Didn't Kobe come in with a sense of entitlement as well? I think he was drafted by a lottery team, and you could tell from his expression during draft night he was thinking "No way in hell I'm going to that team". Lebron on the other hand relished going to the Cavs and making them his own. If anything LBJ was the one who had to work for everything he had, that Cavs team sucked, Brown sucked, and if it weren't for LBJ I doubt tha team would even be in the playoffs. Kobe on the other hand has been with the almighty Lakers his whole career, and was taken into a ready-made team complete with hall of fame c and coach.
Now that you made the WWE analogy, I actually see Kobe more as being comparable to Triple H: a Jerk Ass who thinks he's the best in the world today and is obsessed with surpassing Ric Flair (ie Michael Jordan). Lebron OTOH is like Cena, but with better workrate and less polarizing effect on the fandom.
It's the Rockets' attitude, in particular Shane Battier, who have really made Kobe's personality stand out even more. It's like a one-sided shouting match. Everyone watching sees one guy doing all the aggressive, classless acts while the other guy just stands there emotionless. It makes the aggressor look much, much worse. No matter what happens with this series it is nice to see the national media and fans see what a class organization Houston has while seeing what a fraud and a poor sport Kobe and his crew are. This article was right on point. He looks out of character and uncomfortable in his own skin. Kobe is trying so hard to be what he thinks he needs to be to get respect that he is tarnishing his legacy before it's even complete.
seriously. WHAT? i'm sure those aren't the reasons most basketball fans either hate or love Kobe. It's his personified personality, not whether I would hang wif him.
Hey, guys. Laker fan here, I thought this might be the reaction to this article and I want to provide another perspective, even if you disagree. I didn't like the taunting Kobe did in game 2, thought it was pretty juvenile and was glad he got t'd up eventually. But in the grand scheme, it was one game. How often does Kobe go after Shane like that, of all the times they've played? What made game 2 different? One specific thing. After hearing nothing but about how Shane PWNS him for pretty much a year and a half, which in addition to being untrue, was getting a pretty big media-drive by newspapers and analysts, I think Kobe got pissed. Hell, I was pissed. Every reporter and commentator you could ask was saying that Kobe was pretty much Shane's biotch, entire articles being written about it, people asking Kobe to his face why Shane owns him so bad, ESPN pieces on Shane's special "How to stop Kobe" notebook....I mean, this Shane "Kobe-stopper" Battier thing's press has gotten WAY out of hand. If even half of that takes place, Kobe doesn't say a word and this article doesn't exist. Look, we all know Kobe is a prideful man. It got to him for one game and he snapped. Since then he hasn't said a word to Battier. He didn't do it in game 1, nor was he talking to him during the regular season. Nor did he do it last night. It was one game. I like Battier. He seems like a great guy and if ever possible a guy i'd love to have on the Lakers. And you know what? Kobe feels the same way. After game 2 they passed each other in the hallway at Staples and Kobe gave him respect. He does the same with Bruce Bowen, who he never trashtalks. He never trashtalks Tayshaun Prince, who shut him down in the finals. Even with oldschool "Kobe Stopper" Ruben Patterson Kobe never talked to him like that. And before game 2 never with Battier - he's always had good things to say about Shane. So what made game 2 different? It was just an accumulation of anger and he went off. When the whole world is saying "Kobe, Shane owns you", a player as good as he is takes it as a challenge. And as much as he's matured over the years, people still make mistakes. And that stuff during game 2 was a mistake. I'm not trying to excuse the behavior, because it was embarrasing watching it as a Laker fan. I'm just trying to explain why it happened and why its not who he is anymore. You can point to other things you probably don't like about him and say this just fuels the fire, but game 2 was an anomaly performance from the mouth of Kobe Bryant. 95% of the time, angry Kobe Bryant says absolutely nothing on the court to whoever guards him, he just scores and runs back upcourt. Take that from someone who watches every game he plays.
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Interesting perspective, thanks. But with respect, (you knew it was coming) he takes out his frustrations with the media by yelling in the face of a classy guy? By taunting a guy who gives him nothing but compliments? Futher proof of his immaturity IMO. He just can't let his play speak for itself, he has to try and tell everyone how good he is.
How to draw attention if you are in the media? Attacking most famous people. Kobe plays basketball, and he plays at a great level as top 3 or top 5 player in the league. What ugly/phony/pretentious facial expression he makes on/off court does not interest me, and does not affect his game. Kobe plays great basketball year after year. What kind of small heart/shallow mind/ he has does not interest me, and won't impact his game. I watch basketball for the competitive sport, not for role models. Being a good person won't even buy you a call on the court. If Kobe is on our team, some of the most vocal criticizers here will ride his nuts 24x7.
Good response, but the problem is, this is not an anomaly. Maybe the trash talkin to Shane was, but his dickness in multiple occurrences is not. Just in this series alone: The elbow and knee to Shane in game 1 where he said he was 'trying to get up'. The elbow to the 'upper chest' of Artest in game 2. The trash talkin to Shane in game 2 (not just once, but all game). And these are just in this series only to the Rockets alone. The problem is, he loses his cool waaaay too many times and comes out as a total prick....
people commented on that article saying that a lot of superstars talk trash and showboat a lot, even saying Lebron does it more. They also mentioned MJ as a big trash talker. But Kobe is the only player i've seen who does it angrily and in a taunting manner. When I watched MJ talk trash, he did it in a competetive manner, and the defender did too. With Kobe, it's like it's him against the world. He does like he feels people still deny his talents and skills. He taunts the opposing crowd as well. MJ and Lebron do it as part of competing, but Kobe seems to take it too far, and when he's confronted by guys like Artest, he backs off and doesn't own up.
He's definitely got ego, no doubt. But most nba players do. Especially the great ones. I didnt like him yelling at Shane after every basket but it was one game. He's played plenty of others with just as much respect. Thats what I was trying to convey though. 95% of the time, he does let his play speak for itself. That was the first time i've ever seen him get t'd up like that for taunting specifically. He gets a lot of T's but never for taunting. He plays Bruce Bowen, Tay Prince, etc. multiple times a year and doesn't trash talk them. He just plays. Hell, he's been playing Shane Battier multiple times a year for quite some time and didn't trash talk him before game 2. It was just one game. And it hasn't continued. I'm just asking you guys to give him a break and try to understand this isn't something that happens normally. It was an anomaly and really only brought on by the "he owns you" media onslaught. Still an immature thing to do, but nobody is perfect. And we knew Kobe wasn't perfect a looooooooooooong time ago. He has matured a lot in the last few years and things like that are an exception now, not the norm.
He's also very dirty. That's why he's gotten suspended and fined before. He's a Bruce Bowen who can score. He should have been suspended for his many elbow strikes. Also, his teammates, Vujacic and Odom in particular, are following in Kobe's footsteps with the dirty D and trash talking. That team does not deserve to be champion at all, just like the Celtics didn't deserve it either.
This sums it up. He's shown a pattern of behavior over his career. And don't forget the personality conflicts he's had w/ his own teammates. But the outside perspective and cordial post is appreciated, jackflag.
I didn't and don't believe the elbow and knee were intentionally to try to hurt him. They play each other enough times that if Kobe wanted to hurt him, he could have already done it. And Kobe isn't a dirty player - a whiny one maybe, but not dirty. Nor do I think there was anything malicious or unusual about the elbow to Artest - just guys jockeying for position and going hard at it. When you're boxing out battling for boards with guys under the basket, things are going to happen. Thats the most physical play in the game. Look, I know Shane and Ron are your guys and you probably don't see it that way, but if Kobe really were that dirty a player to try to hurt guys everyone would know it. Elbows happen in basketball - your backup C Dikembe Mutombo is notorious for throwing them and injuring people, and he's FAR from a dirty player. Its easy to hate Kobe and perhaps there are good reasons to, but don't hate him because you think he's dirty - he's not. He has the utmost respect for Shane and Ron and i've heard him saying so for years. The all-game trash talking I already got into, its never happened before and it'll likely never happen again. He was a prick and hopefully its out of his system and he can go back to letting his game do the talking, like he did last night and the other games.
You don't think thats going a little far? I'd argue that was throwing stones in glass houses. Artest and Scola play completely legal D and don't trash talk at all? C'mon....I try to have self-awareness about my team as much as I love them. I know their flaws and where they are guilty of things. It doesn't seem like you're taking the same perspective. Maybe they don't. Its something i've questioned myself. Kudos to the Celtics hate though.
