently gave fans a glimpse of her off-season. The American shared some snaps on Instagram and wrote,

“art Basel and cfg.”

Coco Gauff is next scheduled to return to action at the United Cup. The event is slated to take place between January 2 and 11 and will also feature the like of Iga Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini.

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