LA. Lakers: 5 Ways to Tell If You Are Laker Fan or Just a Kobe Fan

All Los Angeles Lakers fans are also fans of star guard Kobe Bryant, but are all fans of Bryant really loyal to the Lakers?

Some people may think that question is ludicrous, but Bryant's detractors constantly complain about the inability of Kobe's fans to find any faults in his game, and they may have a point.

In my opinion, Kobe is one of the single greatest players I have ever seen grace an NBA court, but I loved the Los Angeles Lakers long before Bryant donned the purple and gold.

That mind-set prevents me from feeling Bryant is above reproach, but sometimes it seems like Bryant's most adamant fans have drawn a line in the sand, and crossing it may be as simple as the observation that Bryant has taken more shots from the field than any other player in the NBA.

Bryant's fans usually justify this argument by claiming his job as a shooting guard is to score, but that theory fails when you consider that both Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol are among the top 20 most efficient players in the league when it comes to field goal percentage.

Kobe is 86th.

Am I a hater for simply suggesting that the Lakers may be better served in the long run if Bynum and Gasol get a few more touches in the paint?

Most of Bryant's fans who masquerade as Lakers fans will probably think so, but in this article I will give you the top five ways to spot a true fan of the Lakers franchise, or someone who is simply infatuated with Kobe Bryant.

I'm sure the venom in the response to this article will be just as poisonous as any of the Black Mamba's shots in the fourth quarter, but please keep your comments clean and respectful.

Thank you, and enjoy.

5. Lakers Fans Know Kobe Is Not the Alpha or Omega of the Franchise

For those of you who don't know, the Lakers were winning championships long before former general manager Jerry West essentially traded Vlade Divac for the rights to draft Bryant in 1996, and considering the team's storied past, they might win a few more long after Bryant is gone.

Bryant's five NBA titles does tie Lakers great Magic Johnson for the most in franchise history earned by a single player, but the Lakers had already won 11 championships before Bryant played an NBA minute.

The Lakers were already a great franchise before Bryant, and his five titles are still only a small piece of one of the greatest legacies in professional basketball history.

I can certainly appreciate what Bryant has meant to the Lakers franchise, and while I will be disappointed to see him eventually retire, I am still anxious to see how the team may look in the future without him.

4. You Are a Kobe Fan If You Rooted for Him to Leave Los Angeles in 2007

The Los Angeles Lakers have only missed the NBA playoffs five times in the long history of their franchise, and two of those misses occurred while Bryant was the unquestioned leader of the team.

With teammates like Smush Parker and Kwame Brown, it's difficult to lay the blame for failing to reach the postseason solely at Bryant's feet. And with teammates like those, it's easy to understand Bryant's threats to leave the Lakers following the 2007 postseason.

It's more difficult to understand the supposed Lakers fans who were rooting for Bryant to take his talents to places like Chicago, New York, or even the Clippers?

I felt Bryant's pain during those trying years, but never once did I think the franchise would be better served with Bryant on another team's roster.

And furthermore, if Bryant had decided to bolt during that period, I would have hated to see him go, but I would have wished him well and immersed myself in figuring out how the Lakers could possibly move forward without him.

3. Lakers Fans Understand That It's Ok to Be Critical of Kobe

Kobe may be one of the 10 greatest basketball players to ever walk the planet, but that doesn't mean that he's perfect, and to suggest that he is not shouldn't result in a cyber-stoning on the web.

I have been ostracized for suggesting that Kobe should depend on his teammates a little more, and his jump shot a little less, but Bryant's league of fanatical followers will have none of it.

Every Bryant mistake or criticism is usually explained by what his teammates, his coaches or the referees are not doing, but those same people hardly ever offer any suggestions on how Bryant might adapt his game to make the Lakers stronger.

I'm not really that big on statistics since they can usually be skewed to support any argument, but the fact that Bryant takes more shots from the field than any other player in the league and only connects on 42 percent of them is troubling.

The Lakers greatest advantage in the postseason will be the size, strength and skill of Bynum and Gasol in the paint. Hopefully Bryant realizes this—even if his fans can't seem to grasp this concept.

2. Kobe Fans Will Never Fully Acknowledge His Role in the Shaq Divorce

I decided long ago that former Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal deserved most of the blame for the dissolution of what could have been one of the game's most dominant tandems of all time, but I do recognize Kobe's role in the divorce.

Allegations of a physical assault by Shaq and continued threats of violence against Bryant means that O'Neal actions may have been more egregious, but Bryant's youth and immaturity certainly didn't help the situation.

One of the biggest tell-tale signs of youth is brashness, and a little maturity may have helped Bryant approach his relationship with Shaq in a different manner.

Instead of publicly criticizing Shaq's work ethic Bryant could have pulled him aside and encouraged him as a teammate to focus more on his game.

And Bryant certainly didn't have to throw Shaq under the bus when facing his own questions about marital infidelities.

Ultimately, Shaq garners most of the blame for the historic split since his stubbornness and unwillingness to accept a smaller payday was the primary reason he was shipped out of Los Angeles, but in the end the only real losers are Lakers fans.

There is no telling how many championships the Lakers may have won if Bryant and Shaq had been able to put aside their differences for the common good, and that little bit of speculation is more important than who was more at fault for the breakup.

1. Lakers Fans May Not Be Convinced That Kobe Is the Franchise's Greatest Player

It is widely assumed by some people that Kobe has already laid claim to the title of the greatest player in the history of the Lakers franchise, but there are some people who will beg to differ.

Bryant has certainly earned a spot among the top players in franchise history, but he didn't revolutionize the game like Magic Johnson did.

In my opinion, Magic may be the greatest player not only in Lakers history but the NBA in general for the simple fact there's never been another player to compare him to.

No one had ever seen a player with Magic's size, court vision and versatility, and while he did have the privilege of playing with NBA legends like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy, Magic still managed to craft a legacy that existed alone.

There is a wide consensus that says Magic is one of the top five players in NBA history, but this theory conflicts with the perception that Bryant has surpassed Magic as a Laker.

If Bryant has surpassed Magic as the greatest player in franchise history, does that mean he has passed Magic on the all-time player list as well?

I am not one of those old-timers who will say that Bryant can never be a greater player than Magic, but I will say that Bryant can never have the same overall impact on the game that Magic did.