...ya, I just don't know if I buy that. Kobe was a punk in his younger days too. I don't know if it was so much that the organization didn't put up with his crap - after all he is the reason Shaq AND Phil left at one point and the team still stood behind him. I think it's more that Kobe only cared about being the best basketball player in the league and eventually ever. His focus even since his younger days has always been on basketball. He did immature things too - tried to show up pretty much everyone he played, started fights with other stars(remember him calling Ray Allen?), tried to remove himself from his teammates because he felt he was better(and he was)...he wanted to embarrass everyone he ever played which was very childish, but ultimately he only wanted to be the best basketball player. Big difference with Lebron is he clearly wants fame, wealth, and to win just as much if not more than to be a better basketball player - they have two completely different personalities. I think that is the key difference between the two. If Lebron were wired like Kobe, he spends an extra could of hours in the gym rather than doing the decision or maybe he blasts his coach in public in an interview or maybe he calls out a teammates lack of work ethic....but he doesn't really care about the same things as Lebron so his immaturity manifests itself differently.
Lakers basically sucked ass before Pau Gasol came there is what I'm saying and made them Contenders. Kobe couldn't do it on his own and needed gasol. Man screw them
