diff --git a/src/rapids_singlecell/preprocessing/_kernels/_bbknn.py b/src/rapids_singlecell/preprocessing/_kernels/_bbknn.py
index 72e6a13e..408547e2 100644
--- a/src/rapids_singlecell/preprocessing/_kernels/_bbknn.py
+++ b/src/rapids_singlecell/preprocessing/_kernels/_bbknn.py
@@ -38,9 +38,9 @@
     // Process each element in the row
     int min_index = 0;
     for (int idx = start; idx < end; ++idx) {
-        if (data[idx] < top_k[min_index]) continue;
+        if (data[idx] <= top_k[min_index]) continue;
 
-        // If current num is larger than the smallest in top_k, replace it
+        // If current value is larger than the smallest in top_k, replace it
         top_k[min_index] = data[idx];
 
         // Find the new smallest value in top_k and set min_index