Kobe Bryant: You Blew Your Big Chance

Juma Ngqobongwana — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:01:03 -0400

Kobe Bryant knows that he just had an opportunity to do something that he had dreamed about for a long time...and he blew it.

This is a game that he had anxiously anticipated for four long years, although it had probably felt like an eternity.

The stage was set and the Lakers were facing elimination on the road in game six of the NBA Finals and they needed their star player to produce the best game of his 12-year career.

What did they get?

Four turnovers, one assist and lots of wayward jump shots.

Twenty-one to be exact— 81 points in a game, 62 in three quarters and the 2007-08 league MVP and he miss 21 jumpers in an elimination game!

Who is more equipped to handle these types of situations than Kobe Bryant?

This is what Kobe lives for, so why did he come up so short when it mattered so much?

A lot of credit should be given to Doc Rivers, James Posey and the Celtics defense as a whole for making Kobe’s passage to the basket so difficult and turning him into a passive player which then put pressure on his teammates to make shots.

But this is Kobe Bryant that we’re talking about, people!

By combining hard work and dedication with his God given gifts, Kobe has transformed himself into arguably the most complete offensive juggernaut on the planet.

It is nothing short of miraculous that in a must win game where his team needed him to be aggressive, he only managed to get to the charity stripe a paltry five times.

Three of those attempts were technical foul shots and the other two were at the 1:47 mark in the third quarter with the Celtics up by 28.

At some point in that games he needed to find that extra gear that could lift him up into the free flowing— gun slinging MVP that his team desperately needed him to be and produce a 45 points— eight assist, seven rebounds, six stea— stat line to be remembered for years to come.

Instead he checked out of the game with 2:21 to play with the Celtics lead at a colossal 38 points.

Whenever it is mentioned, Kobe always pretends that he dislikes being compared to Jordan, but no one believes him.

We know that Kobe Bryant is the type of person who hates playing second fiddle.

He wasn’t happy being the second option behind Shaq and he wants to be remembered as the best player to ever lace ‘em up and this was a prime opportunity to so do.

Jordan would never have allowed his team to lose a 24 point lead at home in a pivotal game four.

He would have scored 50 and made sure that the opposition went to sleep that night still stinging from a 40 point whooping and the series tied at two games apiece.

Jordan would never have let his team fall into a 23-point hole at half time in a game that your team simply has to win!

I think that his performance in this series will serve as an eye opener for Kobe, because it showed him that as good as he is, he will NEVER be the best.

Mike had an aura that propelled him to that pinnacle of basketball excellence that I genuinely don’t think will be reached by anyone else who attempts to get there, no matter how hard they try.

What Kobe needs to do is concentrate on developing his legacy encompassing the controversy he creates off the court and the brilliance he can create on it which causes such polar opinions about him.

He is arguably the most complete basketball player on the planet at the moment and some would argue that he has been for the last two years, but he couldn’t produce it when it mattered most against the Celtics— who on the evidence of game six simply wanted it more than the Lakers.

Kobe will now turn his focus to helping Team USA reclaim their place as the kings of the global game at the Olympics and nothing would give him more pleasure than winning a gold medal on August 23^rd,which will coincide with his 30th birthday.

Following that, I’m sure he’ll have surgery on his dislocated pinkie finger on his shooting hand and prepare himself for another run at the Larry O’Brien trophy.

At some point he’ll sit down and the truth will dawn on him...that Paul Pierce is the Truth and that he just wasted a great chance to get one step closer to the SI unit of basketball brilliance that we affectionately refer to as Mike.

Bleacher Report - Articles by Juma Ngqobongwana

Kobe Bryant: You Blew Your Big Chance