java.util.List can't deal with value types in the first place, they have to be boxed. I would assume "naked objects" would have to be bridged similarly. Either

java.util.List can't deal with value types in the first place, they have to be boxed. I would assume "naked objects" would have to be bridged similarly. Either that, or java would have to gain some form of partial reification such that collections would be able to work with unboxed values. IIRC project valhalla includes the latter, or it did at one point.