Kobe Bryant, One Win Away From Cementing Legacy?
Does winning a 5th title put Kobe in the discussion of the greatest player of all-time? We all know this is blasphemous to even consider, especially with the fact that some will always point to Michael Jordon or Magic Johnson. But I will be the first to venture into this argument. Kobe has a chance to quiet his critics and shut-up all his doubters by beating a Celtics team that by all accounts humiliated him two years ago in the finals.
During those finals, Kobe came up well short of his idol Jordan. His performance in those finals led critics to once again claim that there is only one Jordan and that he would have never let his team play so poorly. As much as I love Kobe, Jordan never lost in the finals and every time his team was in the finals, nobody thought they would lose which cannot be said about Kobe.
In 2004 when the Lakers played the Pistons, Kobe showed his immaturity and lack of patience by continuing to throw up bricks and completely ignore the one advantage they had in that series, Shaq. One loss in the finals isn’t so bad but it set up the chain of events which led to a decrease in Kobe’s popularity. Sure there was the rape allegations which some will contend led to his decline in the public view, but it was his contentious battle with Shaq that eroded fans love in him.
If you ask anybody off the street about that split, the majority will claim that Kobe broke up the greatest 1-2 combo in NBA history and chased away the greatest coach in NBA history. This is why it was so imperative that Kobe won a title last year because people could no longer say he couldn’t win without Shaquille. But let’s face it that Magic team was not as good as the Celtics team they lost to in 2008 nor was it better than the Celtics team these Lakers are about to face. Win this title and Kobe’s name will be mentioned in the same breath as Michael Jordon and Magic Johnson.
It will force even the biggest of critics to finally admit that the skill and artistry of Kobe’s game is better than we have ever seen in the game before. Win this title, and Kobe enters rarefied air that is only claimed by his “airness.” Now even I will admit that even if Kobe wins more titles or scores more points than Jordan, most will still say that Jordan was better. But that would be blind love.
I hate to put all the pressure on a man that I have loved watching since he came into the league and won the slam-dunk competition, but the pressure is there. He has a chance to raise his profile in the minds of all those who still view him as the instigator in the break-up of the dynamic duo in Shaq and coach Jackson. Kobe, win and you are instantly in the discussion and a legend. Lose and you will be viewed as a player with great skill but not having the ability of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson to transcend the game.
