The term “stan” has become increasingly popular in social media circles over the years and only added to the Oxford English Dictionary last year, 15 years after Eminem's chart-topping hit “Stan” dominated radio stations and MTV shows. And yes, this will eventually involve Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and all-time great LeBron James.

The definition states “an overzealous or obsessive fan of a particular celebrity” — a term that suits fervid fan bases of a particular player.

When it comes to the NBA, no one has more stans than Bryant, as the recently-retired icon has more apologists than the internet can count.

While the Los Angeles Lakers recently signed their new star in James, multiple writers and media personalities agree even The King's fans don't compare to the rabid army Kobe Bryant has to this day, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype.

Kennedy interviewed mixed media personalities and eight of nine agreed with The Black Mamba having either the most (in quantity) or the most rabid fan base, willing to argue to the grave in hopes to keep the name Bryant among the legends.

Alexis Morgan of Grizzlies.com summed it up perfectly.

“To Kobe stans, he can do no wrong,” said Morgan. “Here’s the thing about stans. It can be a positive thing because they’re so diehard and passionate and they love their favorite player no matter what, which is great for that player. It can be a negative thing because they fail to see their own biases, so it’s hard for them to grasp any weaknesses in that player’s game or comprehend anything negative surrounding that player.”

“With a Kobe stan, you can say something seemingly fine, but they’ll sniff out any sort of negativity in the statement and then get defensive and continue tweeting at you for hours even if you’re no longer responding to them.”

While LeBron James' stans are surely many, Kobe's stans are so active in social media that one could guess he was still playing in the league, as they have gone to long stretches to sustain his legacy as one of the greatest to play the game.

Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports conceded James has the most stans among active players, but ultimately Kobe's stans take the cake, still keeping his memory alive.

“Among the active players, it’s LeBron. I don’t think anyone comes close to him in terms of the active players. He’s in a class by himself,” said Lee. “I think the fact that he switched teams multiple times means a lot of his fans are supporters of him rather than the teams he was on. They’re going to root for him no matter what jersey he puts on. Also, LeBron came up with social media, so it makes sense that he has a ton of supporters on Twitter. With that said, Kobe clearly has the largest army of anybody. LeBron is the leader of active players, but Kobe is the overall leader. He has the most stans, and I think his stans are the most active too.”

Well, that settles that, we guess?