Kobe Writes an Advice Column
There have been rumors, apparently, that Kobe Bryant was going to write an advice column for the LA Times. Not suprisingly, these rumors were confirmed to be false. Notwithstanding, ESPN's Patrick Hruby has put together a "sneak preview" of what could have been.I've taken the liberty of adding my own:
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Dear Kobe,
I work at ABC Inc. and I recently got a promotion from assistant manager to manager. The guy who used to be manager was pretty good, but I thought he was old and overrated, and I was really the guy for the job. I knew the director always liked me more, so I told him I was going to leave the firm and go work for XYZ Inc., a competing firm, if he didn't fire the other guy and make me manager. So he did, and here I am. But now that I've been manager for a while, our company's productivity has gone down. People seem to think that it's my management style - I like to take the lead and make all the decisions. But I really think it's my coworkers' fault, they're just not as smart as me and don't have any good ideas. Plus, the guy I got fired is doing really well with another company and people are saying that maybe he should've stayed on with ABC Inc. What should I do?
Sincerely,
Who's the Boss
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Dear Who's the Boss,
Forget the criticisms. You're the boss. That's all that matters. If people can't see that you're better and smarter than everyone else, it's their problem, not yours. Who cares if the firm's productivity is down? The important thing is that everyone knows that you're in charge. Take it from me, being the sidekick and having the spotlight of your brilliance overshadowed by some over-the-hill guy is no way to live. The only way to get respect is to be Da Man. Take it from the expert.
Kobe-Da-Man-Bryant.
posted by TeamPlayer at 12:14 AM
110 Comments:
Forgot the criticisms. You're the boss. That's all that matters. If people can't see that you're better and smarter than everyone else, it's their problem, not yours. Who cares if the firm's productivity is down? The important thing is that everyone knows that you're in charge. Take it from me, being the sidekick and having the spotlight of your brilliance overshadowed by some over-the-hill guy is no way to live. The only way to get respect is to be Da Man. Take it from the expert.
11:56 PM
This kinda sums up what this blog is all about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6n3QpF2GG8&search=Kobe%20Bryant
I love this blog!
8:56 PM
That is funny coming from a real loser Suns fan whose Suns couldn't even beat the Mavs. That is right. The Suns and Snash are the only team and player in nearly 30 years who has been a consecutive mvp and never show up in the finals in any of the two years. Snash should really try for 3 in a row and be the first ever three year loser. Here is some advice-next time you go to staples look up at the rafters and see how many championship banners the Lakers have and when you go to Phoenix look up at their banners. Oh that's right they don't have any. Even a loser franchise as the Golden State Warriors have won a championship. Phoenix, instead of worrying about Kobe, worry about Amare's comeback-that's if he can even comeback.
11:46 AM
No, actually that clip is hillarious, and it highlights all the things that we've been saying on this blog. Thank you Anon for posting it. I'm actually going to post in on the front page when I get a chance.
As to the Kobe Lovers, are you really making fun of the Suns - a team that went to the Western Conference Finals 2 years in a row - when the Lakers, a team led by YOUR IDOL went to the lottery last year and got taken out of the 1st round this year? Nash did exactly what Kobe couldn't do - he turned a team of unknown players into contenders for the title. The Suns were just as good this year without Amare, and it's all thanks to Nash. Kobe should be embarrassed - he had his ass kicked by a 6-foot-hall white guy who can't jump. "Suns couldn't even beat the Mavs." What a ridiculous comment. These are the same Mavs that took out the all-star Spurs. There's no shame in losing to the Mavs in the Western Conference Finals. There's shame losing to the Suns when you're up 3-1 b/c you throw a temper tantrum and quit on your team.
And stop relating the Lakers' greatness to Kobe. The Lakers are a great team because of Kareem, because of Magic, because of Shaq. Kobe has 3 championships because he rode Shaq's back.
Once again, great clip, maybe you should watch it again to pay attention to all of Kobe's shortcomings, rather than rat on the Suns.
1:13 PM
To the blogger that posted that I'm a Suns fan:
You must be a poor homeless psychic because your assumptions were wrong. I'm a LAKER fan, you idiot! Magic was my hero on the court (I've met him a couple of times) and I cried when he announced his retirement. Yes, I've seen those banners in Staples and that's what I want: MORE BANNERS! They could have had more, but Dobe is just messing it up. All the elements were there to continue, but no, his ego got in the way of the team and the management, and now the LA Lakers are now the LA Bryants. I'm still a Laker fan, but I hate Dobe. Just like I'm sure there are San Francisco Giants fans but not necessarily Barry Bonds fans. 'Nuff said.
I love this blog!
4:10 PM
trade kobe for nash and diaw and wtf do you think will happen.
10:16 PM
To the Dobe lovers:
If you don't like this blog, why are you even here? Go play on your side of the street and leave us haters alone.
10:31 PM
Well said. As I've posted here a 1000 times, being a Laker fan does not mean you have to support Dobe, a guy who managed to run one of the most successful franchises in the history of sports into the ground.
12:25 PM
How old are the people who equate the Lakers' success to Kobe? It could be that they are 12 and that's all they've ever known, Kobe and the Lakers. Magic who? Kareem who? Byron who? Phil Jackson used to coach the who?
1:57 PM
riss should shut up calling people 12 year olds. haha i probably know more then u. i loved the lakers ever since i knew them. i learned all bout them. toelgin, wilt the stilt and the clutch jerry to kareemmagic byron big game james and finally to the kobe shaq era. of course kobe broke more then freakin 10 laker records this year. stupid phoenix lead by that stupid canadian nash couldnt even the mavs. kobe outscored them himself. now thats sad. only reason why they went to the wcf is because they faced the lakers and the clippers! AND THEY HAD TO DO IT IN 7 GAMES!!!
i mean camon... ur facing two teams that didnt even win 50 games.
ur a laker fan but u dont like kobe huh. well then ur ganna hate the lakers for a long time buddyyy
11:36 PM
and you know who posted that comment. hahahahahaha yup its me.
11:38 PM
Dobe's new theme song:
"Soy un perdedor
I'm a loser Jerry (Buss), so why don't you trade me".
Muahahahahahaha!
1:56 AM
http://tinyurl.com/s2s5q
11:16 AM
Next year's intro can go something like this...(arena lights go dim)..."Now let's introduce the starting lineup for the 2006 First Round Western Conference Participant, your Los Angeles Lakers...playing at guard, forward, and center, 6'6", 220lbs., out of Lower Merion High School, Kobe Bryant...(arena lights come back on)..."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
2:58 PM
Haha, love the song. We should write to Beck, maybe he'll release it. And yeah, why even waste money on the rest of the players, just have Dobe play every position. You know that's what he wants to do. That way, he can have another scoring title, that's all he cares about.
The guy that keeps busting on the Suns and the Mavs, you have no logic whatsoever. You keep contradicting yourself. Look at your warped arguments:
1) The Suns suck because beating the Lakers and the Clippers doesn't count, according to your warped logic. So that means that the Lakers suck this year and are a sorry team. But yet you say that Dobe led the Lakers to glory. So which on is it? Oh and also, if the Suns are so bad, why couldn't the Lakers beat them? You make no sense whatsoever.
2) The Suns "couldn't even beat the Mavs." You say that again, even though I showed you how ridiculous that comment is. The Mavs, who won over 60 games this past season. The Mavs, who took out the Spurs - in San Antonio, mind you - the All-Star team that everyone proclaimed would win the whole thing. The same Mavs that you (yes, you should look at your past comments) and everyone else proclaimed would crush the Heat.
Oh, and that one game where Kobe "ouscored the Mavs"? Who cares! The Mavs took care of the Lakers the very next game the 2 teams played. One game means nothing. That's why you play 7 in the playoffs. The Heat lost to the Mavs by something like 40 points during the regular season. They didn't win a single game against them in the regular season. And then they were able to take them out in the playoffs. Is anyone talking about that game the Heat lost and the Mavs won by 40 points? No. What everyone will remember is that the Heat won the championship.
And exactly that is true for Dobe. No one will remember his scoring title years later. But people will remember that the Miami Heat won the title.
Rather than busting on other teams that were actually good this year, why don't you focus on our team - the Lakers - and how they can get back on the path to getting more of those banners in the Staples Center. And I'm telling you - as long as Dobe-I want to be the man-Bryant is on that team, the Lakers are not going anywhere.
Mark my words, in 2 years, Kobe will be 30, he'll be getting "old" and the Lakers will have nothing to show for. They'll trade him so fast you won't have time to blink.
3:12 PM
ahahahaha u kidding me, dude 05 06 will be remembered as kobe's year. 81 points and 62 points in 3 q. hahaha u must be mad he scored that much but fact is everybody respects it and most fans do to. fk the suns, you say that the lakers suck but yet the phoenix moons had to go 7 games against them. sad team. point is the lakers really dont suck if they had to go 7 games. so ill give u this, what is it, phoenix is so mighty but they had to go 7 games or the lakers are a competitive team.
9:29 PM
Next year's intro can go something like this...(arena lights go dim)..."Now let's introduce the starting lineup for the 2006 First Round Western Conference Participant, your Los Angeles Lakers...playing at guard, forward, and center, 6'6", 220lbs., out of Lower Merion High School, Kobe Bryant...(arena lights come back on)..."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
next year for the suns could go sumthin like this.
here comes the lakers (BOO!!!)
with all star leader kobe bryant(BOO!) smush parker, lamar odom, kwame brown and radmonavich, the 14 times world champion los angeles lakers!
here comes your mighty suns, with our only retired player charles barkley and um....... I KNOw, the western conference champion ur phoenix suns!! as you can see, we have our second wcf contenders chamipion YAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!
9:32 PM
Yep, I agree with you. Seriously, that's pretty funny! Doesn't bother me a bit. Cuz y'know why? I could care less about the Suns. I think they suck also. BUT, they did put Dopey Bryant in his place.
BTW, it was 14 times world champions BEFORE Dopey's coup d'etat of the Lakers.
9:59 PM
question is, how many rings does shaq have without a superstar saving his ass? none. zero nada.
2:06 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzd40DhckiE
11:09 AM
MAGIC NEVER WON A CHAMPIONSHIP WITHOUT KAREEM! BUT NOBODY NEVER MENTION THAT! BUT WHEN IT COME'S TO KOBE BRYANT AND SHAQ, THEY ALWAYS SAID BECAUSE HE GOT SHAQ HE GOT THOSE THREE RINGS. WHAT ABOUT MAGIC! WILL YOU ADMIT THAT HE GOT FIVE RINGS BECAUSE OF KAREEM. REMEMBER KAREEM GOT 6 AND MAGIC HAS 5. BUT NOBODY MENTION THAT BECAUSE THEY LIKE MAGIC. KAREEM GOT SIX RINGS AND SIX MVPS. IT TAKE TWO SUPERSTARS TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP. JUST LIKE A PATRICK EWING IF ONLY HE A SUPERSTAR SIDEKICK LIKE SHAQ HAD. MICHAEL JORDAN HAD SCOTTIE PIPPEN, MAGIC HAD KAREEM, BIRD AND PARISH. LOOK AT CHARLES BARKLEY NO SUPERSTAR SIDEKICK. SHAQ HAS BEEN A LUCKY GUY TO PLAY WITH DWAYNE AND KOBE. HAKEEM OLAJUWON IS THE ONLY SUPERSTAR TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP WITHOUT A SUPERSTAR SIDEKICK LIKE SHAQ,JORDAN,MAGIC,AND BIRD. HE WON THE FIRST WITHOUT CLYDE DREXLER. SHAQ AND MICHAEL JORDAN ARE OVERRATED SUPERSTARS. MICHAL JORDAN WITHOUT SCOTTIE PIPPEN NEVER WENT OVER .500 AND NEVER GOT PAST THE FIRST ROUND WITHOUT SCOTTIE PIPPEN. KOBE WITHOUT SHAQ WENT EIGHT GAMES OVER FIVE HUNDRED. SHAQ ALWAYS HAD A SUPERSTAR SIDEKICK PENNY,KOBE,AND DWADE. FACTS,FACTS,FACTS. MICHAEL JORDAN, AND SHAQ OVERRATED SUPERSTARS!
12:19 AM
wow can u really say that kobe is getting better and better in getting his image back. that was awesome. his favorite player suprising him like that. now ur not ganna make remarks about him cause he likes number 8 will you? of course not. like i said, that was a really touching story and if you laughed at that story man ur not human.
2:17 AM
I saw that story on ESPN the day and the story is really touching. It's really touching because of this kid, of course, and all that he has overcome, and this program being able to shine a little joy into his life. Of course no one is going to criticize the kid for liking Kobe or whoever else, he's kid and it's good for him to have some athlete to look up to.
But you didn't post a link to this story to talk about the kid. You posted it to try to show that Kobe is actually a decedent human being. And it does nothing for that. We've all seen what an ass Kobe is on and off the court. Everyone I've ever spoken to who has had contact with him says that he's an ass. His "charity work" is obviously done to improve his publicity. You can argue all you want against that, but the facts speak for themselves. Kobe had repeatedly declined to play on the Olympic team before this year. He had never done any work with kid before this year. All of a sudden, when his image is really low, he starts doing all these things. It's clear that this, like everything else that he does, is not genuine.
2:06 PM
so just to tell u, he did many things off the court. seriously, he started a foundation. yadah yadah he meet many of his fans on some kind of prize that allows u to meet ur favorite player and other. ever since his rape case, he BECAME MORE HUMBLE.
9:52 PM
Salvador: "Hey Kobe, what's consensual sex?"
Kobe: "It's when you can have sexual intercourse with someone other than your wife. Fortunately, being in the NBA, I made a lot of money to buy forgiveness."
Salvador: "Wow! I can't wait to be in the NBA!"
Yeah, good role model!
1:41 AM
yeah punk diss the boy now idiot.
1:06 AM
Kobe averages 23.2 shots per game
Jordan averaged 23.6 shots per game
jordan lead the league in shot attempts 9 times.
still get the fact that hes a ball hog AND JORDAN IS NOt
2:53 AM
"yeah punk diss the boy now idiot"
Maybe Dobe (your king) can befriend you and teach you how to make complete sentences, because obviously you're retarded.
3:03 PM
Kobe Bryant: More Paul Pierce than Michael Jordan
Career Stats:
FG%: MJ 49.7 KB 45.1
May explain why Jordan took more shots...because he made more shots.
RPG: MJ 6.2 KB 4.9
Same height, Jordan grabs more boards...in an era where a lot of good centers existed.
Games Played/Games Started:
MJ 1072/1039 KB 707/559
If KB is that good...why hasn't he started games like Jordan did?
Playoff GP/GS
MJ 179/179 KB 126/106
When his team needed him to play...MJ played...Kobe has started on the bench in about 20% of the Lakers playoff games.
Assists Per Game:
MJ 5.3 KB 4.5
On teams including such household names like Jim Paxson and BJ Armstrong Jordan averaged over 5 assists per game... Kobe doesn't even pass that many times in one game.
*Side note* remember the famous shots by Kukoc, Kerr, Paxson and Armstrong? Jordan knew when to shot the ball and when to pass it... Kobe is a black hole on the basketball court, if KB were on those Bull's teams, none of those players are even mentionable 10 years later.
SPG:
MJ 2.35 KB 1.5
Kind of like beating a dead horse, but for all his "defense", Kobe can't even stand in the same zip code as Jordan.
Blocks:
MJ 0.8 KB: 0.6
Again, same height, Jordan has better numbers.
PPG:
Jordan 30.1 KB 23.9
Jordan averaged slightly less shots per game...yet milked about 7 points more PER GAME than Kobe does.
It should also be noted that Kobe's career highs in Field Goals Attempted and FG Made came in two different games, while Jordan's came in the same game. Jordan only took 30+ shots when he was having an absolutely ridiculous game.
And enough about Kobe's 80+ and 60+ games... Show me a guy who could drop 50+ on ANYONE and he can kick the crap out of a guy who shots 40+ times every game.
Minutes Per Game:
MJ 38.3 (regular season) 41.8 (playoffs)
KB 35.7 38.7
MJ played more minutes in more games over more years than kobe has/will. End of story
Now just for shits and giggles:
Dwayne Wade career stats:
22.9 PPG, 45.0 FG%, 5.0 Reb, 6.1 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.92 BPG
better in just about every statistic...and he's only in his third year.
Lebron James Career Stats:
45.8 FG%, 6.6 APG, 6.6 RPG
Again...same crappy team (Hughes was hurt all year), better stats all around.
Even the other arch nemisis of passing Allen Iverson averages 6.1 Assists for his career.
Now lets look at Paul Pierce, a player that is very good, but no one in their right mind would mistaken him for MJ.
PPG: 26.8 uh-oh better than KB
FG%: 44.0 marginally worse than KB
RPG: 6.5 oh crap, Pierce plays better D too?
SPG: 1.71 oh crap, he does
BPG: 0.7 um...okay, how is KB any good?
GP: 605 oh good, KB has played more games
GS: 603 ...but has started a smaller %
Now for the big one:
Rings:
MJ: Six (maybe 8 if he doesn't go play baseball)
KB: Three
DW: One (and he's younger)
So just a quick recap...
There are three players who have teams just as craptastic as Kobe does, yet average more assists per game (by a lot); one player who hates passing, yet still has 1.6 APG more than KB.
Then there are the three players who seem to step up when their team needs them (MJ, DW, LB) by playing a ton of QUALITY minutes and handling a loss by saying "oops I messed up" and not by throwing the game so he could pull a Peyton Manning and blame his teammates.
Kobe has all the talent in the world, but then again so do people like Terrell Owens, Peyton Manning, Barry Bonds and so on so forth and it doesn't mean anything because players with maybe less talent learn to play basketball and not try to make every game an audition tape to the AND1 tour.
Kobe Bryant is the guy in the horror film who thinks that if everyone does their own thing everything will be okay.
But I conceed a point to the Kobe lovers:
there's one category Kobe will always lead in and no one can take that away from you:
Rapes:
KB 1
MJ 0
LJ 0
DW 0
PP 0
But then again Wilt the Stilt did say he slept with over 2000 women...
3:24 AM
pages, people who cheated on wife
michael 1
kobe 1.
still get the facts boy. even though he was never convicted u still blah blah blah blah blah.
no evidence no nuthin punk.
5:33 AM
guys who quit on team.
kobe: a game
micheal: about 1 to 2 years.
5:34 AM
Players who let their fathers get killed:
Kobe:0
MJ: 1
11:09 AM
Great comment man, you're exactly right, the stats speak for themselves. Kobe gets more spotlight than someone like Paul Pierce because he was drafted from high school, plays for the Lakers and is a more flashy player. But when it comes down to what the guy brings to his team, he's far from greatness.
12:03 PM
Not MJ again. You don't want to go there again? Do you? Is MJ the most over-rated baller? No, he is not, but he is the most over-hyped baller ever. "Do you-want to be like Mike?" No, I didn't and never will. No, thanks. Kobe did though and that's alright for him when he was growing up. Kobe admired MJ and still does. Nothing wrong to emmulate ONE of the greatest players. I never did like MJ (nor Larry Bird, Karl Malone), but that is just me. First, MJ didn't play for the Lakers and NO it doesn't mean that I don't like other players that didn't play for the Lakers. I do like other players on other teams. Dr. J, The Ice Man, The Dream, are players I liked when I was growing up and they never played for the Lakers. In the last decade I like players like KG, Grant Hill, AI,and LBJ. Now had MJ played for the Lakers then of course I would like him, but he did't. As for MJ, just remember that Bill Russell has 11 rings and Kareem has six rings and last, but not least, Robert Horry has six rings too (OMG! same as MJ). So if it is all about winning, then there are others that have won the same or more than MJ. Anyways, MJ is only one of the greatest to play and Kobe hasn't finished his career yet. I would like to think that Kobe has at least 7 more years, but who knows he might play 5, 3 or even 1 more year. Let Kobe finish his career and then compare him to others.
12:13 PM
Team player, you are by far the dumbest basketball fan who has ever written. Your hatred has blinded you - rather than provide balanced (if not one-sided truth), you vent spite and fallacy. You pollute the world with craptacular opinions that belie the facts that do in fact show Kobe does better his teammates.
I don't want to waste my time with an exhaustive refutation of your bullshit, so I'll just refute one of your brief comments because it is representative of your general idiocy.
"Nash did exactly what Kobe couldn't do - he turned a team of unknown players into contenders for the title. The Suns were just as good this year without Amare, and it's all thanks to Nash."
No, they weren't as good. Just because they advanced to the same round doesn't mean they were nearly as good, but I don't want to say much beyond that right now. What's really stupid is that you think Nash's supporting cast is equally as bad as Kobe's.
Marion puts out MVP numbers unlike Odom, who possesses greater but unfulfilled potential. I think it's safe to say Boris Diaw, Raja Bell, Leandro Barbosa and the few extra people who comprise the Sun's rotation are superior to Kwame, who can't hit a layup, a Smush who went cold, and the mightily average Luke Walton. It wasn't Kobe's fault, at least by the logic that with equal supporting casts, Kobe lost the duel with Nash. That is absurd.
Also, note that if Kobe didn't fuck up one shot, it'd be the Lakers in the NBA finals. Kobe single-handedly beat the Mavs twice in the regular season, and split with the Clippers - with their improved team play, I'm sure they'd beat both teams. Miami is another story.
Even if beating the Mavs is a pipe dream, beating the Clippers is not.
As for Kobe vs Nash, Kobe is superior. He's better at scoring, rebounding, defending and basketball in general. He'd win the one on one game.
The team game, I'm not even so sure he would lose that. If you replace Nash with Kobe, Kobe has people who he can trust. He'd rack up a few more assists than now, I'm sure. He might push the tempo worse than Nash, but Kobe can compensate for that with scoring, the floor space to shoot better being created by the Suns' deadly alternative options. Moreover, I might even contend Kobe is, for his inability to push the tempo as effectively, more capable of setting people up than Nash, in terms of potential. This is the kid who, playing as a shooting guard, deferred to Shaq and set him up, turning him into the best center EVER. In other words, I think Kobe's ability to turn Shaq into an even greater monster, to set him up in the right spots and get him the All Star game MVP, shows that if Kobe really wanted to, Kobe could own Nash not just one on one, but in the team game as well. It's a matter of circumstance - Kobe's failure in the mentioned circumstances is a reflection not of his poor play or ballhogging, but rather of his extreme disadvantages.
6:42 PM
So when the NBA has the 1-on-1 tournament, the Lakers will win...until then, you can thank Kobe for taking a team that was in the finals and alienating Shaq, the coach and the casual basketball fan.
MJ is so overatted...he only shot about 50% from the field, won 6 championships, played his guts out everyday and played ridiculous defense.
Oh wait, I'm sorry, that's not overatted, that's respect. Kobe is the most overatted player ever because while MJ put up numbers, Kobe has become a self-centered, self-important player who refuses to admit that basketball isn't a 1-on-1 game.
Kobe Bryant killed the casual fan's interest in the Lakers. Players like Worthy and Magic and Kareem made even people who didn't follow basketball watch. MJ did the same with the Bulls. In twenty years, no one is going to be talking about Kobe being one of the greatest ever.
And the reason the Suns are better:
Better overall record
Advanced further in the playoffs
More team oriented
Came back from a huge deficit to beat Kobe..er...the Lakers
The Lakers would have won the series and advanced iff (that's if and only if, not a typo) Kobe had continued to realize that he is not the only player on the team with any real talent. He is by far the most talented, but at the same time, he is not the only one with talent.
Kobe has a couple years to turn it around and actually become a well respected player. It starts with getting off the 'everyone hates me and I have no idea why' bandwagon, something he started with ESPN's make a wish appearance, but is ultimately destroyed by his commercial.
And as to the comment about MJ "letting his dad die", you are a tribute to society. MJ's dad was gunned down. Not MJ fault. MJ changed sports, changed numbers and CRIED WHEN HE WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP ON FATHER'S DAY. MJ loved his father, loved Chicago and loved the game of basketball.
Kobe Bryant has no respect for anything but his stats and his paycheck and while I will conceed that in a 1-on-1 game Kobe beats almost everyone in the league, the NBA is not about being a 1-man team and neither is life.
8:24 PM
"you can thank Kobe for taking a team that was in the finals and alienating Shaq, the coach and the casual basketball fan."
Alienating Shaq!? Shaq was under contract with the Lakers and Kobe wasn't. 'Oh boo hoo.. Kobe hurt my feelings and I can't play with him. Help me, please.' Shaq could have just said, 'I am a Laker and will stay a Laker. Kobe is a free agent and he can sign to stay with the Lakers and help us go to the finals next year or he can go and sign with any other team he wants to sign with.' Well Shaq didn't say anything like that and instead did say, "Trade me because I don't want to be a Laker anymore." Talk about throwing it back on the faces of all Lakers fans. That is exactly what Shaq did. Don't be blaming Kobe for what happend. When are you people ever going to learn the truth? I am sick and tired of having to explain to you guys what the circumstances were, but here I go again. Kobe's contract was up, so was Phil's and DFish's. Shaq wanted out and it was managements decision on which direction the team was going to take. Buss was tired of Shaq's act. As much as all the Lakers fans wanted the team to stay together it wasn't going to happen. Get this through to your heads.
As for the casual fan. Who cares about the casual fan? I don't. Who needs bandwagon fans. There are true and loyal Lakers fans and that is all that matters. Sure the casual fan is only good for a date-you know the one person who you want to ask out and say, "you know I have two tickets for the Lakers game tonight. What about dinner and a game at Staples Center and afterwards..." then she'll say, "I am not much of a basketball fan but okay." Other than that the casual fan means nothing and that goes for all bandwagon fans.
"MJ is so overatted..."
Did you not read my post. appearantly not close enough. Here it is again. "Is MJ the most over-rated baller? No, he is not, but he is the most over-hyped baller ever." Did you not understand the "No, he is not"? Yes you didn't.
And the reason the Suns are better:
Better overall record
Advanced further in the playoffs
More team oriented
Came back from a huge deficit to beat Kobe..er...the Lakers
Again? Man o' man. You must really like a team that has a consecutive mvp which never showed up in the finals in any of the two years. That is really a feat and only done once before 30 years ago! I don't care for the Suns. If you are going to say that the Suns have the two time mvp and are a great "team", then they better show up at the finals and make some noise. I am really looking forward to the first three time mvp not making the finals next year too.
"He is by far the most talented, but at the same time, he is not the only one with talent."
Well who else on the Lakers is an All Star. No one is. Lamar(God rest his son's soul)is not an all star and never will be. He is not even honorable mentionable. Lamar has alway had potential, but potential is a dangerous word in sports because it means-you will never be as good as you were supposed to be.
"the NBA is not about being a 1-man team and neither is life"
Yes I agree, but everyone, including the casual fans, saw that the NBA created the 1-man team in this years finals. You don't want me to go there, do you?
Everyone has the right to their opinion, but sometimes you have to have some facts, FACTS, to have some validity. You all can hate, but you all must have the facts and then realize that your hate is not healthy and never will be.
10:54 PM
To the idiot that wrote "Team player, you are by far...."
Your stupidity is only matched by your blind love for Dobe. YOU are the most idiotic Dobe kiss-ass that has ever posted in this blog, and there've been some dumb ones. BUT, you take the cake by far!!!
A. By definition, you moron, this is a Kobe Haters blog, so don't you think this blog would highlight Dobe's pathetic selfish game?
B.) Unless you had your head up Dobe's ass (which explains your writing), you would realize that just about every sportswriter was saying that Steve Nash, in light of the fact of losing Amare, worked miracles with this year's roster.
C.) You claim that the Lakers were not as good as the Suns. But whose fault is that? Dobe had Shaq but Dobe wanted to be Da Man, so he should not be rewarded for breaking-up the Lakers for his own personal so-called individual "accomplishments". And if Dobe is such an awesome player, shouldn't he be able to win with average players? Jordan did. What's really STUPID is the fact that you don't seem to understand the fact that Dobe turned the Lakers into a mediocre team. I guess sniffing Dobe's ass impairs your ability to think.
D.)Dobe lost the dual with Nash b/c Dobe is not able to make his players better, and because Dobe plays 1 on 5, which is precisely teamplayer's point. But again, you wouldn't be able to understand that if you secretly wish that Dobe raped your ass.
E.) "Kobe single-handedly beat the Mavs twice in the regular season, and split with the Clippers - with their improved team play, I'm sure they'd beat both teams. Miami is another story." Your stupid answer is the typical answer of a Dobe kiss ass (i.e. your focus on individual accomplishments by saying that Dobe "single-handedly" wins games). And the fact that the Lakers beat those teams in the regular season does not mean that they would win in the playoffs. Deal with fact you idiot, not with hypothetical games that only take place in your sad brain. The reality is that Dobe quin on the Lakes against the Suns so your little hypothetical Laker playoff victories over the Mavs and the Clippers NEVER took place your kiss-ass.
F.) "As for Kobe vs Nash, Kobe is superior. He's better at scoring, rebounding, defending and basketball in general. He'd win the one on one game." Given that NBA basketball is a team sport, I will not even bother to respond to that. Your pathetic lame comment defeats itself!!!
G.) "The team game, I'm not even so sure he would lose that. If you replace Nash with Kobe, Kobe has people who he can trust. He'd rack up a few more assists than now, I'm sure. He might push the tempo worse than Nash, but Kobe can compensate for that with scoring, the floor space to shoot better being created by the Suns' deadly alternative options." Once again, you're dealing with hypothetical events. The reality is that folks from Phill Jackson to the media have been tellling Dobe to stop playing 1 on 5. This obviously shows you that Dobe is terrible at playing the teamgame, as a natural teamplayer would not have to be reminded of passing the ball.
H.) "This is the kid who, playing as a shooting guard, deferred to Shaq and set him up, turning him into the best center EVER..." Are you on crack? Dobe is the guy that shot 4 airballs in a playoff game against the Jazz b/c he refused to pass the ball, this is the guy that refused to start the triangle offense from the Center position outward into the 1,3,4, and 5 spots b/c he wanted to lead the league in scoring. This is the guy that went from being in the finals when Shaq was there to NOT making the playoffs after Shaq left, and you have the nerve to say that Dobe made Shaq, stop sniffing that Dobe-crack. And to shut your a-hole once and for all, Shaq goes and wins a ring w/o Dobe.
I.) "his extreme disadvantages." Huh? Dobe's only disadvantage was created by endless thirst to be Da Man, even if it means driving the good players away. And if he's so good, he should be able to do the same thing that Jordan did with the bulls
11:42 PM
Jordan, never got into the second round without pippen.
jordan, never won 3 games when his bulls was a 8 seeded team.
you never knew that pippen, who always respected jordan, didnt really like him that much. he was too much of a ball hog and you can see why. leading the fg 9 times. more than any1 in history.
IN the words of greg anthony, there were too much talk bout how the 81 point game was not good for his team yaddah yaddah what a ball hog.
he shot 60 percent from the field. who avergaes 60 percent a game ? why dont u look it up.
if jordan or any all star made that much, there would be no talk about how much of a ball hog he was, how he didnt pass it to his teamates.
jordan got doug collins fired. he was an excellent coach.
magic got his coach fired, no not pat riley. when he did, he was actually booed by his own people. in staplez center for a while.
jordan said if isiah thomas was selected to the dream team, he would refuse to play. YEAH SUCH A TEAMPLAYER HUH.
Jordan fought any attempts by his coaches to cut back on the number of shots HE got.
Kobe's 4.5 assists per game over his career is 0.8 APG less than Jordan's 5.3 APG
yeahh so much difference. wow, jordan found one open guy throughout his career and passed it.
what bout franchise.
remember this " steve what was going on between you and van gundy?"
" oh coach was jus bull shittin"
again jordan was nuthinn without pippen. he lead the team but so what. 0 rings without an all star next to him
that guy above was right. shaq is the one that really quit. he just stuck it up the fans by demanding a trade. remember the last time they met? shaq was gettin booed like hell.
by the way jordan had a gambling problem.
and jordan did not play with wennington. he barley played with the bulls.
exactly. if your a true fan of the lakers, you would support them no matter what happens. there were so much bandwaggoners who just quit and said fk them. you like the lakers but you want them to lose.. it really doesnt make sense.
12:35 AM
some Kobe Bryant Jokes:
Q: Why did Kobe Bryant buy a dictionary?
A: To figure out what part of "no" he doesn't understand
Q: Why does Kobe wear goggles during sex?
A: To keep the mace out of his eyes.
Q: What's the next event Kobe Bryant will be attending?
A: The Teen not by Choice Awards.
Q: Why did Kobe attend the Teen Choice Awards?
A: He was fascinated by the "choice" aspect of it.
Q: What do the movie "Gigli" and Kobe Bryant have in common?
A: Both leave people in tears feeling screwed.
Q: Who was the head lawyer on Kobe's legal team?
A: The one with dirt on his knees.
Q: Why would Kobe Bryant be so POPULAR in prison?
A: He's great at penetrating to the hole.
Q: Why would Kobe Bryant be so UNPOPULAR in prison?
A: He's an all-star. He doesn't suck.
Q: Why did Kobe add the letter "O" to his bracelet?
A: So it would stand for: "What Would O.J. Do?".
Q: Why did Kobe buy his wife such a huge diamond?
A: Because the weight of it slows down her punches.
Q: What did Shaq say when he heard of Kobe's marital infidelity?
A: Kobe making a pass? She must be lying.
Q: Why would Kobe Bryant make a good governor?
A: He got his scandal out of the way early.
6:40 AM
"A. By definition, you moron, this is a Kobe Haters blog, so don't you think this blog would highlight Dobe's pathetic selfish game?"
Grammar - I can't believe I'm responding to someone as illiterate, shortsighted and unknowledgeable as you. I'm smashing the blog. Your non-sequitir attack doesn't do any good - if I wanted to trash the blog, where else would I go?
Calling me a moron for attacking the blog on its own comment list is reflecive of your own stupidity.
"B.) Unless you had your head up Dobe's ass (which explains your writing), you would realize that just about every sportswriter was saying that Steve Nash, in light of the fact of losing Amare, worked miracles with this year's roster."
Every sportswriter also acknowledges Kobe carried the Lakers, so you aren't really proving much here. And this doesn't refute my argument. Nash is great, but he's not greater than Kobe just because the Suns did better - Nash is great and his cast was better, so they did better. Answer that. Also answer the ample evidence that says Kobe, if he wanted to, could run the Suns equally as well as Nash did. Remember, Kobe scores better and did average 6 assists with an even shittier Lakers team last year. AND setup Shaq all those years in a way Dwyane doesn't now.
"C.) You claim that the Lakers were not as good as the Suns. But whose fault is that? And if Dobe is such an awesome player, shouldn't he be able to win with average players? Jordan did."
Rofl. JORDAN HAD PIPPEN, HALL OF FAME SWINGMAN WHO CONTAINED MAGIC JOHNSON. HARPER was a perennial 20 point scorer until he CAME TO THE BULLS. RODMAN = BEST REBOUNDER OF ALL TIME, AVERAGING 13 per game in a BAD YEAR. Kerr and Armstrong, solid bench scorers. And, Kukoc, Sixth man of the year. Are you stupid? Jordan didn't win crap without Pippen. His cast wasn't average, by any means. Think of it this way - if the Bulls averaged 100 points, 50 rebounds a game, Jordan averages 30 points, 6 rebounds a game, he'd need a strong supporting cast. And he had one. You're stupid.
D.)Dobe lost the dual with Nash b/c Dobe is not able to make his players better, and because Dobe plays 1 on 5, which is precisely teamplayer's point. But again, you wouldn't be able to understand that if you secretly wish that Dobe raped your ass.
No need to be exceedingly vulgar here. But I think Kobe outNashed Nash for 4 games, until Smush and Kwame decided they couldn't play for beans. If Kobe didn't miss one shot over Marion or Tim Thomas didn't get a magical rebound, it would've been over.
"E.) And the fact that the Lakers beat those teams in the regular season does not mean that they would win in the playoffs."
Again, if you read your post, you just try to offend me with "kiss ass" and anti-homosexual comments, which usually reflects the accuser's homosexuality. But I won't digress further - my point is, the Lakers were a better team in the playoffs. If they advanced past the Suns, no DOUBT would Kobe have beaten the Clippers - beating the Mavs I'm more skeptical of, but it's clear that if Kobe can singlehandedly trounce the Mavs twice, something should be said of his talent. Still, I stand by my point that the Lakers could've advanced as far or farther, with Kobe as the Leader.
The Suns would've been shut down by the Heat. And were shut down by the Mavs. We know from the Finals a one man game can work - and Kobe proved, as an unstoppable one man show, he could very well excel. Nash can't do that.
G.) "The team game, I'm not even so sure he would lose that. If you replace Nash with Kobe, Kobe has people who he can trust. He'd rack up a few more assists than now, I'm sure. He might push the tempo worse than Nash, but Kobe can compensate for that with scoring, the floor space to shoot better being created by the Suns' deadly alternative options." Once again, you're dealing with hypothetical events. The reality is that folks from Phill Jackson to the media have been tellling Dobe to stop playing 1 on 5. This obviously shows you that Dobe is terrible at playing the teamgame, as a natural teamplayer would not have to be reminded of passing the ball.
H.) "This is the kid who, playing as a shooting guard, deferred to Shaq and set him up, turning him into the best center EVER..." Are you on crack? Dobe is the guy that shot 4 airballs in a playoff game against the Jazz b/c he refused to pass the ball,"
He was a rookie. And everyone else was too afraid to take the shot, NOT because he was ballhogging. If he had really fucked up the THREE, not FOUR airballs by ballhogging it, he would've been removed from the game. But he wasn't, he was brave.
this is the guy that refused to start the triangle offense from the Center position outward into the 1,3,4, and 5 spots b/c he wanted to lead the league in scoring.
No, he deferred to Shaq for four, five years.
"and you have the nerve to say that Dobe made Shaq, stop sniffing that Dobe-crack."
Read Phil Jackson's book, who you take as Gospel. When committed, Kobe is the best at setting up Shaq. It's not just age that explains why Shaq is less than his former self - Kobe deferred.
"And to shut your a-hole once and for all, Shaq goes and wins a ring w/o Dobe."
LOOK, if the Lakers were as lucky as the heat to draft a Wade-caliber Center... the Lakers would no doubt win. Ok?
In the end, I think it's clear you don't have an answer for 95 percent of what I have to say. And I've got an answer for everything you have to say. The only thing you do is try to belittle me with inflammatorily, crude, uneducated names, yet you clearly lack the basketball knowledge you self-righteously proclaim.
Kobe haters lose.
3:04 PM
Dobe in a nutshell-
"I have a great life! I have an awesome championship team that can win quite possibly 3 or 4 more championships! I'm one of the most adored and admired athletes in the world (and I'm filthy rich). I have a gorgeous wife and a beautiful little child, and we all live in a wonderful mansion in Newport Beach.
But y'know, that's just not good enough for me, so why don't I just go and fuck all that up."
WHATEVER!!
6:10 PM
if you think his teamates hate him so much, then why do they say shooting a lot is a good thing.
Kobe Bryant. Those two names together compose perhaps the most divisive sports personality in modern times. Some love him. Some hate him. There is seemingly no in between.
Those who love him say he is perhaps the most talented player to ever lace up a pair of NBA sneakers. They point to his amazing talent on both ends of the floor and the fact that he has already won three NBA titles. His 81-point performance last season against Toronto only added fuel to the fire. Moreover, they argued last season that the Lakers had no business making the playoffs, and the only reason they ended up qualifying is because of Bryant's brilliance.
Those on the other side of the argument say that Bryant is selfish. They believe he won three championships because of being teamed up with Shaquille O'Neal, and they believe Bryant won't win another one without him. They paint him as a me first type of player who cares only about personal accolades and adulation despite the persona he portrays to the media. They even make the argument that Bryant has discovered a way to pass selfishly as exemplified by his unwillingness to the shoot the ball a couple of years ago against the Kings and also in Game Seven last season in the Lakers' first round loss to the Suns.
So where does the truth lie? Well, in the words of the great Roman Emperor and stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius, "Remember that all things are only opinions and that it is in your power to think as you please."
Such is the case with Bryant. Love him or hate him, though, he's got to get some help on his roster. Vladimir Radmanovic is a nice start but most will probably agree that he is not enough alone. So perhaps the opinions about Bryant that matter the most are those of his peers. Not just his teammates, but players from around the NBA. After all, it's all of the other players in the NBA who will ultimately decide whether they want to team up with a player like Bryant or not.
So what's the verdict?
Basketball News Services set out around the NBA to get the truth about how players feel about Bryant. No, this is not just another one of those pieces were a reporter asks, "Hey, what do you think about Kobe Bryant," only to get a response like, "Oh, yeah man, I think he's got a lot of ability, and you know we just have to take it one game at a time, and blah, blah, blah . . . " No, this was a series of interviews that wouldn't settle for such mundane and contrived responses.
That's not to say that some of the players interviewed for this pieced didn't try and give some dodo bird answers, but it's just that your friendly neighborhood columnist wouldn't settle for that. In short, if players didn't want to give their true feelings on the topic, this writer simply moved on.
Finally, the quotes themselves are simply not enough. Many of them require some kind of context to fully embrace and understand the meaning behind what was communicated. Taking something that's spoken and trying to translate it into written text that captures the essence of what was said, and exactly how it was said (including voice inflection, speech rate, volume, etc.) is a very difficult task. Hence the reason why so many people in this media Mecca we live in claim that they were misquoted. To try and limit this as much as possible, a promise was made to the players interviewed for this piece that their words would be captured in their entirety with as much context as possible.
Inside The Lakers' Locker Room
Any legitimate discussion of whether or not players like playing with Bryant has to start within the Lakers' own locker room, and trying to find players who will talk honestly about how they feel about Bryant can be a challenge. Many players just refuse to answer questions that aren't generic questions to which they can produce generic responses. However, a few Laker players were brave enough to voice how they feel.
Let's start with Laker forward Brian Cook. Cook addressed the issue of Bryant being selfish head on, but to truly understand Cook's feeling, you must read the quote in its' entirety.
"I think he is selfish," Cook responded. "But he has to be. He's our go to man. He needs to take shots for us to win and that's what he does."
Cook went on to describe his experience playing with Bryant.
"It's good. He's obviously a player that can take over ballgames, and that's what he's done all year. On another note, the defense is keyed on him, so it allows us to get our points and do our thing on the weak side. I mean, I've had open jump shots all year just because of him and that's what I do is shoot. It's good playing with him. When he gets in a zone, he gets in a zone. It's good for us."
Guard Aaron McKie also addressed the idea of Bryant as a selfish basketball player drawing an analogy to a fellow named Tim Duncan.
"You don't reach this level without being selfish to some degree, and I think that depending on what type of team you have and the type of players you have . . . for instance, you could take a situation like a Tim Duncan. Now everyone wants him to be so much more aggressive, because he hasn't scored 20 points in the last 20 some odd games or whatever. I mean it's like a double-edged sword. Once he starts doing it, and the teams having some success, or the team loses a few games, then they're going to flip the script. They'll say, 'Maybe he needs to fall back on his shots a little bit. Maybe he needs to take less shots.' It's a double-edged sword. As long as the team is comfortable with it, and you're successful with it, do what works."
McKie continued with this assessment of Bryant's game and what makes him unique.
"He's a great player. He's one of those guys that when he gets his foot on you, he wants to put it on your neck and finish the deal. You know, you have a lot of great talents and great players out here, but they don't have that killer instinct like he has. People are quick to say that this guy is a good player or that guy is a good player, but a lot of times I really don't see it. But he's been on that stage, championship level in game situations. So he's battle tested, and he has all of that under his belt. I look at him as one of the all time greats in his approach to the game and his respect for the game. It's just something that I admire."
Fifteen-year veteran Jim Jackson, similar to Cook, acknowledged that Bryant is selfish. Once again, though, his words have to be considered in their totality.
"I think every player who plays this game is selfish in some respects. For (Bryant), he wants to go out and dominate the game. Is it selfish? I think it's just a mindset that he wants to go out and dominate the game. I think people can perceive that as selfish. Sometimes does he miss some people on passes? Probably, but that happens to everybody. Everybody gets missed. Everybody misses somebody. All the stuff he's been through, they are going to label him (selfish)."
Jackson continued, "He's a hell of a competitor, along with having the skills and desire to become the best. That's a hell of a combination to have. He's a great player. He's right on the lines of the guys that have played in this league that have dominated. I think he's on the cusp of still getting even better."
Interesting verbiage from inside the Lakers' locker room to be sure, but what does it all mean? Is it possible for a player to be selfish and still make his teammates better at the same time?
In fairness, this is a sample of three players and what they believe. However, it's easy to see common threads in the comments of all three. Each of them acknowledged to some extent that Bryant is selfish, but they also acknowledged that it might not be such a bad thing for the team.
In other words, the argument over whether or not Kobe is selfish may not be a dichotomous one in terms of whether or not it's good for his team, as many pundits would have you believe. Instead, it appears that sentiment in the Lakers' dressing room is that it's possible for a player like Bryant to be selfish while simultaneously making his teammates better.
To Play With Kobe or Not to Play With Kobe?
Perception is reality -- or at least that's what they tell me -- and the perception of many non-Laker fans seems to be that other players around the league don't want to play with a guy like Kobe because of his shot happy ways. If this perception turns out to be true within the ranks of NBA free agents, it could have disastrous consequences for the Lakers. It would essentially mean that the team wouldn't be able to land any premiere free agents in year's to come. The end result would be an outfit much like the one this year in Los Angeles for the rest of Bryant's career-- an outfit that's a day late and a dollar short.
Again, it's hard to get NBA players to talk about anything that doesn't yield a writer a rambling page full of clichés. That said, it's even harder to get players to talk about wanting to play with teams or players that they are not currently playing with. Free agents are no different, as they usually say nothing of substance in an effort to avoid hurting their chances of landing top-dollar offers from teams league wide. However, a few brave men were willing to speak on the subject.
Exhibit A, Wolves' forward Mark Madsen. Madsen, while not a free agent, is an interesting case study nonetheless because he has been on the inside with Bryant as well as on the outside now in Minnesota. It should be noted, the quotes that follow from Madsen were said with a lot of passion and weren't simply regurgitated to look good on paper.
"I really enjoyed playing with Kobe Bryant," Madsen explained. "I mean, Kobe's always been someone who has always tried to involve me . . . on the court, off the court. On the court, he's done everything he could to get me easy baskets. I can't tell you how many games he just put the ball right in my hands and all I had to do was go up and lay it in. Off the court, he's really a great guy. He's a gentleman. He's someone that really takes the time with players, players' families and friends. He's just all-and-all a great guy to be around."
No doubt that Madsen wouldn't be averse to playing with Bryant again sometime in the future.
One guy who is still on the open market as an unrestricted free agent is forward Reggie Evans. Evans addressed whether or not he would welcome a chance to play with Bryant.
"I'd play with him. I don't think he's selfish. One thing I like about Kobe is that Kobe will play on both ends of the court. That's why I would play with him. He's a competitor and he's a winner. Why not play with a winner? If he feels like he's got to take a hundred shots to win the game, I'm cool with that. I've been on a team with Gary Patyon who shot a lot, Ray Allen who shot a lot, Carmelo who shoots a lot. So for me to play with someone like that, it wouldn't be nothing new. Just another player who shoots a lot."
Another guy who was a free agent before signing with the Mavericks last week, Greg Buckner, could have just as easily ended up playing for the Lakers had they come calling -- that is if you listen to what he had to say about the Lakers' superstar shooting guard.
When asked to describe what players around the league think of Bryant, Buckner responded, "I think people think Kobe Bryant is a killer. He's a guy that's always going to attack and not give you any time off. Whether he's shooting or passing, he's always going to make his teammates better. Kobe's like Jordan used to be. Anytime he's out there on the court he can win the game. A lot of guys in this league take plays off. Kobe takes his plays off when he's on the bench. He never gives you a moment to relax. He also plays on the other end, he plays defense, too. That's very impressive for a guy of his stature on the offensive end to go out there and try and shut down his guy also."
When asked if he would like to play with Bryant, Buckner emphatically responded, "Hell yeah, I would love to play with a guy like Kobe. I mean Kobe, he's sort of like a Shaq. Shaq makes the game easier for everybody else. Kobe's going to be a guy that makes the game easier for everyone else because he demands so much attention, and he's so good that he's going to make you even better. I think it would be an honor for myself to play with a guy like Kobe."
While the sample size was indeed a small one, the answer was definitive. Guys want to play with Bryant -- well, at least role players who were interviewed for this piece do. Buckner and Evans will never be confused with NBA All Stars, and it would be interesting to see if big time NBA players feel the same way. Still, the answers that were given were very emphatic. It's not like the above players wouldn't mind playing with Bryant -- nope, they each indicated that they would love a chance to play with him.
It should also be noted that during an exclusive interview with Basketball News Services about a myriad of topics, soon to be Utah Jazz guard Derek Fisher declined comment for this piece. Interesting considering that the affable Fisher is usually quite willing to shoot the breeze about most anything. Not to imply that Fisher would have anything negative to say, but it is possible that some dissenting voices exist and did not -- or chose not -- to have their voices heard at this particular time.
No doubt the debate about Bryant will rage on. Ultimately, it's probably a good thing for the NBA with all of the attention and storylines it provides. While this article, or any article for that matter, doesn't own the corner of the market on truth, it did lead to some interesting insights. Chief among them the idea that Bryant can be selfish and make his teammates better at the same time. It also shed a little bit of light on the fallacy that very few free agent's would welcome the opportunity to play with Bryant.
Love-Hate Relationship
Go on. Love him or hate him. Both groups can find fodder for their positions by reading the words that were written above and interpreting them as they want to interpret them. The reality of the situation, though, is that lovers are going to continue to love and haters are going to continue to hate anytime the words Kobe and Bryant appear in that order in print.
So here you are: KOBE BRYANT.
Have fun.
1:44 AM
"WOW, your dumber than I thought. Let me remind you of your own words (i.e. "rather than provide balanced...sided truth"). To put it in terms that even you will understand, the blog is called the Kobe Haters Blog, and yet you're busting on teamplayer for not using a "balanced" approach."
One, you conceded just here this blog is one-sided, preferencing anti-Kobe emotion rather than a balanced approach. In other words, this blog is full of shit.
Second, the reason I defend Kobe is to provide the balance. Your anti-Kobe, my pro-Kobe, yin to yang. Good always wins, though, and so have I.
"I do think it's interesting how you keep coming back to this blog to defend your Lord (Dobe), specially considering the fact that there are blogs dedicated to kissing Dobe's ass."
What can I say? Do the Environmental Liberation Front or the Palestinian Liberation Organization keep their bitching to the confines of their own meeting grounds? No.
"You think that calling you a moron for attacking the blog is a reflection of my own stupidity?"
On my Ivy League accounts, I'm smarter than you. So I won't even address this horrifically written sentence.
"BUT yet you say the following: "Team player, you are by far the dumbest basketball fan who has ever written....so I'll just refute one of your brief comments because it is representative of your general idiocy." SO you're saying that you cand dish it-out but you can take it, right? people like you love to bust on folks, but when you get a taste of your own medicine you act like you're innocent. That's called being a pussy."
This made no sense either. I don't act innocently to your insults, I'm just saying you don't have to say stuff like "you want [Kobe's] dick up your ass and have him rape you". That's uncalled for. Calling people stupid is, sure, offensive, but nothing over the line. And acting "innocently" to an insult doesn't mean I'm a coward, a pussy. That just doesn't make sense. Nor do I cry myself to sleep because a bunch of idiots like FAILING to refute my arguments.
"Every sportswriter also acknowledges Kobe carried the Lakers, so you aren't really proving much here. And this doesn't refute my argument." Actually, my point was that Nash was able to make his team better, specially in light of the fact that Amare got hurt and the media began to write them off b/c of that injury. So yes, I did prove you wrong, it's just that you didn't understand what the point was (i.e. Nash beat Dobe) b/c you think of individual accomplishments."
Sigh... Just read below. What the media writes doesn't matter.
"No one can dispute that Dobe carried the Lakers, so you're twisted idea that I was trying to prove the opposite is pathetic. Dobe carried the Lakers b/c he managed to drive away players that could actually compete (e.g. Shaq) with him for the leadership of the team."
You didn't try to prove the opposite, you ommitted it. Just wanted to provide the balance.
Again, read Phil Jackson's book, and above post. Kobe didn't drive Shaq out. Shaq fought with Kobe. They fought, it wasn't all Kobe's fault. Shaq would've driven Kobe out the same way Kobe drove Shaq out.
Moreover, if an AGING Shaq got his $30million a year contract, the one he wanted, you think the rest of his team would've been well off? NO.
You seem to think that NBA basketball is about individual accomplishments, such as comparing a Dobe Vs. Nash matchup. Just scroll-up and read your own lame comments )those are facts, as opposed to your hypothetical games).
Not what I'm saying at all, but I'll continue.
Once again, Dobe lost the match against Nash b/c the Suns moved to the 2nd round. But your limited mind does not allow you to understand that b/c, by your own definition, you focus on individual accomplishments.
Where in my definition of greatness do I say that? I say that Kobe is the greater individual, both in and out of the team context. The fact he'd accomplish more is irrelevant - Kobe gave up scoring titles for years to Shaq.
The Suns cast was better b/c Nash made them better. Answer that, in fact, google it and see how many articles you will find proving my point. And then google Dobe's name and try to find as many articles giving Dobe props for making his team better (good luck!!).
ARTICLES DON'T MATTER UNLESS YOU HAVE THE ARGUMENT TO PROVE IT, just like SUPPOSEDLY, THE FACT PPL LOVE KOBE DOESNT MAKE HIM SUPERIOR.
My point is, IN THAT PLAYOFF ROUND, KOBE MADE HIS TEAMMATES BETTER. To say their supporting casts are absolutely equal independent of Kobe and Nash is stupid. Look, let's play a game of four on four - Marion, Diaw, Tim Thomas and Raja Bell versus Smush, Luke Walton, Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown. Who would win? Obviously, not the Lakers.
Truth is, you haven't argued anything. You're just like "look at my point" and generally it makes no sense. At least I reiterate what I mean.
"Also answer the ample evidence that says Kobe, if he wanted to, could run the Suns equally as well as Nash did." What? are you on crack? "if he wanted to"? There you go again, speaking of hypothetical situations. You ask for proof of something that hasn't happened? wow, you really lost it.
Fine, cut that hypothetical.
"Remember, Kobe scores better and did average 6 assists with an even shittier Lakers team last year." once again, you show that you focus on individual accomplishments and thus, you don't understand basketball at ALL. You fail to mention in your sad analysis that the Lakers FAILED to make the playoffs that year, are you still proud of those 6 assists per game?"
What I'm saying here is that if Kobe had Joe Johnson, Raja, Amare and Marion last year, they would've made the playoffs. And probably have had more than Caron Butler and Lamar Odom to give assists to. Don't you think so?
The point was, Kobe can dish the assists even on a shitty team. If he was on the Suns, he would've done as well as or better than Nash. You're just going to reply "this is a hypothetical", but in so doing, you'd fail to note my original point - had Kobe close to the same team as Nash, Kobe would win the championships and not Nash.
"AND setup Shaq all those years in a way Dwyane doesn't now." Really? is that why Shaq would bust on Dobe on national T.V. for not passing the ball enough?
You think Shaq was fair and balanced? Bullshit.
BUT, defer to Phil Jackson, who wrote Kobe IS better at setting up Shaq and has been doing so. Refer to how Shaq DID dominate the league throughout all those years. If you don't believe me, believe Phil Jackson who spurned Kobe but HAD to admit Kobe was stupendous at deferring to Shaq.
is that why Jackson insisted on the triangle offense? you're amazing dude. You have to have had your head in the sand not to realize that Dobe has a reputation of not passing the ball, and yet you have the nerves to say that Dobe setup Shaq? any 1, or 2 could set-up, yet Dobe wanted his personal glory. No wonder you like him so much.
Rofl. Reputation? Is that all that matters? You're really bad at this argument thing. Reputation doesn't matter, because it doesn't equal reality. But if you want reputation, Kobe before the rape trial was considered a consummate passer, the best all around player in the NBA. You know who that title went to before? Scottie Pippen, the point forward who ran the Triangle the same way Kobe does. But, google an article with "Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Love Triangle" and you will see Phil laud Kobe as, potentially, one of the best playmakers incomparable to even Jordan.
Now, Kobe just scores because he has to. And refer to the previous post showing Kobe makes his team better the same way Shaq did for being selfish.
So if you're a rookie you're allowed to shoot 3 airballs from 30 point land? the reality is that Jerry Buzzzzz gave Dobe way too much rope, anybody else would have benched his ass. Those 3 airballs were a microcosm of what was coming from Dobe. Just because the other players are not shooting does NOT mean that you take crazy-ass shots."
You're stupid. DID YOU EVEN READ?
What I'm saying is Kobe is the only one who volunteered to make those shots. If the coach didn't let him, he'd be taken out of the game after the first airball. NO, it was their strategy.
JERRY "Buzz" didn't make the call, Del Harris did. Jerry Buzz wasn't on the court saying, Del, let this rookie fuck up our chances of going to the NBA finals. Jerry West was the one who would've, because he's the one who elected Kobe, but he wasn't there making the calls either.
Kobe has missed a lot of game wining shots, but he scores the most of anyone in the fourth quarter aside from that final shot. He could make some smarter decisions, but he's still the most consummate 4th quarter player. Since you like reputation so much, this is evidenced by a survey of General Managers around the League, who said they fear Kobe the most taking the last game winning shot.
Kobe hasn't played one on three his whole career. Becuase Shaq would've been left wide open and Kobe would've passed to him. Last I checked, Shaq didn't score 81. Don't use your minimal brain capacity to interpret this as a championing of his individual accomplishments.
"No, he deferred to Shaq for four, five years." WOW, you obviously got lost with my explanation of how the triagle offense is run. Your sad attempt at resonding to my comment makes no sense.
Umm.. this is all you wrote.
"this is the guy that refused to start the triangle offense from the Center position outward into the 1,3,4, and 5 spots b/c he wanted to lead the league in scoring."
First, you haven't studied the triangle offense, have you? Google it, Wikipedia it, ESPN in, and then come back and explain what you meant. I have, and I know what you're saying is incomplete.
Second, Kobe, when they were the uncontested champions of the league, dicked around in the Triangle. He was immature back then. But the Triangle creates a two man game, and he ran the triangle, when committed, superbly.
"LOOK, if the Lakers were as lucky as the heat to draft a Wade-caliber Center... the Lakers would no doubt win. Ok?" you're not understanding my point, the Lakers had Shaq and they lost him b/c of Dobe.
No, I get that. What YOU'RE missing is that Shaq got lucky that he had Wade. If he had no Wade, he'd have no championship. If Kobe had Wade, he'd have a championship.
In the end, I proved you 100% wrong. On the other hand, you've demonstrated that you are not as intelligent as you think you are,
You're entitled to your own opinion, but I think any intelligent person would clearly see you're more huff and puff than substance, and that, as argued, my position is superior. On account of my pedigree, I would contend I'm pretty intelligent, and so what others believe about me sufficiently contradicts what you have to say. The only reason I mention my pedigree is that you seem to think reputation matters - I'm just preempting.
as you have no idea why it is that you are being insulted!!!! Since you're slow, I will spell it out for you: If you insult someone, you will get it right back.
I welcome the intelligence potshots. Not the unnecessary ones about how I want Kobe's dick, which no doubt decrease the case you make and cast it in a decidedly immature light.
1:25 PM
The guy who posted above I agree w/. The Bulls were waaayyyyy better than Kobe's team so its unfair to compare
5:17 PM
You did a better job this time, but your reasoning is still off the mark by a wide margin. I won't bother to fully deconstruct, again, since apparently you don't entertain real debate, except for the following things (by the way saying I grow tiresome is ...:
1) You don't ever respond directly to argument.
2) I'm satisfied with the concession, even if you don't like to call it that, that this blog loses its basketball credibility projecting itself off the politics of hating Kobe, rather than the substance behind the argument.
3) Dismissing hypotheticals categorically is very stupid. The analysts you proclaim base their MVP awards on the notion "were I to kidnap the player, how much worse would they be?"
4) This blog is not fact. It's opinion. You're saying this "Kobe Da Man" article is opinion? Right...
5) Here is what I meant by two man game.
http://espn.go.com/ncb/2003/0128/1499926.html
1 moves to corner, feeds into 5.
"Basically, the Triangle consists of a three-man triangle on one side of the court and a "two man game" on the other side of the court. Unlike set plays, there is a freedom of movement in the offense."
Since I asked you to provide what you meant, and I'm so adamant in asserting you're wrong, why don't you just reconsider what you wrote and clarify it? Like I had asked you to, and like I'm doing now since apparently it never crossed your "humbly opinionated" mind that you might be wrong, factually.
Lastly, Jerry BUSS didn't tell Del Harris to have Kobe jack up three shots. Again, if you KNEW the story, rather than speculating, Kobe was the only one who dared to take the shot. No one else did - if they did, coach would've acted with the season on the line.
6) Most importantly, if this blog ISN'T about championing the individual, shouldn't this be an anti-Lakers blog? That's more rhetorical than argumentative, but the counterintuitive purpose of this blog should be clear.
10:19 PM
you really do lack a brain dude
read what that other dude is saying cuz he's right
1 - kobe is the best player in the nba
2 - ur wrong bout lot of what u say bout the nba, kobe
3 - ur really, really bad at logic. he's a lil over the top but he at least makes sense.
10:23 PM
dude nash shouldn't have won mvp.
why is he wrong to say kboe couldn'th ave d one as well as nash in running the suns? explain
10:25 PM
Kobe is the best player in the NBA?
Kobe is a gifted athlete. You can say that Kobe can dunk, or that he can score 81 points, but he has zero rings withouth Shaq. The fact that Steve Nash won the MVP is pretty good proof that the basketball is about playing as a team. Kobe just doesn't get that.
Until Kobe wins a ring, his fans can not talk. Don't even get me started with his personal life.
11:23 PM
This is my favorite line:
"what happened to the Lakers once Shaq left? oh wait, Dobe scored 81 points so the Lakers won the NBA championship right?" LMAO!!
Good one, assorto!
11:58 PM
chamionship huh. so nuthin matters huh ok.
so much for
John Stockton
Karl Malone
Patrick Ewing
and Charles BArkley.
so, why u ratting on him so much if those players didnt win anything their whole career.
its true dwayne lead the heats. no duh look at the finals and the eastern finals
shaq was averaging lyk 14 points?
3:45 AM
hi, thaks for stopping by.
yes you'r right: The Lakers are a great team because of Kareem, because of Magic, because of Shaq.
4:34 AM
Champions from 1980 to 2003
Celtics
Lakers
76ers
Celtics
Lakers
Celtics
Lakers
Lakers
Pistons
Pistons
Bulls
Bulls
Bulls
Rockets
Rockets
Bulls
Bulls
Bulls
Spurs
Lakers
Lakers
Lakers
Spurs
So in the time that Malone, Stockton, Barkley and Ewing played only 7 teams won the NBA Championship.
There are 30 teams in the league now, 28 during most of that span of 7 champions. Now that means that 1/4th of the teams in the NBA won a championship over a 23 year period. The NBA is very very susceptible to dynasties, which is why the same teams end up in the top four in each conference and this changes maybe every five or six years.
So Barkley, Malone, Stockton and Ewing get off the hook a little because they're teams were losing to teams that were just simply dominate. In that 23 year span, only 1 of those series went to game 7 and that was the 1980 Celtics.
Since the last repeat champion (Lakers, by the way) however, there's been ZERO repeat champions. Meaning:
1. Something tore that Laker team apart.
I know they lost the championship the next year, but still something took a team that had gone to FOUR STRAIGHT CHAMPIONSHIPS to a team that couldn't even make the playoffs.
I don't buy the whole "well Malone retired and Payton left" argument as the solution to this. Neither had been on the previous teams that had won and the fact is that the core of those teams that had won left that off-season, most notably...the coach and Shaq, who were sick of...Kobe.
2. The NBA is somewhat wide open now.
Phoenix made the Conference Finals; if they suck as badly as everyone seems to think they do, then it shouldn't take a whole lot to get a team into there, especially when the team had been to the NBA Finals TWO YEARS EARLIER.
The fact is the Lakers couldn't even make it to the second round after blowing a 3-1 lead against those "crappy" Suns (who I may remind you have made the Western Conference Finals the last two years, which is much much much much better than no playoffs, first round exit).
3. Dwayne Wade
Say all you want about the Heat team that won this year, but here's the thing, go look at the game by game stats and you'll see two names at the top of the list of game leaders, Shaq and Wade.
Walker and Posey occassionally creeped into the scoring and rebounding, but Wade and Shaq were by far the two most valuable players on that team.
Granted, Shaq has grown up and is more willing to defer to Wade than he was to Kobe; however, this is also a reflection on Kobe. Wade is able to say, "this is my team, but this is a team," Kobe says "this is my team, meant to serve my purposes".
The other differences between those four and Kobe:
They wanted to win the championsip so they could solidify their place in history, Kobe wants one to spite Shaq (who...has already led three teams to the finals, two without Kobe).
Also, ten, fifteen, twenty years from now, there is no way we're going to be sitting around Kobe should be considered one of the best players of all time, because as pointed out before. Kobe Bryant has similar stats to Paul Pierce, who will also not be considered one of the best ever. Barkley, Ewing, Malone and Stockton will be remembered forever because they had incredible college careers as well as prolific NBA careers. Kobe has had a good NBA career. The players are one two completely different levels.
Further, to use the number of championships says nothing of the caliber of the player: just as I will never say that Udonis Haslem is better than Karl Malone because he has more rings. However, it is an excellent judgement of TEAMS. If we wanted to talk about the number of rings someone has, I'm jumping on the John Havlicek train because he won 8, two more than Jordan and 5 more than Kobe.
But the point being made about Kobe is this: he essentially killed a Lakers team that had won 3 of 4 NBA Championships and that had made four in a row and turned it into a team that didn't make it to the second round (for the last time, they lost to the Suns, get off your high horse and quit bitching about how great the team would be if kobe were there). Kobe further has complained about every team he's been on. When he's winning championships, he wants Shaq to stop being the man and when Shaq is gone, he complains about how bad his team is.
Kobe's basketball skills are undeniable, but unfortunately, basketball is still a team game and that teams with skill don't always win (for example the Yankees).
Kobe Bryant is the most selfish, whiny, egotistic player in the NBA. He has yet to admit that he's made ANY mistakes. If he could just come out and say any of the following people would respect him more:
"I'm sorry that I touched that girl. She did not want to be touched and I am a married man. I apologize that I have made a grave mistake in my life and I hope that you all can forgive me" ::makes donation to a rape fund of his choice instead of buying his wife a 5M ring::
"I'm sorry that I got too egotistical and broke up a team that still had plenty of opportunities to be great. Shaq is still an excellent basketball player and we would have been able to do the same thing the Heat had done if I had been a man about things and learned that my time to be 'the man' has not yet come."
"I'm sorry that it took 10 million dollars to get coach Jackson back. The fact that the boyfriend of the owner's daughter needs 10 million dollars a year to coach what may someday be his wife's team shows how badly I have behaved."
or hell even a:
"I'm sorry you all hate me, I hate you too; stop looking at me as a role model and think of me as you do Barkley".
That's the most hateable thing about Kobe, he acknowledges how much people hate him (he turned it into a tv ad), but he still wants to be a role model.
You can't acknowledge the fact that you're an ass and still ask people to look up to you.
10:44 AM
"Champions from 1980 to 2003..."
Exactly, I couldn't agree with you more.
11:09 AM
"1. Something tore that Laker team apart.
I know they lost the championship the next year, but still something took a team that had gone to FOUR STRAIGHT CHAMPIONSHIPS to a team that couldn't even make the playoffs.
I don't buy the whole "well Malone retired and Payton left" argument as the solution to this. Neither had been on the previous teams that had won and the fact is that the core of those teams that had won left that off-season, most notably...the coach and Shaq, who were sick of...Kobe."
Once again you are wrong. Shaq was the only one under contract to the Lakers. Kobe was a free agent and Phill's contract was up too and he just couldn't negotiate a contract and decided it was better for him to leave basketball for a year. It is a fact that Phill could've come back after RudyT left, but Phill didn't want to come back half of the season. Now consider this factoid. Shaq never, ever would
have asked to be traded had the Lakers beat the Pistons and regained the championship. Could you imagine Shaq, after winning, recieving his fourth finals mvp and after the parade asking to be traded? That would have made Shaq the worst person not only in LA, but the whole NBA and even worse than Kobe could ever be. Here is another factoid. The Lakers that year were not supposed to be a championship team once Malone got hurt and all the trial BS that Kobe was going through. Just remember, the Lakers were not in first place until the last game against Portand. Kobe made two increadible shots at the end to pull the Lakers to first, much to the dismay of Shaq. Then the Lakers had a tough time against Houston, but they weren't going to lose in the first round. Against the Spurs they lose the first two on the road which was somewhat expected. The Lakers bounce back to win two at home. Then DFish's shot won that series and much to the dismay of Shaq ("one lucky shot deserves another"). Now it is against the best team in the NBA that year-the Timberwolves. By all accounts this was their year. KG the mvp, Sam I Am and Spreewell were the team to win it all. Well Sam was hurt, Spree was not big game player and KG didn't live to his mvp status much to the dismay of Shaq. Now the Lakers are in the finals just what the Lakers fans love. The Lakers have homecourt advantage and the these Pistons were in the finals for the first time. No promblem right!? Alot of wierd things were happening in that series that just didn't seem right-especially Shaq much to the dismay of Laker fans.
11:34 AM
"Then DFish's shot won that series and much to the dismay of Shaq ("one lucky shot deserves another")."
Are you kidding? Shaq made that comment to bust on Duncan, it had nothing to do with Fish. Unlike Shaq, Kobe yells at the players when he doesn't get the final shot. Kobe did exactly that against the Wizards when Lamar took the final shot. Heaven forbid that Kobe will not get to try a potential winning shot even if other players are wide-open and he is not.
"Now consider this factoid. Shaq never, ever would
have asked to be traded had the Lakers beat the Pistons and regained the championship." That's a factoid? how is that is factoid. Shaq asked to be traded because the Lakers did not want to offer him a long-term contract.
12:10 PM
ps
thank you for your comments and I am goign to reply on that very soon.
ta ta
5:13 PM
now u say that was a bad year.
look guys.
shaq dis year, stunk up. suked and couldnt do shit when couple years ago he could dominate.
now look at kobe in his prime, dominating the game.
shaq or kobe, u decide.
l.a has to choose a leader and if shaq was staying lakers would have won only bout 20 games. seriously.
12:34 AM
"Are you kidding? Shaq made that comment to bust on Duncan, it had nothing to do with Fish."
Now I know that you've been here before with your trademark phrase "are kidding?"
Shaq was busting on both Duncun and DFish. Bottom line is that Shaq was more shocked at DFish's shot as if to say 'what the hell just happened?' again to the dismay of Shaq.
"Unlike Shaq, Kobe yells at the players when he doesn't get the final shot."
Don't you really mean like when Shaq whines and bitches that he isn't getting the ball at crunch time.
There is only a handfull of NBA stars that relish shooting the final shot. There is Kobe, Melo, Horry, LBJ (maybe), and DWade.
"Kobe did exactly that against the Wizards when Lamar took the final shot. Heaven forbid that Kobe will not get to try a potential winning shot even if other players are wide-open and he is not."
So why pass the ball to Lamar? He couldn't make the shot with seconds left anyways. Also if you are any Lakers fan at all, you would know that Kobe passed to an open Horry against the Spurs in the 2003 playoffs and Horry missed and only after the ball was inside the cylinder and bounced out. So this crap about Kobe not passing to someone open is BS. Manu did the same exact pass to Horry in the finals against the Pistons and Horry swishes it. "Did you see the perfect pass by Manu, he is so unselfish giving it up to Horry, the open man, and he makes the three point play." Isn't it ironic that Kobe makes the same pass but, since Horry's shot didn't go through, he (Kobe) is deemed "selfish"? Kobe has and will pass when it's the right situation.
"Now consider this factoid. Shaq never, ever would
have asked to be traded had the Lakers beat the Pistons and regained the championship." That's a factoid? how is that is factoid."
It is clear that you don't know what "factoid" means.
"Shaq asked to be traded because the Lakers did not want to offer him a long-term contract."
Hmmm. So now Shaq was traded because he wasn't offered an extention? !I thought he asked because he didn't like Kobe and couldn't play with him anymore. Which is it? It can't be both! The truth is Shaq was offered to be the highest paid and he declined it because he didn't want to be here in LA anymore. What better way for Shaq to demand a trade than to demand it after losing the finals? In fact it would have been better for Shaq had the Lakers never made it to the finals that year and save the Lakers fans all the aggravation.
The Lakers should've won the finals. After all, isn't it the same Pistons "team" that lost to Miami (with Shaq)? The Pistons had the same starting 5 and it wasn't like the Pistons where at the end of a 6-8 year run and were old and tired. What happend? Did the Pistons, all of a sudden within two years, not be a "team"? So much was made that the Pistons are a "team" that beat the star-studded Lakers and now this "team" can't beat the star-studded Heat. Shaq was and is in the middle of all this. Coincedence? I don't think so. Shaq knew what he was doing and he knew what he wanted and he knew how to do it. Shaq doesn't care about anyone but himself and isn't that ironic!
For all you Kobe haters, if Kobe were on another team, would you even have this blog? Would you even care? No, I don't think so. After all Kobe would still be the same player, but in a different uniform.
Think of all the good things Kobe has done for Lakers and emplore that management go out and get players that want to win and not whine. Cheer win they do good and boo when they don't. Above all, don't stop being a Los Angeles Lakers fan (and no bandwagonners).
12:09 PM
OPPS!
Now I know that you've been here before with your trademark phrase "are 'you' kidding?"
12:32 PM
OOPS! I meant.
12:36 PM
http://youtube.com/watch?v=74zX6R2qbrs&mode=related&search=jordan%20vs.%20kobe
12:08 PM
That's like showing alternating career home runs between Babe Ruth and Spudd Webb.
Just because you can make a three minute clip showing Kobe doing the same thing as MJ means nothing. MJ had/has better stats all around.
MJ is one of the greatest ever. Kobe is one of the greatest headcases ever. Stop with the Jordan/Bryant comparisons because there is no comparison.
If Kobe fans spent as much time watching Kobe's overall game as they do trying to make Kobe seem like he's as good as Jordan they might understand the reason for this blog.
1:04 PM
Is there any video comparing being clotheslined?
heh heh
2:43 PM
hahaha all around. wow u must be kidding me. go look it up and see how different the stats are stupid. just cause hes considered the greatest of all time u think hes so much damn better.
1:37 AM
"That's like showing alternating career home runs between Babe Ruth and Spudd Webb."
What sport planet are you on? At least compare two players that played the SAME Sport. When did Spud Webb ever hit a homerun in MLB?
"MJ is one of the greatest ever."
Finally someone gets it. MJ is "one of".
"If Kobe fans spent as much time watching Kobe's overall game as they do trying to make Kobe seem like he's as good as Jordan they might understand the reason for this blog."
Kobe is Kobe and MJ is MJ. I have never compared the two and it is the media and everyone else who said from the beginning of Kobe's career that he is just like MJ. I see the manerisms and court style, but they are two diferent people.
I never liked MJ and it was not because of his basketball play. My hate for MJ is about his persona and attitude. MJ is so arrogant, pretentious and phony.
11:45 AM
"Is there any video comparing being clotheslined?"
No, but check this video of an ingrate hitting the ground.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKwAhkTu5K4&search=jerry%20stackhouse
heh heh, heh
12:11 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3fMp7EMWWo
12:26 AM
http://www.2flashgames.com/f/f-163.htm
2:45 PM
http://www.strangecelebrities.com/content/category/100370_1.html
That last picture on the list just cracks me up! LOL!!!
2:43 AM
airjudden2.tripod.com/jordan/index.htm
12:24 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkwCVcDc_mM
3:30 AM
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0924041kobea1.html
6:03 PM
Kobe sprained his ankle. Sure makes it harder to sexually assault people.
12:01 AM
You must be talking out of experience. Was it that difficult for you with a sprained ankle to sexually assault someone.
8:16 PM
http://infostore.org/user/BigDogUA
Fuck Kobe!
1:11 PM
Too bad that your site is in Russian.
12:07 AM
hey nice blog. I'm also a Kobe hater, and I created the FAK (Front Anti-Kobe) on a basket forum. Fun, jokes and diss on Kobe but in French.
Check out if you want
http://www.basketforever.net/1-vt3672.html?start=0
8:20 PM
Isn't it ironic that Dobe had trouble with the PASSING portion of the Skills competition during the All Star weekend? What a loser!
5:12 AM
kobe＝强奸犯
http://hiphotos.baidu.com/keheikehei/pic/item/bfa9cf13e7fcb6015aaf5395.jpg
11:21 PM
Kobe Bryant is one of the best players the Lakers and the NBA has ever seen
2:49 AM
Quite possibly the worst website I've ever viewed.
10:39 AM
what ever happend to Teamplayer and asorto1 and Riss. Shmaq got swept again. At least Kobe got his team to win one game. Also last year was an NBA/Stern/Refs rip-off. Shmaq did nothing in the Finals and still wins because the NBA wanted a new face. The most humbled(D-Whistle)in now really humbled thanx to the Bulls.
3:03 AM
yay! Kobe three-peats as a loser!
7:50 PM
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-kobe052907&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
4:01 PM
Shmaq wants to know if the Mobster's House Boy/NBA Ref was doing any games that Shmaq played in. Most likely yes, all the games the cHEATs one. Go figure.
1:38 AM
Shmaq is a LOSER-AGAIN! He got swindled by his own wife and now he wants a divorce. He also wants liberal visitation rights to his own kids. Nice going dead-beat Shmaq Daddy. Shmaq deserves every pain he'll be going through because of the way he treated the Lakers fans and organization. Karma is a Shmaq in your face Shmaquille O'Neal.
12:50 AM
http://kobetakesalotofbadshots.com
Kobe is overrated!!!
1:19 AM
So much for Shmaq making his teammates better! He can't even get his team out of his fat arse--0-14. Grandpa Riley must love the "15 strong" gimick now. The cHeats are toast. So much for the Big Bust and his sidekick D'fraud Wah-wah.
Kobe and Shaq: Four finals, Three rings.
D'fraud, Shmaq & NBA refs: one final, one ring.
Do the math.
7:22 PM
Shmaq once again only thinks about himself, "I will make Amare better." The only way to do that is for Shmaq to be on the bench.
12:42 PM
wow. what a waste of space. i mean... if it were funny, it'd be one thing... being a hater must be a tough life. all that angst that you have to write a blog about it, and a half ass one at that.
11:05 AM
Ko-ME Br"I"ant
5:32 PM
Here's for a good laugh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSamEqtPVao
5:35 PM
you're all just fucking idiots, you can't accept that he's the best palyer in the world, you're just jealous of him cos nobody can match him....you're so wrong about him
1:49 PM
you cant argue with the MVP award,anyone who criticises Kobe is just a dick...the man is a legend
1:50 PM
Why are you guys here? If you don't like it here, leave and don't come back!
5:37 AM
Check out http://www.shutupyouidiot.com Kobe is not the most over rated player in nba history for no reason.
6:19 PM
Go lose by 60 in the finals lol they will compare him to jordans nuts not jordan
6:19 PM
Why all the hate on Kobe?
I have initiated an idea to create a sports blogroll where bloggers from all sports disciplines could participate. All you need to do is to add my blog link to your blog and I'll do the same. That way, we could have a mutual partnership and we could refer visitors to each other's blog. Please let me know if you would be interested: basketballcolumnist@gmail.com. Thanks!
6:53 PM
hi i am a true nba fan and i kind of have an important comment for this site. lets get this straight i am a laker and suns fan (maybe also hawks). i honestly believe that kobe and steve nash are really good players. well for kobe, he is the best. all you haters cant say that kobe is not the best player right now and i also want to know why do u guys hate kobe? he ballhogs? not really maybe that one season when he averaged 35 per game but he had to cause he had some garbage players like smush parker, kwame brown, and some unknown players. all i know is that no one can say that kobe is a garbage player. also i know for sure that kobe is better than all you haters so until you get better than kobe, shut the hell up and stop being such haters
7:24 PM
Kobe is a role player compared to Lebron.
http://lebronisgoat.com
8:52 PM
Oh my god i cant believe i stumbled upon this, when i found this i laughed so fucking hard. "kobe ran the franchise into the ground" LMFAO, "Dobe"? really? what an insult!!!! ahaha. If I knew kobe personally I would call him, give him this link and we would laugh on the phone together about this blog. This is hilarious, I LOVE HATERS. HATE ON ME NEXT!!!!
11:17 PM
Kobe is my hero! Kobe haters are just haters in general. I feel bad you guys have to see him dominate the way he does
6:10 AM
Yo, where are all the ignorant Kobe haters now? Wussed out long ago! Face it, the Kobe-hating fans of the Suns, Celtics, LeBrons, Magic, etc. are jealous of the fact that they don't have an athlete quite like Kobe and never will.
How 'bout this? Kobe was the 2007-08 MVP. 2009 NBA Champion! 2009 NBA Finals MVP! 3 game-winning buzzer-beaters so far in 2009!
Here are just a few reasons Kobe is better than LeBron;
• Kobe has four championships to LeBron's 0
• Better overall winner
• More versatile
• Better scorer (Don't believe me? How about 81 POINTS?!)
• MUCH better shoe line
• Kobe has a mid-range game
• Kobe can shoot threes
• Better team player (Again, 4 championships)
• Work ethic & will to win
• Much smarter player & higher basketball IQ
• NBA Dunk Contest Champion
• Clutch
There are many more reasons why. I just decided to post a few.
Anyway, Kobe is the greatest athlete of all time.
Lakers all the way!
3:58 PM
I totally agree with Anonymous at 11:17 p.m. "Dobe?" Oh, my, what an insult! "Ran the franchise into the ground"? WOW! You guys are the worst at insults ever.
I can come up with LeBrick, Queen James, LeBronze, LeBallhog, LeDramaqueen, all of the top of my head. It took you guys months to think of "Dobe"? HILARIOUS!
Please hate on us next!
1:27 PM
try to make something out of your life instead of hating on a millionaire...im sure he doesnt give a damn about this...three years after this was posted, all i can say is, up your arsse kobe haters...
most of these comments are too funny from this perspective...kobe proved his haters wrong...again...loving it!! :))
2:52 AM
ahhh Kobe 5th championship ring...
4:39 AM
ahhh... kobe gets 5th championship ring
4:40 AM
Kobe should not accept it.
3:01 AM
Kobe, i am watching you play against Dallas right now. Feb 22, 2012. At the end of the first period Pau in bounds the ball to you with 2.9 seconds, why didn't you take a step and try to shoot it instead of passing the ball to blake. You were both almost the same distance from the basket. I have noticed in several games this year that you do not even attempt to shoot the ball from beyond half court with 2 seconds or less. I recall earlier this year you had 1 second on the clock and you had the ball and did not even try to shoot it. If fisher can win a game with 0.4 on the clock, surely you should try and not worry about your Field Goal Percentage. This shows that you are not a team player., and are only worried about you and your stats. You are better than that, so show it.
10:24 PM
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