This goes out to all the Kobe Bryant haters and Michael Jordan fanatics out there. Let me first state that M.J. is the G.O.A.T. of my generation (80s, 90s, 2000s excluding those Wizards years) there will never be another M.J. for he was the first to do a lot with the game by revolutionizing the way the game is played 1. being the first successful do it all scorer 2. being the rare combination at 66 of speed, strength, offensive and defensive successful player that wasnt seen before and is the exception now 3. Changing the way people view basketball shoes, commercials and taking NIKE to another level (cuz MJ was an Adidas guy way before the swoosh) 4. Taking the game to whole new level globally etc, etc...but you get my point. So when I hear Kobe is not and never will be Jordan is a big FAT DUH! no s**t sherlock, no one will ever be (currently), for Jordan did a lot things 1st that wasnt seen before and his accomplishments came at a time where it was almost a perfect setting for him within that era of basketball and the way it was played, viewed, etc... But that is in no way a reason to knock the accomplishments of the G.O.A.T of this generation Kobe Bryant. We all know of the off the court issues that sprung in Colorado, he was colossal A-hole as a teammate at times, threw Shaq under the bus, selfish, egotistical, cocky and a Me first player and played a integral part in breaking up what is arguably the greatest duo in basketball history. But I say to you (who actually watch the game of basketball and not just individual players) what great player who is in the H.O.F. or a perennial All-Star didnt exhibit the same traits? Im not gonna go into every detail of every little nuance to make a case for Kobe but lets take a look at some of the ones I see frequently. They say he bit off Jordan and stole all his moves. Well you know what I say... HELL YES! and he does some of them better (check the footwork and work ethic in the gym and the weight room and Im not gonna tell you about ripping his teammates at practice) it is on par if not better than Jordans (just ask Phil Jackson) I mean if M.J. is the G.O.A.T. who else everybody gunning to be the best is gonna mimic... Bo Kimble? Alvin Robertson? Robert Pack? LaPhonso Ellis!?! (shouts to LaPhonso I did like his game back in the day with the nuggets) but in order to be the best you have to watch the best and take what they did and use it for your own benefit and/or make it better. But M.J. isnt the only one he stole moves from. He stole a page from Akeem Olajuwon, Magic Johnson (the other M.J.), Allen Iverson, Skip to my Lou (Rafer Alston) for those born after the 90s, God Shamgod etc... the list goes on but what Im trying to convey is everybody bites, but hey if you can do the same moves, make it work and look good to your advantage more power to you. To those who say Kobe doesnt pass the ball...well yeah have you seen some of the squads Kobe has been teammates with on occasions in 2006 Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, Vladimir Radmonivic? or lets take this years squad of Jeremy Lin, Xavier Henry, Carlos Boozer (BOO THIS MAN), Ronnie Price etc... ugh and yuck... I wouldnt pass to these soft players either and if your not pulling your weight I TOO would go on YouTube and say trade these fools and ship em on the next train to loserville. But I ask you who has 32,284 points, 6,716 rebounds and 6,041 assist and still climbing and was the first to do it? Let me repeat THE FIRST TO DO IT? Ill wait for your answer... Kobe Bryant thats who. To say the man doesnt pass is a bunch of malarkey and you my friend are blind to the greatness that is Kobe and your hateful tunnel vision overwhelms the blatant disrespect for the mans skill set. To those who say it took him longer to score those points and set records like M.J. and he left the game for 2 years. Lets again look at Kobes road and M.J.s road. When M.J. came in as a rookie his best teammate I believe was Orlando Woolridge so by default M.J. (although a stud) was thrusted as the guy from the start and history was made. Kobe didnt get the official green light until his 3rd year when he became an official starter and playing second fiddle to most dominate BIG MAN of this generation Shaquille ONeal. In addition, those lost season(s) due to injury (Achilles, Knee) some people fail to remember these accomplishment could have happen sooner if things fell a certain way, but you dealt the hand you get and Kobe dealt with it. Furthermore, like M.J. Kobe plays through various injuries and comes to play everyday like M.J. whereas nowadays players have abdominal cramps and want to sit out 2 weeks for their menstrual cycle flaring up. They also said Kobe couldnt win it without Shaq, but do you think Shaq could win it without Kobe? I recall a couple playoffs where Shaq being the most dominate Big of this generation got into foul trouble and who bailed him and the Lakers out? Kobe, who turned the tide when Portland had their figurative foot on the Lakers throat? Kobes pass to Shaq which turned the tide and started a 3-peat. Kobe has proven to win on the biggest stage as the Alpha Dog and I dont want to hear that M.J. did it by himself (Pippen, Horace Grant, BJ Armstrong, Paxson, Kerr, Rodman, Craig Hodges, Toni Kukoc) would all have a varied opinion of that. There is no denying the individual accomplishments of M.J. (please go look at M.J.s stats in 84 I believe where he took MVP and D.P.O.Y) I too am still in awe of that accomplishment and I dont think anybody will top that for a long time and its easy to envision Jordan winning the MVP every year. But on the other hand I saw Kobe being great in the wrong time. We can talk all day which era was better, the style of play, but I believe the talent pool was richer than it was back in the day and Kobe (in my opinion) winning only 1 MVP is a travesty. Thats not to say M.J. didnt deserve his, but I believe Kobe deserved more (MVPs) at least. There are a plethora of examples I could go on and on with, but I would like to convey is Kobe like M.J. represents the last of the old regime of being the dominate scorer, participating in the dunk contest when it was hot, playing every game like its his last (go check Kobes 2006 season when those rape charges came up) Kobe played every game like he was going to jail after the game and went on a tear multiple 40+ 60+ and threw in a 81 game (and that game was won when the Lakers were down) for good measure. He is the last of that good draft class who came in with him (Marcus Camby, Allen Iverson, Sharif-Abdul Raheem, Stephon Marbury, Jesus Shuttlesworth (pending) Antoine Walker, Lorenzen Wright, Kerry Kittles (was a huge fan of him at Villanova), Peja Stojakovic, Steve Nash, Jermaine ONeal, Zydrunas Illgauskas and Derek Fisher*) where are they at now? either coaching, retired, overseas in china or out the league and bus stop broke. Kobe has played a successful 19 seasons and is still consider a top player outside of some of the varied opinion of some ESPN pundits to be playing at a high level (albeit his efficiency is terrible) at the young age of 36 while still being relevant to the young guns of this generation. Name me one player at 36 beastin past or present playing at the level Kobe is currently playing at? In the end, The G.O.A.T. himself gave Kobe the blessing as being the nearest in terms of playing like him or becoming the closest thing to him in accomplishments, will to win, knowledge of the game and sheer killing instinct. That in itself is like being made into the mafia by the Godfather himself. I just say enjoy the ride that is Kobe Bean Bryant for you may never see this type of player again. (I say they come every 10-15 years). Feel free to input your educated thoughts or biased hate DLabrie Eog & Nate Costa, various Warrior, Celtic, Kings fans.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 16:37:41 +0000
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