Kobe Bryant Showing Road Back to Superstardom Will Be an Uphill Climb
Kobe Bryant is playing NBA basketball, a victory in itself for a man with his injury history and mileage. But what we've seen in the preseason so far indicates he's got a long way to go before he ever plays it as effectively as he once did.
And as much as it hurts to say so, the Kobe we used to know, the superstar so many revered, may be gone forever.
Through three exhibition tilts, Bryant has produced mixed results.
Bryant's Struggles
He has connected on just 13 of his 36 total field-goal attempts, and he appears unable to get into the lane off the dribble. This isn't altogether unexpected, but Bryant's total lack of lift has robbed him of the ability to generate easy shots—a problem made worse by the fact that so few of his Los Angeles Lakers teammates can create some for him.
Still, a torn Achilles and broken leg (Bryant's two most recent injuries) would have ended the careers of most players his age. And the version of Kobe we're watching today looks pretty darn good for a 36-year-old guard—even a healthy one.
In that regard, this non-superstar Bryant remains remarkable.
But the shots Bryant is taking...man. To call them tough is a gross understatement. The contested fall-away flings are difficult to describe. In some ways, watching Bryant shoot them is like watching Kevin Garnett run the floor: The movements are the same, but the speed and bounce just aren't there.
In another comparison that strikes closer to home for the Lakers, watching Bryant shoot those leaned-back faders is like watching Steve Nash navigate his way into the lane. The things he's doing are aesthetically similar, but the degree of difficulty is immeasurably greater than it used to be.
Bryant's worst career field-goal percentage was the 41.7 percent he shot as a rookie. In his abbreviated 2013-14 campaign, he connected at a 42.5 percent clip. Those modest figures seem out of reach now, and his overall efficiency will likely suffer even more because he appears to lack the quickness to work his way to the foul line.
You can make the argument, as Lakers head coach Byron Scott has on ESPN Radio, via Matt Moore of CBSSports.com, that Bryant will be in better shape by opening night: "He's in terrific shape. That's what I love about him. He came with the right attitude from day one. I think in the next few weeks he'll get better and stronger, and be ready for the regular season."
That's a tough sell because it relies on a pair of faulty presumptions: first, that Bryant didn't practically kill himself to get into the shape he's currently in, and second, that it's possible for legs with over 54,000 minutes on them (regular season and playoffs combined) to gain strength with even more wear.
Bryant could get technically sharper as he knocks off the rust, but saying his legs can be played into shape seems far-fetched at this stage.
Scott's insistence on limiting the Lakers' three-point attempts won't help either. If defenses don't have to worry about L.A. shooting triples, they'll have all the more reason to send an extra defender at Bryant on the block.
Of course, even if the Lakers were willing to fire away from deep, their lack of accomplished marksmen might result in defenses taking the same post-focused approach anyway.
Another Superstar Trait
Maybe there's another way to view Bryant's climb back to superstardom. Maybe we need to take a broader view of his place in NBA lore, of his legacy as a whole. Frankly, we have to do that because there's almost no credible argument for his chances to return to conventional on-court superstardom this season.
If you think about it, Bryant's career has been missing something to this point. It's been lacking a rare and laudable quality that many previous NBA luminaries have possessed.
Bryant hasn't done much to foster the growth of his teammates—especially the younger ones.
According to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, that's changing:
"Bryant has never had the patience for others to learn on job, not on his watch. He has always been too busy thinking about winning another championship and building on his legacy.
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But in the twilight of his career and on a team that in his heart of hearts he knows isn’t destined for a title, he has changed his ways.
He has embraced his role as a mentor, a leader and a teacher on a young Los Angeles Lakers team in desperate need of all of the above.
That's a distinctly new development in Bryant's career, and while it's not fair to say his surefire Hall of Fame credentials need boosting, what Kobe is doing now could serve as ammunition against critics claiming he was selfish and never made teammates better.
Granted, barbs like that have had the ring of truth for most of his career, and his newly selfless humility comes largely because he can't dominate on his own anymore. Still, it's meaningful.
Precious few Bryant teammates of the past would have ever said something like what Jeremy Lin revealed to Markazi:
"He's pushing me and he's demanding a lot from me. He’s definitely taken on a mentorship role for me on the court. That's something that I don't think I've had in my previous four years in the league. It's just nice to have somebody who is pushing me and helping me and teaching me the tricks. It's also nice when he's one of the best to ever do it.
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Bryant's magnanimity has even extended to opponents:
Not only did Bryant seem genuine in his congratulations for Stephen Curry's ridiculous in-your-face triple, but he also sent a message to the younger Lakers. Kobe wouldn't have even been in position for Curry to drop that long-range bomb on him if he hadn't taken the challenge of picking up the Golden State Warriors sniping stud full-court.
After watching Curry torch teammates, Bryant gave his best effort.
He failed to slow down Curry, but he succeeded in another respect: showing the young Lakers the nobility of attacking a challenge—the more difficult, the better.
Making a Mark
There's value in what Bryant's doing these days.
Superstars leave marks on the game. They change it, and they change the players they played with for the better.
Kobe racked up titles and individual honors during the first 18 years of his career, leaving plenty of marks in the process. Now, by helping teammates, setting examples and paying his vast stockpile of knowledge forward, he's leaving his superstar mark in a new way.
So even if Bryant's uphill climb to stardom proves too steep, he'll still add to his legacy this season.
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