The following excerpt is from Kobe Bryant's first-person cover story in Issue #22 of Dime. My biggest fear is not winning another title. But fear is a great motivator. I'm determined to lead this organization back to the top. The people who once celebrated me are the same people who doubt me now. They say that because I don't have Shaq that I can't win, that it's over. The only thing I truly worry about is that my drive and my will are sometimes too much for my teammates to handle. Do I expect too much from them? How can I elevate them to play with my same passion every night? What helps me understand and deal with this is the fact that I was once in their shoes. I once played a supporting role on this team. Back then I knew how much pressure Shaquille had on him to win a ring and I also knew I could help. So I studied the game offensively and especially defensively because I knew that if I could harass on the perimeter with him clogging the lane, it would demoralize our opponents more than anything we could do offensively. I also knew that the teams he played on in the past did not have a closer. No one could take the game over down the stretch or hit the game winner or make the key free throws. Those were Shaq's weaknesses, so I had to step up and make them my strengths. I knew how much more I could bring to the battle, but that wasn't my role. I was a scorer who became a facilitator in order to win. But now I worry because I know how hard that was for me to learn, how many sleepless nights I had and how much criticism and trade rumors I had to endure before I mastered my role. This is probably what my current teammates are going through. All I can do is pray that one day we will reach the same level of chemistry and understanding that existed between me, Shaq, Rick Fox, Derek Fisher, Robert Horry and all the other players I once went to war with. The fears I have are soothed a little by the presence of Phil Jackson. Simply put: He is the best coach I have ever played for. Everything I have learned about the game can be traced to him and Tex Winter. They teach the game at such a deeper level than X's and O's. The game is a rhythm, a dance. Phil and Tex have taught me to feel the game. To think the game without thinking, to see without seeing. They taught me how to prepare. How to conceptualize the spirit of my opponents and attack them where they are weak. "I take it to the other team on both ends of the floor. I take pride in being able to do that. I HATE being scored on, even by players who some say are 'un-guardable.'" I've seen how prepared PJ gets before games, and as the on-court leader he is trusting me to do the same. So I do all the things he has taught me to do before tipoff and once the ball is in the air my mind is at ease and my body is ready to play. I take it to the other team on both ends of the floor. I take pride in being able to do that. I HATE being scored on, even by players who some say are "un-guardable." I don't believe it when they say "Oh, that player is just hot today." F--- that! Cool his ass off then. When we play on the road and the entire crowd is booing me it doesn't bother me at all. What I think about is simple: "When these fans leave this game I want them to remember how hard I fought and the passion and drive with which I played." I have always played this game with passion. And I always worked hard. When I saw the movie Rudy I remember thinking, "What if I worked that hard?" God has blessed me both physically and intellectually to play this game, so what would happen if I push as hard as the character in this film? I would love for people to think of me as a talented overachiever. Even though those fans may chant "Kobe sucks" when they leave that arena I want them to walk out with a different feeling than they came in with. When they leave they'll leave with the understanding that they have just witnessed a player give himself completely to his passion; they have just watched an athlete pour every ounce of his heart and soul out on that floor. And hopefully, when the next volume of my life is all said and done, they will respect and appreciate the years that I spent giving all of me to the game that means everything to me. _______________________________________________ http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5301340
Damn, I cannot find anything to disagree with about this article and that pisses me off. I want to hate Kobe so much but after reading this..... (gulp).... I think I respect him even more.
Bash your teammates in the media, Kobe. Good idea. That'll get the results you're looking for. uuhh.... that was one team, Kobe. The Magic. I guess Penny Hardaway was a complete nobody back then, eh? (I guess everybody's a nobody in Kobe's eyes). Kobe = conceited Ooooo... they're lowly grunts who are, today, at a place where you were years ago. You're so much more advanced than them! Ass. Uhh... if I remember correctly, they played well on the court, but their chemisty sucked. Kobe = conceited With that chip on your shoulder, don't count on it, ass. _______________________________________________ http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5301340[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE] that article was a little self-promoting and arrogant but a couple of things about your responses. first of all, penny had a great couple of years, but he was never the player kobe has been for the last 6 seasons, and as good as he was, he didn't have kobe's will to close out games. kobe's chip on his shoulder right now helps him be arguably the best player in the nba. its what separates him from everyone else right now. he shouldn't have criticized his teamates, but when Lamar odom is your second best player, motivation everyone night is a concern for his teamates, at least matching his.
This is a great piece of writing. Kobe is one of the few players in the NBA who lives and breathes the game of basketball. It is his life. He's talented, but also 100% prepared. If he isn't playing, hes working on his game whether that be physically or mentally. It would be cool if all NBA players shared his passion about the game. Its safe to say that Kobe plays basketball for more than just a paycheck. After all he has been thru and all the people who boo and bash him, it would be easy to just give up and coast, but not Kobe, he continues to get better if thats even possible.
He did say all the right things. Damn, those are just too right, and too rosey, that you hear every NBA super star saying it once in a while, of course they had to remove the title parts. I don't even know what I want to say But when he's right, he's right.
Penny was great for a couple of years, and in those days, he did close out games. Was he as good then as Kobe is now. No. I never said he was. But Kobe said that, on that Magic team "no one could take the game over down the stretch or hit the game winner or make the key free throws" and that's just not true - Penny did that, and helped take them to a championship doing it (though they didn't win). "best scorer" doesn't mean "best player". Kobe is the best scorer. But not even close to being the best player.
i think it's his desire and competitiveness that set him apart from his peers. when kobe and mcgrady were both still young and super athletic, it was clear that mcgrady had the superior athletcism and physical build to be a dominant 2 guard. both have lost a step, athletically, since they have gone through so much wear and tear over the years. but they're both continuing to evolve their games as they get older, as jordan did. it's clear he cares about winning and it's not just lip service--i just don't think he's as intimidating as jordan, physically or mentally, to scare his teammates into doing his bidding like jordan did. plus, jordan was able to taken pippen under his wing immediately, molding him to his purposes and making him a loyal ally/"little brother" until the last championship. kobe has no ally like that--odom, even when he's playing well, has none of the passion required to back up kobe. with a proper running mate, i think he'll give up his scoring load and share the wealth--judging from his words, i think he realizes he'll never win another championship without another hall of fame caliber player at his side, like pippen. but time is running out. like mcgrady, kobe is probably closer to 30 in basketball years. jerry west thought that devean george might eventually play the pippen role when shaq got too old--he was obviously wrong. regarding hardaway, in his early years, he was equal to the young kobe in talent and skill. but he didn't seem to have the fearlessness that kobe did in the playoffs--too nice of a guy, it seems. he did have an amazing playoff series the year after shaq left orlando, though.
Shut up droxford. Just shut up. Just picking at any little thing you can is absurd. I thought you were joking at first, but then realised you were just an idiot. Ok so you dont think he is the best player? Thats fine. Your opinion. But you agreed that he was the best scorer.... then went on to say he isnt even close to being the best! Well i think he is pretty damn close. Top 5 players in the game easy! Which player in recent history has led the league in scoring and NOT been considered 'one of' the best?? I dont care if you dont like him as a person or whatever your beef with him is. He is flat-out one of the best BASKETBALL PLAYERS in the NBA.
i always have great respect for that last lakers championship team, particularly in the series against the kings. shaq had finally begun to decline, horry, fox and fisher were all fading as championship level players (although horry still has his moments, amazingly), and kobe had to step up in the playoffs as the leader. it wasn't pretty, but he did it. i still don't think he's the "greatest" at any one thing--shooting, athleticism, dribbling, defense, etc.--but along with iverson, he's one of the few players that will give their all during the game, no matter the score. he obviously hates to lose, like iverson. unfortunately, his oddball and reclusive personality make people hate him--people either find him too cocky or too "white/suburban/middle class", depending on your stereotypes. but, as some writers have speculated, he probably enjoys the criticism as motivation.
his small hands have definitely hampered his ability to become a great finisher inside like jordan, however. jordan was able to swoop in, take the contact, and finish with one hand because of his strength. the other hand was used for pushing off or warding off the defender as the shot was attempted. kobe doesn't have that luxury. when kobe gets fouled hard inside, he often loses the ball because he can't palm it properly, and it often results in a no call and turnover. he also can't dunk in traffic properly with one hand because as you'll notice, he has to balance the ball with his palm underneath to dunk it rather than just palm it and throw in down like jordan, wade, mcgrady, lebron, drexler etc. point is, he'll never go down as one of the all time physical talents of the nba, but he'll rank with jordan as one of the most driven players ever.
I agree with that part. Kobe just has that type of personality that just won't settle for anything less than having it all: the stats, the winning, and the adoration of the fans; to say he doesn't care about what the fans think would be completely false and void of logic, afterall, Kobe wants to be the "MJ" of this generation of fans not only as a player, but the whole package (MJ was very likable by the fans, he was able to balance out that vicious "I will tear your heart out" attitude on the court and yet maintain that trademark smile of his off the court that made him marketable). In this day and age, in order to reach your full potential you MUST appeal to your audience, you must be marketable and likeable. I think Kobe is trying hard to become MJ, and I do think he's likely the closest thing we'll ever see to MJ as far as his passion/love of the game is concerned. However, if he is to succeed, he must learn from MJ and Magic and other players before him to have differing personalities on the court and off the court.
a last word on kobe and "likability". i don't think it's important for his teammates to like him, to be honest. the more we hear about jordan as the years go on, we learn that most of his teammates hated him but respected/feared him. obviously, after the first championship was won, jordan's teammates accepted the fact that he was a true leader and tolerated his abuse. again, the keys were his only real allies, pippen and phil jackson--who happened to be the only other pieces who were absolutely essential to the bull's success. pippen was never able to develop his own ego (or he never wanted to), and fell in line with whatever jordan wanted. other teammates saw that and decided winning was worth the abuse that jordan dished out. i get the feeling that as close as pippen and jordan claim to be, there seems to be some awkwardness there. perhaps the stories are true about jordan constantly humiliating and abusing pippen in practice in his early years--pippen probably always feels both indebted to and fearful of jordan. anyway, i would guess the main priority for the lakers is identifying which player can pair with kobe the best, and if that player is acquired, dump odom.
no because he alienates all his teammates for the sake of himself. You don't implode a historic franchise by trading away the premier big man since olajuwon. The only dominant big man with a moderately close 2nd dampier and a far 3rd in Yao. He put himself in the position to get the 7th or 8th seed this year because of all his cry baby tactics. All he wants to do is best MJ and go down as the best ever. He doesn't play the game for the game, he plays the game for himself. I enjoy seeing winners that walk the walk. MJ would've done anything to stay with shaq and roll onto 5 or 6 more championships.
not sure about that. MJ was notorious for speaking his mind about teammates not working hard, giving their all, slacking etc. it's hard to argue that shaq started slacking after the second championship, gaining weight, having surgeries right before training camp, etc. hypothetically, i'm afraid MJ would have called out shaq just like kobe did at that time--and maybe shaq would have deferred. not to absolve kobe, but buss/kupchak made the best decision, given the way shaq's fitness and desire seemed to have spiraled downward after the 2nd championship. it's one thing to keep signing a guy to one year contracts until he retires (like jordan), but shaq wanted an ungodly amount of money after 2 subpar performances in the playoffs. they got some crappy players for shaq, though--it was a horrible trade from that perspective.
I agree. I think the right decision was made but it was a terrible trade by LA. They could've gotton a whole lot more. Although i think Shaq would have gotten a terrible wake up call when he realised how many teams would not have traded their younger superstars for him. Think Phoenix would give up Amare? nope. Think Spurs would give up T diddy? nope. With Shaq, you're looking at 3 decent/injury riddled years and a definate need of a legit superstar next to him. Miami did well, Maybe Lakers couldn't do better after all. On a side note, this is why it bothers me as to why Shaq is ranked so highly amongst centress-he had zero work ethic, knows he can't shoot FT's yet still demands the ball down the line and coasts on D. Has he ever even lead the league in blocks? Defensive player of the year?? Dream's the greatest '5' ever.
