Kevin Durant recently spoke out against what he saw as mistreatment by "the media" in regards to Kobe Bryant. While there are definite differences of opinion there, one must look at things from the players perspective
In the eyes of NBA players, Kobe Bryant is almost universally respected. The outpouring of adoration and tribute on Instagram and twitter from all over the league (other than Dwight Howard) should tell you that alone. Hell, even the Denver Nuggets own Jusuf Nurkic cites Kobe as his favorite NBA player growing up and his inspiration.