Technically Speaking…Kobe Bryant a Spoiled Superstar?

Welcome to Anger Management Therapy, Mr. Bryant. My name is Doctor Jackson. You can call me Phil, or you can call me P.J. But don't call me Jackson.

Now I want you to think back to your childhood. Did you have any issues with your parents? Yes, you know, did one of them punish you for something you didn’t do?

Did they take your favorite toy away? Or send you to bed without your dinner?

Then why don’t you show them how you feel? Yes, right now. Express your anger. Drop your jaw. Make an angry face. Snarl and wave your hands. That’s it. Now make a sound. Very good.

Okay, tell me how you feel about authority figures. Yes, was there a teacher perhaps who blamed you unjustly for something that another student did?

Hmm, I see. Well, go ahead. Express your anger. You know the drill.

All right. Now I’m going to say a word, and I want you to say the first thing that comes to mind.

Shaq?...Overrated!

Jerry Buss?...Traitor!

Referee?...Retarded

Colorado?  Uh, Mr. Bryant?  Mr. Bryant, you can get off the floor. We have some nice thick pillows in the corner that you can pound.

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No one can argue that Kobe Bryant is not one of the greatest players to ever put on an NBA uniform. And who can deny that this 10-time All Star doesn't deserve MVP consideration? Still some feel that voters over the years have done a disservice to Bryant having not selected him in prior years as an MVP.

But Kobe Bryant is his own worst enemy.

Though he is 29 years-old and has been in the NBA for ten years, he more often than not acts like he is still in Lower Merion High School.

A prolific scorer, Bryant has also gained a reputation among league officials, his peers and the fans as a prolific complainer.

Wednesday night's game against the lowly Bobcats serves as a perfect example of how Bryant often lets his emotions run unabated.

With the Lakers playing a very flat game, lacking in tenacity and intensity, Bryant went on a tirade with four minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers, who trailed the Bobcats from start to finish, had pulled to within three points 84-81 at the 7:45 mark. Then the Bobcats went on a 16-5 run capped off by a four-point play by Matt Carroll.

At that point, Bryant let his emotions get the best of him. He picked up two technical fouls in the span of 29 seconds for arguing the foul call. Then Bryant kicked the ball at David Jones, the official, and Jones tossed Bryant out with 3:40 remaining.

Childish? No doubt. Frustrated? Beyond belief. Bryant was a woeful 8 of 22 for the night. Although he had scored the first 15 points to start the third quarter for the Lakers, he was scoreless in the fourth.

On the season, he has amassed 15 technical fouls. That's an average of one technical every 6 games. One more and Bryant must sit out a game.

Does Bryant feel like his outstanding abilities make him privileged?  I don't know.  Perhaps. Sometimes he certainly acts as though he is privileged.

What I do know is that Bryant happens to be the self-proclaimed leader of the Lakers. He has said that many times. He is the team captain.

Well, a leader leads by example. A professional acts professionally. Bryant needs to find a professional way to communicate his feelings to the officials and end this immature behavior.

Bryant has acted immaturely and unprofessionally on the court for way too long. His refusal to meet with reporters after the game with the Bobcats and after team practice yesterday is just another example of his childish ways.

The team leader, the Laker captain, has no business giving reporters a cold shoulder and running off. He needs to be held accountable for his actions. The fans deserve an answer as to why he has behaved in such a manner.

Officials are by no means perfect. As many calls go the Lakers’ way as go against them. In fact, Stu Jackson, the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations, admitted that a charging foul against the Warriors Monta Ellis that gave the Lakers the win Monday night was a mistake.

After viewing the video, Jackson said the call should have been a blocking foul against the Lakers’ Derek Fisher.

I didn’t hear Bryant complain on that one. Of course not, it went the Lakers’ way.

If his rash of technical fouls and his immature behavior cost him the MVP, Bryant has no one to blame but himself. I don’t deny that he is a fantastic player, a legend, a future Hall of Famer. But he needs to grow up. And, for the Lakers sake, it had better be fast.