Nikka what? Nobody is lying. You are either way too young, you was not outside back then, a hater, or just simply not keep up to date with the conversations.
I got Jordan over Kobe, but to say there was no conversations surrounding Kobe being the GOAT is crazy, when I lived through it. How are you going to tell me the conversations I heard through the media, playing basketball at the park, school, the barbershop, etc were all in my head?
A lot of people favorite player was Kobe, and naturally some of them put him in the GOAT conversation. Before Lebron James took over, it was Kobe who was in those conversations next to Jordan and who was the best. I agree with you that people was saying he was "biting Jordan whole style", but that conversation was included right along with GOAT debates.