Can somebody please tell me why Kobe Bryant is so beloved among NBA fans? People are willing to think that he is automatically just as good if not better than Michael Jordan. They're willing to give him all the credit for when things are going well for the Lakers and give him none of the blame when things are bad for them. Everybody is willing to look past everything bad about him simply because he scored 81 points in a game. I guess when you attempt 46 shots in a game which was 4x more shots than anybody else on the Lakers took that game, then odds are you'll probably have a huge game. But don't act like he is the only person capable of an effort like that. Everybody else is just aware of playing as a team, something that Kobe has never had a concept of and while everyone is so quick to believe that he does now, he still doesn't.
Both MJ and Kobe were hard on their teammates. I'm not saying that MJ wasn't. The difference is, that MJ made every individual around him better and as a result made the Bulls better. He made the careers of players like Steve Kerr, Toni Kukoc and Luc Longley. Kobe has never made anybody better. When he has been the most successful after Shaq was traded, was when the Lakers acquired an already solid player in Pau Gasol, the addition of a veteran point guard in Derek Fisher and Andrew Bynum, a player who Kobe insulted before the previous season had begun. But Kobe's selfish style of play did not make any of them or the Lakers team as a whole better. Those additions made the team better. This guy has never been a team player in his whole career and that's the thing that annoys me even more than people's love for him. The fact that they assume he is a team player. That is one of the big reasons why MJ was the best and why Kobe is not even fit to clean MJ's toilet.
The other thing that I hate that people say about Kobe is that he's one of the most clutch players in the NBA. If that's the case, then he wouldn't have put up one of the most pathetic performances I've seen in the 2008 NBA Finals. He shot 40% from the field and just 32% from 3. He may have averaged 25 pts a gm but that's because he would score about 15-20 in the 1st quarter and than was nonexistent the rest of the games. All he would do is force up horrible looking threes. He looked extraordinarily pathetic. In addition in the 2004 Finals, in which the Lakers got taken apart in 5 games, in each one of the Lakers losses, Kobe shot under 40%. Clutch means stepping up in the most crucial games of the season and Kobe has not only not done that, but he's choked probably more than any player of his superstar status has in a championship game or series. MJ would never have had that embarassing of an effort. He rose to the challenge with the greatest individual performances you would see but at the same time getting each and every one of his teammates involved. While Kobe ultimately reverted back to his selfish form. Ya Kobe is true clutch player. If you can be clutch at choking in the biggest games.
He has won three championships but don't assume that he was the reason behind it. When you have Shaq in his absolute prime averaging between 35 and 38 points a game in the finals, that is the reason for the 3 titles. Notice how it was Shaq that got all 3 finals mvps for the Lakers and even in 04, he was the only one on the Lakers that gave a solid effort. Kobe gets absolutely way too much credit for the titles he has won and if Shaq was not a Laker, last year would have been the first time Kobe would have come close to a title.
What's also puzzling is how everybody seems to have forgot the fact that he was charged with rape. Is that really someone you would want to look up to? But it doesn't matter because he scored 81 points in a game so what happened in the past shouldn't matter because he can score 81 points in a game. Spare me, why has everybody forgotten about those allegations and forgiven him for it? Even after not going to trial, he should have been crucified by the NBA. Instead, it didn't take long for fans to get back on his side. What happened since then? Did he win the Noble Peace Prize or something? Doesn't make sense to me.
He also treats his teammates horribly when they're not winning and when he's not getting enough shots and complains about calls more than anyone I've ever seen. He seems to have the attitude, Do you know who I am? I'm Kobe I'm the best in the world. How dare you call a foul on me. So unbelievably arrogant. Why do you think he changed his number to 24? One more than MJ. It's pretty obvious that in his mind he's surpassed MJ as the greatest. I guess he's been given good reason with people saying that he is. Because sadly enough people indulge the idea that he is better than MJ. So they're the ones just boosting his already massive ego.
People seriously need to stop giving this guy credit. People that claim to be fans of MJ and say that Kobe is better don't deserve to call themselves fans of MJ and the Bulls. It's a slap in the face to him and extremely disrespectful. This guy doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as MJ let alone even be considered to be as good or better. I hope that Kobe is the one star player that actually goes overseas because he is a cancer on the league and doesn't deserve my or anyone else's respect. And for those that do respect him, go and rent the Bulls championship DVD's. You'll see that true greatness is #23 on the Bulls, not #24 of the Lakers.
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4 comments:
I totally agree. I get real pissed when people act like Kobe is better than MJ. Why? What has he done to eclipse Jordan? Jordan has more MVPs, rings, and a higher career scoring average. Not to mention, a defensive mvp award that Kobe will never even sniff. Theres a thin line between badass and whiner and Kobe crossed that years ago. MJ would freak out on people, but he would do it in games, at practice, and because he wanted everyone to get fired up. Kobe just cries to the media because he couldn't (in his mind) win with his former teams. And what's worse, people actually think Lebron is the next Jordan too. I'd rather support a Kobe as the next Jordan thought than even joke about Lebron being in the same sentence as his airness. Lebron is ten different shades of pansy wrapped up in a dude that looks like he's on steriods.
Unfortunately these guys make millions of dollars and could easily beat us in basketball with one hand tied to their foot and blindfolded.
It's easy though to call out players because that's what our society has come to.
We tend to forget that these guys are still very exceptional athletes yet we rag on them like they're the village idiots down the street that everyone wants to leave town.
I agree that this discussion about "who's the next Jordan" is futile. THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER MJ! Neither Kobe nor Lebron will do what he did for the game.
Face it media. If you want to blame somebody blame them. They are the ones that place the hype on athletes. Most of the time these athletes don't go asking for the hype, or will only play to the media to appease them.
I think that's just something we all need to look a little closer at before we judge professional athletes based on the hype they get. Players that create their own hype and can't back it up deserve what they get, but those who do not ask for it don't deserve to be punished the same way.
Jaffe, first of all you hate Kobe Bryant and you love Jordan so your bias is obvious.
Jordan is better than Kobe ever was and will be.
People forget that Jordan had Pippen, who was a top 50 NBA player of all time. However Jordan never had that dominant big man.
Can you imagine Jordan and Shaq on the same team? It wouldn't even be close, the Bulls would have lost maybe 5 games all year.
I think Kobe needs to get over himself, the only reason he switched from 8 to 24 is to be one better than Jordan (23).
What a joke.
Kobe is not and will not be one the top five greatest players ever when his career is over. That means he is not equivalent to Jordan so people need to stop making the comparisons. The LeBron/MJ comparisons should stop too. He's just a beast who can do things that Jordan never could, but he'll never be the player that Jordan was because of everything he brought to the table.
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