I do but I gotta admit that the man is a baller. He is a top 5 NBA player easily but there is a lot of hate on the guy. I don't know if he can lead a team to a championship w/o Shaq (in fact I have my doubts) but you can't say that the boy's game isn't tough. Sure he sweats MJ and is arrogant @$$ but he is a fierce competitor and the 4th always belongs to him. What do you think about Kobe? Like him, hate him? Why?
Tell me who can then... It's so funny how Kobe bashers always say that, yet they can't name another player who could win all by himself. Next, the Kobe haters will say that Kobe should have 11 rings by now, in a 6-year career.
I dun hate him, I respect. Only thing I didn't like is how I personally thought his game declined from a year ago to now... He's fluent in Italian...and he has a hot ass wife. Gotta respect.
I have yet to understand all of this Kobe hating myself. I think that he might just be better than Mike once it is all said and done. The guy plays D, he scores, hes clutch, hes exciting, he has the whole package. Whenever I talk to friends about Kobe (and they all hate him) I have to say that watching Kobe play is beautiful. He plays the game the way it is supposed to be played. Sure, he has his problems but he is only like 23. It is amazing that at 23 he really is the best player in the L (not most dominant though).
Are you bipolar? in that other thread you said that he was the functional equivalent of Jalen Rose and Cuttino Mobley as far as winning a championship goes.
*sigh* Even the BEST PLAYER in the game can be OVERRATED [YES JORDAN WAS OVERRATED!!! people seem to think him and 4 mugsy bogues' could win a championship] I think Kobe is good. . . top 10 . . . but I will not say he is great because I think he benefits from shaq ALOT more than Kobe lovers will EVER admit Paul Pierce Tracy McGrady KG even Elton brand would do well with Shaq would they do as well as kobe .. . i think 3 out of the 4 would do as well if not better Rocket River
Hakeem won a championship (93-94) by himself basically. There is no way Kobe would be leading KSmith, Thorpe, Maxwell & the crew to a ring. I think any all-star level SG or SF w/ Shaq could win multiple rings b/c Shaq is so DOMINANT. That doesn't mean I don't respect his game. That J he hit in game 4 of the Finals when KMart actually touched and covered Kobe's face w/ his hand as he was shooting was one of the most beautiful plays I have EVER seen! Why can't I respect him and still think he's a jerk?
I absolutely hate the guy! Why? Cause he is not on the Rockets and keeps on trying to act like Jordan. That said, he is still a top five player in the league. I used to think he is another Jerry Stackhouse, but he's proven me wrong. I sitll dont think he would lead a team to the second round of a playoff, but Shaq would not be able to win the whole thing without Kobe either. Only players I think that are better then Kobe: Duncan Shaq T-Mac Garnett
I used to hate Kobe; however, the man just wins. He's an immensely talented player and he is still young. He has the ability to take over games and I think he is showing the ability to make those around him better, which I think is the true trademark of a great player. As a Rockets fan, I will always loathe Kobe; but as a basketball fan, I respect him, not only as a basketball player, but as a human being, which cannot be said about many of the superstars in the NBA.
Of course Kobe (maybe) couldn't win with the team built around Hakeem like kenny smith, et al. (Granted, Kobe is what, 23 or something? maybe the 29-30 yr old kobe could, he has barely scratched the surface). But that doesn't mean he couldn't win with a team built around him (a la jordan/bulls). As far as "any all star level SG or SF w/Shaq" winning multiple rings with Shaq. 2 words: EDDIE JONES. Did Eddie Jones do it? Did Nick Van Exel do it? Both All Stars, but the answer is NO. (yes, kobe was on those teams, in essentially his sophomore and junior years of college, blowing 3's in playoff games) Did shaq really get that much better from 99 to 2000? I don't think so. But he did win a championship. With an improved Kobe bryant at shooting guard for the whole way, something that All Star Guards Eddie Jones and Van Exel did not do
I like Kobe. His basketball is absolutely breath taking to observe, and the guy is not a total moron. The funny thing to me is that the worst complaint the haters can drudge up from their hazy minds as a reason for hating Kobe is something like "He is arrogant" or "He wants to be like Jordan." These always crack me up, because people are strongly disliking a player for the silliest reasons. He is arrogant? Half the players in the game are arrogant. Sometimes, it is almost a necessary skill to be a star, and put the whole team on your shoulders in the 4th quarter (I think Kobe can do this). He wants to be like Jordan? Hell, nearly every little young tike learning to play basketball wants to be Michael Jordan. The man set the bar for excellence, on the court and off (generally). He knew how to play, he knew how to handle the media, he knew how to do just about everything to keep his image squeaky clean. It is a good role model to have, as a basketball player. Hell, considering the number of players in the NBA that are older than him, make less money, and still hit their wives, impersonate policeman, smoke pot or do any other type of controlled substance...or just plain go speeding late at night...Kobe's life is squeaky clean by comparison. I have no problem liking a basketball player like that.
I used to dislike the guy, a lot. He seems arrogant, and Bob Costa kissed his a$$ everytime he touches the ball. Yet for someone who's won three rings at his early 20's, as the co-leader of a championship team, ya gotta give him respect.
i liked him ever since he enter the nba, he like me. Errogant as hell. I got the same moves, and athletsm as kobe. But i'm only 5'91/2. Bring on my bashing!!!
Eddie Jones? He is one of the most overrated players in the league! He wasn't even at his overrated potential while he was w/ the Lakers. We all know Nick Van Excel's act. When the Lakers were aboutv to be eliminated from the playoffs, in the huddle he was like "one, two, three Cancun!" coming out of the break. I mean a real all-star quality player. Paul Pierce & Shaq win multiple rings while Kobe & Wallker MIGHT get to the finals instead of the EC finals, maybe. Kobe is a great role model off the court I will give him that but the man studied MJ press confrences to learn how he spoke & mimic his mannerisms. Then he walks around talking about how he doesn't want to be like Mike. There nothing wrong w/ biting someones style just give the original credit and admit what you are doing. Like I said, Kobe is great and has a beautiful game but he is not number 2 in the league.
It's fairly amusing that all you Kobe haters say he's arrogant for trying to act like Jordan and forget that Jordan was as arrogant or more so than Kobe. Why is it that when Jordan is being arrogant it's his "competitive nature" and for anyone else it means they're @$$holes? That's not fair. As I've said before, NO ONE can win a championship by himself. The only two guys I know of that ever did that were Hakeem and Rick Barry (if you can find tape of the '75 finals, grab it. That was the only time a team without a high quality big guy won a championship. Barry simply willed the Warriros to victory. Incredible). I have little doubt that Kobe could win 6 with Jordan's teams. He already has better defense, and although his offense isn't Jordan's quite yet, he's awfully close. By the end of his career, Kobe will have made a strong bid for best guard ever, though Jordan will always be held up simply because he is a cultural icon.
