If there is hate for a single player on this board it should only be directed to Karl Malone and Kermit Washington.
I remember like it was yesterday when the Spurs made him cry in 2003 lol. I hated this MF and the Lakers with a passion. 90's Utah Jazz and the Lakers have always been on my $hitlist. But I always respected Kobe Bean. He didn't fit the bright lights, big city Hollywood Lakers culture. As soon as he was drafted in '96, he went to work. The celebrity bullshyt never got to his head and he never turned into a Hollywood basketball diva. It was all about the game and he put everything into it. Growing up I didn't appreciate Jordan until his last year in the league, so I made sure to appreciate Kobe DESPITE being a massive Laker hater. The overall knowledge (on and off court) he gave in the past several years is treasured, not to mention him being the ultimate ambassador of the game of basketball for both men and women. I really hope the next crop of players will step up and continue handing out knowledge like that. Yeah he wasn't perfect and certainly made mistakes, but he morphed into what most see him as today. He was an all around good dude and father. Stil can't believe what happened.
This is wierd to me. It feels like every basketball accomplishment will be atribbuted to Kobe now until the end of time.
Look, Kobe told Giannis to get a championship, so clearly that was the reason Giannis did it. Other players that haven't been told that by Kobe don't really care... duh
Was listening to a Naomi Osaka documentary review, similar connection to Kobe was mentioned. Haven't seen the doc, so I don't know. Sometimes I can't tell if two athletes actually had a close relationship. LIke worked out together in the summer, talk on the phone weekly vs. a tweet of encouragement / few words exchanged on bball court. Wasn't Giannis known for working out by himself not with other superstars? Did the narrative change.
I'm really confused as to who Kobe was more of a mentor to, Devin Booker or Giannis A? It doesn't really matter I guess.
Rockets take Jalen Green #2. Gianna Bryant wore #2. “They” say Jalen is the next Kobe (aka Green Mamba).
It's grim, but it's the most plausible way Green could become the "next Kobe". I'm just trying to make sense of nonsensical hype.
I'm obviously a Green fan and hope he's the pick at 2 but I don't understand the Kobe comparisons. He's closer to Vince Carter if we're going by retired guys (VC was a better athlete imo)
