From the day Kobe Bryant announced he would be skipping college and “taking his talents” straight to the NBA, I did not like the guy.
I abhorred everything about Bryant, from the goofy way in which he grew his hair during his first couple of years in the league to his borderline-creepy Adidas commercials.
Looking back, I am not sure what it was about Kobe Bryant that boiled my blood so much. Maybe it was the arrogant manner in which he carried himself before accomplishing anything in the NBA; the way he openly compared himself to His Airness.
Maybe it was the ’98 All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden—Michael Jordan’s final All-Star Game (’02 and ’03 with the Wizards never happened).
Kobe bent over backwards to steal the show on a night Jordan’s greatness was supposed to be celebrated, not challenged by a punk kid who, at the time, couldn’t crack the starting lineup of his own team.
On the other hand, maybe I hated Bryant because I was forced to wear No. 8 during that basketball season because they did not have the numbers I wanted in my size.
Either way, Kobe was front and center in Dan Love’s Burn Book.
I detested Bryant’s meteoric rise to the top of the NBA as he, along with Shaquille O’Neal, catapulted the L.A. Lakers’ mini-dynasty to three consecutive NBA Championships from 2000-2002.
The more Kobe Bryant won, the more he grew and began to establish himself as “The Next Big Thing,” the more the inner Jordan fanatic in me became threatened by this “punk kid.”
Although I am somewhat ashamed to admit it now—I thoroughly enjoyed the rapid fall of Kobe Bryant after the 2003 season. After the Lakers disintegrated in the ’03 playoffs, Kobe’s wheels fell off shortly after Bryant underwent knee surgery in Colorado.
We all know what happened there. On top of the rape charges against him, Kobe’s feud with Shaquille O’Neal reached new levels as the two exchanged verbal blows in the media, and a split seemed imminent.
FAN-tastic, I thought joyfully, as the MJ comparisons temporarily stopped. I loved it.
Despite troubles off the court, Bryant’s Lakers loaded up that season—adding veteran stars Karl Malone and Gary Payton—reached the 2004 NBA Finals and were heavily favored to beat the Detroit Pistons for the Lake Show’s fourth title in five years.
Initially, the old worries began to creep back into my thoughts, however, much to my delight, the Lakers imploded during the finals.
Kobe and his ego, in all of their selfishness, somehow managed to make the most dominant force in the league, Shaquille O’Neal, a virtual non-factor, leading to a four games to one embarrassment at the hands of Detroit Basketball.
That offseason, Kobe Bryant’s career and reputation continued to take a Tony Montana-like turn for the worse. Bryant strong-armed the Lakers organization—using free agency and the Los Angeles Clippers as leverage—into sending both Shaq and Coach Phil Jackson packing.
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Kobe had officially claimed his place as The Man in Los Angeles, and with a depleted, Shaq-less roster, I was fully prepared for Kobe’s Apocalypse.
(Quick tangent: If you look back at the Shaq to Miami trade for “the Lamar Odom pu pu platter,” the deal was not as lopsided as you would think. Through a chain of events—, which included dumbly trading All-Star Caron Butler for Kwame Brown, straight up—L.A. basically got Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol for a declining O’Neal. Seems pretty even, no? That does not even take into consideration the fact that Washington probably would have taken Odom for Kwame Brown and likely would have thrown in another piece/draft pick on top of that. Doesn’t replacing the inconsistent/soft Lamar Odom for the tough as nails Caron Butler fill virtually every single hole the Celtics exposed in the Finals? Just saying…)
In Bryant’s first season as The Man failed to take the Lakers to the playoffs as O’Neal and his new sidekick, Dwyane Wade were taking the Miami Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals.
On top of that, the more likable and more popular LeBron James was beginning to challenge Kobe’s status as “The Next Jordan.” Some even wondered if Kobe was nothing more than just another Vince Carter or Tracy McGrady without Shaq at his side (Yes, this really happened.)
Kobe Bryant’s career had hit a low point, and, you want to know something? I loved every single millisecond of it.
That began to change January 22, 2006.
What Kobe did that night, scoring 81 (EIGHTY-FREAKING-ONE!) points against the Toronto Raptors, was, without a doubt, the sickest thing I have ever seen.
Seriously, the guy scored 81 points. That is not a typo; he really scored 81, including 55 in the second half. Does that even make sense?
I remember asking my friends. Kobe realized that he was playing in the NBA against professional athletes, not 5’5” pimple-faced-high-school-sophomores, right?
The truly sick thing about the 81-point game is that I am not 100 percent convinced that Kobe cannot score 81 (or more) again.
We have completely forgotten this now, but Kobe’s first 60-point game of his career came a few weeks prior to 81, when he dropped 62 through three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks.
Had he been needed to play the fourth quarter of that night’s blowout win, does anyone doubt he could have scored 80 or more?
That is the thing about The Black Mamba; you never quite know what to expect, but you are never quite shocked.
Ironically, Kobe’s 81-point outburst came just hours before my buddy, Trevor, and I argued over which player we would choose to start an expansion team. Trevor chose LeBron, and I think I went with Tony Parker, simply for the Eva Longoria Factor.
I was kidding, of course (well… kind of). Anyway, Kobe was quickly dismissed as a headache who shoots too much, and someone who could not lead a team from one side of a street to the other.
After that night’s epic performance and performances that followed, however, my mind was made up. With the possible exception of Chris Paul, I would not take any player in the league over Kobe Bean Bryant.
I don’t care that he is a ball hog; that he is egotistical, arrogant, somewhat insecure and more obsessed with his place in history than with winning another ring—and he is all of those things, by the way—if my Chicago Bulls somehow acquired him today, I would drive to Chicago and roll out the red carpet myself.
Love him or hate him—and I still somewhat hate him—Kobe Bryant is the best player in basketball right now. Period.
Maybe, that All-Star Game in NYC was not a going away party for Michael Jordan, I thought going into the 2008 NBA Finals. Perhaps it was a passing of the torch.
I have never been happier to be so wrong.
In two short weeks, Kobe Bryant—with an assist from the Boston Celtics’ defense—showed the world what I had suspected all along.
Kobe Bryant is definitely not the next Michael Jeffrey Jordan. Jordan would have never allowed the Celtics to come back from 20-plus down in the second half to steal game four.
Jordan would have rather died than allowed his Bulls team to throw up a garbage performance as the Lakers did in the series clincher. And Michael Jordan would have never, ever, allowed someone like Paul Pierce become, unquestionably, the best player on the court.
The thing is Kobe was not terrible in The Finals, averaging close to 26 per game. Kobe Bryant just was not Michael Jordan, and it is finally apparent that he never will be. On a more personal note, he is no longer a threat to me and my childhood memories.
I do not have to worry about, one day, sitting down with my kids to talk about the greatest player I have ever seen and having to utter the words “Kobe” or “Black Mamba.”
Suddenly Kobe Bryant is just another great, great player passing through my world. Will I tell my kids about the nights I stayed up late to watch Kobe Bryant play? Sure, I will.
But after the 2008 Finals, I do not have to worry about talking about The Black Mamba the way I do His Airness.
Suddenly, Kobe Bryant just became a lot more likable.
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2 months ago
As a Knick fan since the 80's, I have disliked Chicago. Jordan had his way with your team and it would burn you up. That being said, there was always a respect for Jordan no matter how abused your team was that night. Jordan was a professional in every sense of the word and a once in a lifetime show. I have never appreciated Jordan as much for what he was until the last 8 years or so of Kobe. The game has changed a lot. Sure, Kobe dropped 81 on the Raps but thats under todays rules. The abuse that Jordan took going to the basket (or anyone else at that time for that matter) was leaps and bounds above todays game. Id like to see Kobe drive to the basket all day on Karl Malone, Charles Oakley, Charles Barkley, Dennis Rodman, Dale Davis, Horace Grant, "The X Man", Anthony Mason, ect. I could go on but the point is he would be leaving the game in an ambulance b4 leaving with anything close to 81 points. These were very tough guys on very tough teams. Simply said, any convo between Jordan and Kobe should start off with Kobe saying, "Excuse me Mr. Jordan, Im sorry to bother you..." F**K KOBE!
2 months ago
Amen brother. Preach! :)
I feel the same as you. I despise the guy. Always have. I truy think he's evil. haha No joke. I realized why I inexplicably hated the guy so much because of what happened one night in Colorado. Plus how he will shamelessly change his persona to try to become more popular or get more street cred.
I have always seen Kobe as an actor on the court too. As I saw it Kobe always did a great Jordan impersonation -- mannersisms, facial experssions, cursing his teammates out without the game to back it up. But he doesn't understand what really made Jordan great, outside of Jordan's unbelievable ahtleticsm.. it was his fundamentals. Jordan seemed to play a perfect game of basketball every night. Not just scoring the ball. That might have even been last on Jordan's list. He was as close to perfect with everything else as you can be. Jordan did everyhting you had to do to win. Kobe seems to do the opposite most the time.
2 months ago
Nice article. Agree we can finally put an end that joke if a discussion that puts Kobe in line to be the greatest over Jordan.
He was TMAC like in the Finals and that's WITH Gasol and Odom. I also agree that Jordan would never allow Paul Pierce to outdo him.
2 months ago
Kobe is still going to end up as the greatest player ever when the Lakers win 4-5 titles in the next 7-8 years and Kobe will end up with more points, rings and all star appearances than Jordan.
from 2 months ago
This article really tears you up doesnt it? I bet you still cant get pictures of Rondo steals or KG fade-aways out of your head. Life hasn't felt right the last day or two? Moving real slow around work? Feeling a little helpless and taken advantage of like a drunk teenage girl at a frat party? GREAT! Now share this with your friends.
from 2 months ago
No one with these kind of performances is going to be thought of as best of anything:
IND - 15.6 PPG, 36% FG
PHI - 24.6 PPG, 42% FG
NJ - 26.8 PPG, 51% FG
DET - 22.6 PPG, 37% FG
BOS - 25.7 PPG, 40.5% FG
Nice series in NJ, but one nice series, in which LAL swept and SO was MVP, isn't doing it. 4-5 titles in 7-8 years? Does LAL have an EZPass or something to get them there?
2 months ago
i feel as if someone just wrote down my own stream of thought. what you have written here cannot possibly be more accurate.
I hated Kobe initially for trying so hard to be a copy of my favorite player. eventually he gained some of my respect, especially in some of the games a couple of years ago against Phoenix. i started to think how god this guy really is and that he deserves respect.
but now, after all the crap i heard about him in the finals, how he cursed out his teammates without the game to back it up, how he is trying so hard to be perceived as a "family man" (his daughters and wife so prominent during time outs and press conferences)...i can be certain that this guy is no MJ.
MJ never took these many nights off in the regular season, let alone the Finals. MJ never saw his teammates as a threat and tried to drive them out of town like Kobe did with Shaq. He never challanged his teammates without challenging himself first.
2 months ago
When people compare Kobe to MJ, it's never really about what Kobe has done, but more about what he might, will, or is going to do. Fanboys have been doing that for years, and even now, some proclaim that Kobe still has 10 years to dominate. What a load of bull.
If Kobe had won the finals this season, those same fanboys would have put him on a pedestal higher than MJ. They would totally ignore the fact that MJ was consistently the best player in the league not for a couple of seasons, but for almost his entire career.
The problem is that even with all the evidence of MJ's superiority over Kobe right smack in front of their faces, they would still deny it and make up lame excuses.
Kobe has a long way to go to be on MJ's level .... and time is running short.
- In the Bulls' first championship run, MJ played with a bunch of scrubs and developing young players. Cartwright was past his prime and exhibited major suckage in those championship years. Pippen was a developing player but was far from being a star. Grant was also young and unpolished. Paxson was okay but not great.
- In the Bulls' second championship run, the team played smarter but was much older. Jordan and Harper were in their 30s. Rodman was still a great rebounder but arguably passt his prime. Only Pippen was close to his prime. That team was also filled with scrubs. Luc freakin Longley was their centre in that triangle. Kerr was a great shooter but unathletic and terrible on D. Ditto Judd Buechler. Jason Williams, Randy Brown, Scott Burrell, Jason Caffey, Bill Wennington, Jayson Williams, Dickey Simpkins, etc: SCRUBS. Only Kukoc was the notable talent off the bench. Where do people get the idea that those Bulls teams were filled with stars? MJ was also relied on each and every night to carry much of the scoring load, even well into his 30s.
- The defense in the 80s and 90s were the most physical in the history of the NBA. Those were also the tallest years in the NBA with some of the greatest offensive AND defensive centers of all time. Defensive rules these days give most of the advantage to the offensive player. If you want to understand how good and physical defenses were back then, then I advice you to watch these videos as they break down exactly how defenses were played and how the lax rules were used against MJ:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kp53zWynjh4
http://youtube.com/watch?v=dxBhQKtG2Zo
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mBKQ4UozGMU
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4HGKEt7xBbs
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8d8Ll9xgQ3U
- I haven't even mentioned the Jordan rules. I haven't heard of any team create a defensive system specifically designed to stop one player. Not only did that defense key in on MJ, but if MJ got close he'd get hammered and sent to the floor. The Knicks D was similar but arguably more physical.
- Statistically, MJ is so far ahead of Kobe that it's not even fair. People also forget that MJ is the only player in history to win the scoring title, DPOY, and MVP all in the same year. He is also #1 all time in blocks for a guard, #2 all time in steals, and #3 all time in rebounds for a guard.
- MJ's career shooting percentage is 49.7%. Remove the years in Washington, and he shoots better than 50% for his career. He also is the all time leading ppg scorer in the playoffs at 33 ppg.
- Arguing that today's defensive rules would bother MJ would be moot, because under the same rules he still averaged about 22 ppg as a 39 and 40 yr old with two bum knees in Washington.
- MJ has never lost a finals series, and was finals MVP each and every time. In his first ever finals series, MJ averaged 31 ppg, 11 apg, 7 rpg, shooting better than 50%. At age 35 in the '98 finals, MJ averaged 33 ppg despite having a torn ligament in his shooting hand.
- Bottomline, Kobe has lots to do to even be mentioned in the same sentence as MJ. Heck, he has lots to do to be even mentioned in the same sentence as Bird, Magic, Russell, Chaimberlain, etc. Lots to do, but getting short on time.
2 months ago
Maybe the joke is on us a bit. Even though most outside of LA know he is a complete tool, there are still plenty looking to blindly drink the Kool-Aid. Maybe after he puts down his basketball he could be involved in politics? Now that a career where people love to be fed bullsh**t.
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