Link to Article This guy rants on Kobe....its pretty funny. This is just some of the article, the rest I didn't copy but is also kinda funny. Good Read I think. Last night I realized that Kobe Bryant is my least-favorite player in the NBA. It doesn't really have anything to do with his off-court antics as much as it does his on-court shtick, which is just sickening. You know, how he always acts like he's on camera, how he's started wearing stockings this season, how he acts like he's bigger than the game, how he refuses to be a team player. When he fouled out last night I actually cackled aloud maniacally, surprising even myself. The thing is, he might be the most talented player in the NBA. When the Jazz were doubling him off of picks, he was somehow able to just dribble around them, like the defenders were standing still. His jump shot is beautiful, and he might be the best defensive guard in the League (when he wants to be). Why do I hate him? Besides the reasons I floated above, the main thing that bugs me about Kobe -- or "8" as he likes to refer to himself -- is that he completely ruins the game of basketball. Basketball is a TEAM game, and one player can't win by himself, as Kobe is proving definitively this season. He's taken at least 30 shots in 6 of his last 7 games. As they mentioned on TNT last night, Charles Barkley played something like 16 seasons in the NBA and took 30 shots in a game 3 times. And Reggie Miller never did it. Really. Even Iverson's only done it twice this season. Meanwhile, Kobe's running around out there firing up shots like his endorsements depend on it. It works for some guys, like AI, where the Sixers were built with Iverson's offensive dominance in mind and don't run an offense built on balance. (Plus, AI is shooting 5-percent higher from the floor than Kobe and has five double-figure assist games. Kobe has none.) The rest of the Lakers don't know what to do, which is obvious watching them play. Poor Smush Parker was actually playing well last night, but he'd get the ball on the wing and Kobe would run right at him demanding the rock. Smush would give it up and get out the way, and then watch as Kobe fired up an off-balance 22-footer over a double team. Lakers fever, catch it! When Kobe fouled out in overtime last night, the Lakers suddenly became fun to watch, with Lamar Odom, Sasha Vujacic and Smush being the key players. Sasha and Smush were especially compelling. We wouldn't know about them during most games because Kobe doesn't trust anyone other than himself to do anything. Which is why the Lakers are in last place in the Pacific Division. Oddly, the team Kobe pretended like he might sign with two years ago, the Clippers, are in first place. Go figure. What's Phil Jackson doing about all this? Who knows? He wrote a book bashing Kobe and then came back to coach him, so I'm assuming that during games he's thinking about motorcycle trips across New Zealand or all the money he's making to coach this shell of a team. Anything to dull the pain. It's not too late for Kobe. He's 27, got three titles. Let's say he suddenly decides to apply himself as a team player. He passes the ball, starts trying to involve his teammates. He gives interviews and is funny, he admits that he's made mistakes. Basically, he needs to give up control, the one thing he doesn't seem to be able to do without. In a way, he reminds me of Lennie in Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men. The Lakers are Kobe's puppy, and he loves to pet it. It's his, it does anything he asks it to do, and he loves having one of his very own. Only he can't stop petting it, and he keeps on and keeps on and then, all of a sudden, he realizes he crushed the sad thing and killed it. The Lakers are on life support right now. Let's see if Kobe keeps on petting or decides to be nice and play with everyone else. (By the way, want to know an interesting thing about watching Kobe in HD? His hairline is mad receding. He's clinging to it, though, trying to keep a tight front. I'll give him two years before he goes with the completely shaved look.)
This drives me crazy too. And the way after he makes a shot he jogs backwards down the court nodding his head and chewing his gum.
Kobe is Latin for CANCER! The guy’s ego is so big it's amazing he can even fit his big head in a stadium to play the game of basketball. This guy is the poster child for addition by subtraction. Is he talented? Yes, but he has no clue on how to win and if it wasn't for Shaq he'd still be looking for his 1st ring. PJ agreed to come back and I can't blame him Dr. Buss has a lot of money and his daughter is good looking to boot. He's not the Zen Master because he's stupid. I don't care where Kobe plays if he doesn't have major help from a dominant player like Shaq that team is incapable of winning. I remeber Kobe listing off the 5 greatest players in the game and the look on his face when he mentioned himself of course. Get over yourself man you are not bigger than the game. No single player is!
That's just Kobe, it describes him perfectly: a great scorer who doesn't make his teammates better, and in fact makes some worse (remember last year when Kobe went down, and Odom was playing like an all-star, only to disappear and regress once Kobe came back?) That's who he's, and he won't change much.
