Kobe Bryant: Why True Hoops Fans Should Respect the Mamba

I think there are two types of fans in the NBA. There are those who are fans of their teams, and there are those who are fans of good hoops. One good way of knowing the difference is whether you can appreciate the value of a player that kills your team. 

Kobe Bryant has killed the Bulls on more than one occasion, but I have to say, I still love him as a player. (I also love LeBron James as player in spite of last year's Finals). Basketball fans love basketball, and those of us who love basketball love those who turn it into an art. 

Kobe Bryant is the Michelangelo of basketball. His commitment to his art his breathtaking. He is one of the greatest pure scorers the game has ever seen. He can score in so many ways from so may different parts of the court that he just makes you appreciate what he does.

Whether it's posting up players, getting to the rim or that amazing step back of his, Kobe is a man that commands respect. 

From a purely aesthetic standpoint, I just don't see how anyone could watch Kobe Bryant play and not appreciate what they are watching. It's as though every possible way there is to score, Bryant has refined to perfection.

They say it takes 10,000 hours to be an expert something. It seems that Bryant has spent at least that amount of time on every facet of his scoring. Literally, perhaps that's not true, but it's probably no exaggeration to say that he's spent thousands of hours working on his step back, thousands more working on his jump shot and thousands more working on his post game. 

He is an expert at scoring. There's no question, and you have to respect an expert. 

Bryant is now fifth in the history of the NBA in scoring. If this list is accurate, he also has the most game-winning shots in the history of the NBA with 31. 

There are those who love him and those who hate him, but no matter which you are, you have to respect him. He is one of the greatest players in the history of the game, and if you are a fan of the game, you know that.