King of the NBA's Media Jungle: Black Mamba Kobe Bryant Vs. His Airness

It is common place for figures in the media to say, "Kobe is not MJ but he is the closest thing to MJ!" This brings up the question, what does The Black Mamba have to do to surpass or be seen on the same level as His Airness?

As we all know Kobe Bryant will never be the media darling that he once was before....well you know. This seems to be the very reason why Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan get the pass as the greatest of all time (not saying they aren't), because the media and the public loves them unconditionally.

I seriously do feel that this counts for something in the discussion of who is the greatest player or greatest Laker of all time.

Jeff Van Gundy was quoted as saying, "Some media critics do not want to give [Kobe] the credit he is due." I think JVG was spot on.

Lets think about, LeBron James has been passed the torch (and the crown) and has really only won the Most Popular Player Award, or MVP as they still try to call it now, twice. LeBron has failed in the last two playoffs and basically quit against the Celtics, but the media still calls him the best on the planet. Kobe had to win a fifth title before some say, "Oh yeah, I guess Kobe is still the best."

As a sidenote: Tim Duncan suffers from lack of media driven attention because, frankly, he is boring. All-time great, but boring.

LeBron has the media wrapped around his finger and Kobe really doesn't smile until he achieves his goal of winning the championship each year.

Ron Artest was treated more as a media darling than Kobe after the NBA Finals. I rather enjoyed Ron Artest, so Queensbridge to everyone!

It would be a true statement to say the media drives our opinions. If 100 commentators and broadcasters say LeBron is the greatest player on the planet and Kobe will never be as great as MJ, then it is certain thousands of fans are going to follow suit and believe just that and repeat the cycle.

I just find it funny that many media members seem to not even acknowledge that Kobe is close to Jordan.

I mean they both have never won without Phil Jackson. MJ won with a Hall of Famer as his main man (Scottie Pippen), and Kobe with Shaq, but Kobe is now winning with a not-so-Hall-of-Famer, but great player, in Pau Gasol. Magic never won without Jabbar, but there are countless media types that say Magic will always be the greatest Laker.

Why, because he smiles more than Kobe? It sure isn't because he talks better.

We want our greatest of all time to be an all around nice guy without flaws. Or we just want to think he has no flaws.

MJ and Magic are beloved figures, but their closets are no cleaner than Kobe's.

I am sure that MJ's list is close to Tiger Woods' list of how many holes he has putted outside of marriage, and lets not forget how Magic got HIV. The problem is while Kobe has done wonders to recover his image, the media and marketers to a certain aspect still handle Kobe with care. In my opinion Kobe will never be seen as the greatest Laker, or the greatest player, no matter how much he wins, based on the fact that he is just not as likable as MJ and Magic.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the all-time leading scorer and six-time champ, but he is rarely called the greatest of all time or even the greatest Laker. Why? Well, Kareem is very likable, but he is no where near MJ or Magic in that department of likable. Only Jordan can get away with selling t-shirts with a Hitler mustache.

All the dirt that MJ did never really became a media spectacle like Kobe and Eagle, Colorado. Plus we lived in a slightly different time and the media is a bit more aggressive in today's 24 hour cycle, and MJ's heyday was at the beginning of this current media frenzy era.

Just think of this, if LeBron had five rings the media would be crafting a statue in his honor in cities across America. People already compare LeBron to Magic and Jordan, but Kobe is the one with the qualifications to be compared.

Magic and Jerry West have said something to the manner of, Kobe is the greatest Laker, but media types like Stuart Scott (who needs to remove his head from Magic's ass every once and again) and Michael Wilbon actively deny those claims by West and Magic.

So it seems to me that Kobe is not battling the ghost of MJ's or Magic's past, Kobe is battling the ever watchful and critical eye of today's media figures.

I don't think the greatest closer in the game can close out that battle.