He does that even when he gets the calls. Kobe is the biggest "verbal flopper" in NBA history, and the disgusting thing is that it has rubbed off onto all of his teammates too. Wasn't the NBA supposed to cut down on this crap with more Ts? Or does that not apply to Kobe?
That's the problem with Stern's league. There is no integrity whatsoever because his storm troopers, the officials, have a different set of rules for so called "superstars" vs. the rest of the players. The preferential calls are often covered up by the euphemism "respect by the officials". Whatever denials made by the NBA about these calls they are often cited by writers, sportscasters, players, bloggers and the fans in general. Even the subject players themselves play and act like they are entitled to these preferential calls. This whole deal, no matter how they call it, is nothing but a way to fix the games for obvious bottomline reasons. The sad thing is that this con by the league seems to be accepted by everyone as a matter of course. It is just disgusting.
It goes WAAAAAY beyond mere superstar treatment in games! I am looking forward to the day when this all comes out. Donaghy tried, but was quickly shutdown. It is obviously in the best interest of the league to have the Kobe & the Lakers go deep, because pretty much every fan either loves them or hates them and that is what gets ratings. I'm sure Stern was ****ting his pants when we had Detroit, San Antonio, and Miami set record low Finals ratings earlier this decade.. and lo and behold, the league gift wrapped Gasol to the Lakers to put them back on top. Makes you wonder, eh?
Kobe hasn't had much, if any preferential treatment this year...think he's had at least two games where he had 0 FTA. The OP posted that vid to show a glaring example of that trend. Ya sure you can argue that by the books it's not technically a foul, but I can guarantee that if that had been LBJ or Wade driving, it would have been an automatic 2 shots, if not a flagrant. You people let your hate blind you from seeing this...i mean it's pretty logical if you think about it. Kobe's a 15 year veteran, and if there was such a thing as "respect" from the refs, he'd have gotten that call. But that's not how the NBA works. True that Kobe can still be considered a superstar, but he isn't the face of the NBA anymore, and by consequence isn't gonna get "superstar calls" on a nightly basis. Plus refs always tend to favor the home team...I watched that OKC game, and there were some questionable calls, no doubt. Here's a vid of a foul on Bryant from the same game. Now that's "disgusting" <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gQpOaT8CRtU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Seriously though, Kobe's matured alot..he doesn't complain nearly as much as you think he does...And plus all superstars complain...just look at LBJ's reaction in this vid after what obviously was a travel. <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/je08Dc6FfYk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Moral of the story: Don't hate, appreciate
You have got to be kidding me. Kobe is the #1 vote getter every year for the ASG. He's the most popular player in the league and the player most non-fans have heard of. Of course he's in the NBA's marketing plans. Not only that, the league has a huge interest in seeing him do well because the Lakers go as he goes, and if the Lakers get booted before the Finals the NBA loses tons of interest & tv revenue. Anyone can pick and choose clips where players get bogus calls and get screwed out of calls. Just tonight, Wade, who gets tons of bogus calls, got screwed on a critical possession in the last few minutes (where Howard clearly hacked him). Here's a classic Kobe moment: <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/saVxJWeVcVU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> I mean, have you ever seen such a BS call in the closing moments of a game.. on the road?
Perhaps, but I've forgotten more about basketball than you or the other Kobe nuthuggers here will ever know.
I don't get your sentence...And just because I'm not acute to the "fact" that LeBron is superior in every facet to Kobe doesn't mean I'm a nuthugger. Note how I never label LeBron as a "crybaby", "rapist", etc etc...I try to be as neutral and objective as possible, that's called being a rational fan (oxymoronic perhaps, but a noble pursuit IMO) . At this point I find it pointless to argue with you. In fact the only reason I posted in this thread was because the Kobe hate was growing out of control, and simple wished to inject some sanity back... but it seems to me that hating is all you can do..so whatever. I'm done.
I don't hate the guy. I just think he's overrated. And his fan patrol is annoying. The problem with guys like Kobe (and MJ before him... although at least MJ was efficient) is that kids emulate them on the court and forget that there are four other guys on the team. If you play pickup ball you'll see this all the time. There was a time when this was not the normal idol for prospective basketball players. For all the people who mock LeBron for being a mere "athlete", he plays a heck of a lot more balanced game than Kobe.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="380" height="290" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PetqKh7lr8g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="380" height="290" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_n5E7feJHw0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Trust me, I know...Everytime I play bball there's always some douchbag who won't pass and does silly fade-aways while yelling "Koobee"..But to hold Kobe alone accountable is just not right. Guys like MJ, Kob, AI, etc will always cause stupid people to try to be all heroic and Shiz while being completely oblivious to the fact that these players (cept AI lol) all had to put in their share of hard work off the court...IMO Kobe especially. Being a Kobe patrol patroler is no better than the idiots themselves, it just makes you seem fanatical and having nothing better to do. Like i said, we should all just be fans of the game, and not be bitter about who is better and whatnot. We should all try to get along...and have some tea http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsaaZZoc5LI&feature=related
really? or is this a joke? what about the series vs kings? the refs "respected" kobe and the lakers, by fixing that series. and how about nba finals 2010 game 7 In the first 3 qtrs, Lakers averaged 5 FTs attempts, and the in the 4th qtr, the lakers got 21 FTs attempts. the 21 FTs attempts was the most FT attempts a team had in a quarter in the entire 2010 nba playoffs!!
