Killakobe81
04-13-2016, 09:02 PM
My thread for sharing final thoughts on Kobe's legacy. this is not for the haters but you dont have to be a a Kobe fan or Stan to appreciate his career. Here are some great articles on agreat player whether he is top 10, 12th or 25th ...
To read about Kobe's mentors click here (http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/15193525/kobe-bryant-personal-mount-rushmore-mentors-starting-michael-jackson)
The King of Pop on Kobe:
"Keep doing what you're doing," Jackson implores him. "Don't come back to the pack and be normal for the sake of blending in with others. Don't dumb it down."
"This is what you love. This is your obsession,'" Bryant recalls. "He said, 'I know what it's like to be different. Embrace it.'"
"You've got to study all the greats," Jackson tells Kobe. "You've got to learn what made them successful and what made them unsuccessful."
In June, Bryant is still basking in the glow of his fourth championship, a victory over Dwight Howard and the Magic, when his cellphone jingles. It's a call from Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine, who tells Bryant how happy her son was that Bryant had "proven everyone wrong."
Jordan on Kobe:
"He has that tunnel vision where you only think about winning, not other people's perception of you," Jordan says. "You might not like Kobe, but you know what? He couldn't care less."
Perhaps you've heard the legendary tale of how Kobe once elbowed teammate Sasha Vujacic in the face during a 2004-2005 practice, causing Vujacic to burst into tears? What you do not know is that following the incident, Kobe calls Jordan, seeking his counsel. Even Kobe wonders: Has he gone to far?"Sometimes you have to be an a--hole," says Jordan today when asked about that conversation. "Sometimes your teammates are going to hate you, but all the guys I went after -- Luc Longley, Steve Kerr, Jud Buechler -- they won multiple championships, so I'm pretty sure they understand."
Magic on Kobe:
But in the winter of 2009, with the Lakers coming off a crushing Finals loss to the Celtics the previous season, Bryant arrives three hours early at the practice facility and discovers Magic sitting in the breakfast room. The two sit together, alone, for two hours, Kobe chastising Magic for being critical about him in the press, Magic challenging Kobe to use his influence in the community.
West on Kobe:
A concerned West reaches out, imploring Bryant to tap into his humility -- if such a thing even exists. "Find it," West urges him. "It will save you."
"I have always had a fondness for him as a player ...Sometimes he would disappoint me with some of things he would say, in particular to players who did not play as hard as him ...but I think on balance, this has been a remarkable player the player of the decades ...simply one of the greatest players that ever played the game.
"He was a showman , but he was also a winner. And he has left a legacy throughout the world. Millions of people love this guy and millions will miss what he was able to accomplish in his career."
... "what I admired most about from a distance since I was no longer there, was his ability to play when other players simply would not play."
Bird on Kobe:
Kobe tells Bird he was always curious about his routine, his pre-game preparation, his off-season conditioning, He asks Bird how he handled team-mates who didnt perform with the same intensity. "Larry said, "you know what? That's why you Micheal and me might have been better off playing individual sports".:lol
Hakeem on Kobe:
At first he was little awkward because it wasnt his natural movement. ...but by the time he was done he was so fluid. How quickly he got it - that was unbeliveable says Dream who worked with Dwight, Yao Lebron ...Kobe was the one who got it the fastest and used it the most" ...if you are all about ego, you dont come down to my ranch"
Kendrick Lamar Fade to Black:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a04pFOGtq3Q
Lil Wayne Kobe Bryant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCH-owsrC-A
Kobe greatness:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kobe+bryant+greatness+personi fied
Kobe's best dunks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtfZeoFU0J0
Kobe drops 45 10 and 3 on Spurs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0HtbJFEzJM
Kobe drops 48 and 16 on Kings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR3kpKk0mfA
Kobe's takeover vs Pacers in the Finals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5e-hIvfWL0
Kobe Bryant one of the all-time great Lakers. He may have been a first class asshole but he was a winner. And his team-mates respected him ...
Ron Harper
Kobe’s relentlessness wasn’t just about games. Basketball was a 24/7 obsession for him. When they rolled the ball out at practice, there was no need for him to warm up. He was already warmed up at 7 a.m. He was ready to get it in. He would go at guys so hard in practice that I started to think to myself, Okay, this guy is really trying to be MJ. He’s trying to be the greatest of all-time.
Brian Shaw
If you scored on Kobe in practice, or even if you just made a nice play with him guarding you, he would not let you leave the gym unless you played him one-on-one. Who wants to play Kobe one-on-one? Nobody. But he would bug you until you finally gave in. If you crossed him over or scored on him, the rest of the team would gas it up because everybody knew how competitive he was. So they made a big deal out of it. Those early 2000s Lakers teams were full of instigators.
So this guy J.R. Rider gets to the team in 2000, and things got really interesting ...
Great Story follows:
Brian Shaw
J.R. had been a star in Minnesota and Portland. He was the go-to scorer. He also had played some really good games against the Lakers. So he came in with a lot of confidence. So one day in practice, J.R. says to Kobe, “Don’t get it twisted. I’m a star too, and I used to give you buckets.” So Kobe says, “Man, you really think you could take me? Alright, after practice, me and you. One-on-one.”
Ron Harper
Phil Jackson loved this stuff. (another asshole) He didn’t even wait for practice to end. He says, “Alright, you want to go? Everybody off the court.”
Devean George
The older players were always woofin’. If somebody scored on somebody in our practices, it was like we were at Rucker Park. “Ooooohhhhhhh! He got you! He got you, boy!”You got Shaq out there instigating stuff, “Oh! Don’t let him get you like that! Don’t let him cross you!”It was a show every day. Now you got Kobe vs. J.R. in front of everybody? Oh, my gosh. Nobody went to the showers. Everybody pulled up chairs on the sideline. It was like a heavyweight fight.
Brian Shaw
This is 22-year-old Kobe. Crazy athletic. Unlimited stamina. I mean, he kicked his ass. He pulled out everything in his bag — dunk, up-and-under, pull-up, crossover.
Devean George
Fadeaway. Left hand. Right hand. Blowing by him.
Brian Shaw
We were on the sidelines gassing it up. People are laughing, yelling, “Hey J.R., be careful what you wish for.”
Ron Harper
Guys were waving white towels, yelling, “Stop the beatdown, please! Please stop!”
Horace Grant
J.R. wanted to fight everybody in the gym.
That is the essence of Kobe Bryant .... For Full story http://www.theplayerstribune.com/kobe-bryant-lakers-retirement-teammate-tributes/
More team-mates:
Ron-ron
"We'll be on the plane," Ron Artest says. "Playing cards. Kobe will walk up, stop the game and say, 'Ron, come to the back of the plane.' Then, he'll show me some tape and say, 'Look at this. Here's what you need to do.' I'll go back to my seat, and then he'll walk up to Shannon Brown, stop the card game and do the same thing. And it doesn't matter if you're sleeping. He'll wake you up and show you things you've never thought about. He puts so much time and passion into the game. I have no problem following somebody who's worth being followed, who works as hard as me. I will follow Kobe anywhere."
Ty Lue:
"Every time we acquired a new guy," Tyronn Lue remembers, "He would play those guys one-on-one after every practice just to show them, like, ‘I'm the man, I'm the man.'"
Pau:
If you play with him, you’re looking every day at living proof of why the greats are the greats. It’s not by accident. It’s an obsession to reach that level and remain at that level. The dedication, the commitment, is such a unique thing. You don’t find it. He inspired me to be better, to see the game in a more detailed way.
We beat the Magic in the 2009 Finals, and everybody was happy, but it was different for him. It had a special meaning. Basketball was his life, and winning was his devotion. I’m not taking anything away from his family, which means the world to him, but basketball had so much depth to it.
When the Chris Paul trade, which I was going to be a part of, was vetoed in December 2011, he was like a big brother, standing up for me. At one point he told the Lakers, “If you’re going to trade him, do what you have to do and trade him. If not, leave him alone and let him play.”
We didn’t hang out that much off the court, but toward the end we had several meals one-on-one, and we would reminisce. When I was deciding whether to leave the Lakers in 2014, he came to my house in Redondo Beach. He said he wanted me to stay in L.A. and battle with him and finish our careers together. Those were his words. I told him I was in a place where I needed a change in my heart. I needed a change of air. It was one of the toughest things I’ve ever done, telling him, “I’m deciding not to play with you anymore.”
I signed with the Bulls because I wanted to put myself in position to win another title. I haven’t been able to do that. I miss him a lot. I miss his presence. I miss that attitude. Not many players have it.
The White Swan, the Black Swan, all of that, it didn’t upset me. It didn’t frustrate me. It showed he cared about me. It was tough love. He was challenging me because he expected more from me. When somebody cares about you, that’s when they challenge you. When they don’t care about you, they ignore you. That’s when you should worry.
Shaq:
“My favorite Kobe story was when we were going back and forth against Indiana and I had fouled out. So I’m thinking damn, here we go again. I [messed] up. Remember I was killing Rik Smits and I fouled out and they made that run? Everybody was worried, including [then-Lakers coach) Phil [Jackson]. And Kobe came up to me and said, ‘Don’t worry. I got it.’
CDR:
At one point it damn near came to blows because Bean will do anything for an edge. So he was elbowing me on the low for separation and I couldn’t let that go as a competitor. As a man. The refs were too scared to call the foul bc he was intimidating them all practice. But at then end it was all love. The respect is mutual. Gave me some pointers that are priceless. It’s a misconception on Bean. Ppl think he’s a sucker…hard to play with. It’s just that he expects the most of his teammates because works so hard. Easily the realist hooper I’ve met. He never lies and I respect that."
Fisher:
Game 7 in the 2010 NBA Finals against the Celtics is another vivid Kobe memory for me. He was only 6-of-24 from the field — it was one of the worst shooting performances of his playoff career — but because of his energy and physical toughness, he was still was our best player in that game, grabbing 15 rebounds to help us reach the winner’s circle again.
And that’s what people don’t realize when they highlight the number of shots Kobe has hoisted over his career. When that shot was failing him, he would still do whatever it took to help the team get the W. Hitting the glass, collecting 15 boards, or 10 assists, or three steals, or two blocked shots; it didn’t matter. He did it all, and he did it well.
Plus, none of that accounts for the brand of physical defense that Kobe brought night in and night out. Quite simply, he made it very hard for opponents — often the other teams’ best players during crunch time — to score. And his shooting woes never impacted his defense, which is a rare thing in this game, particularly now.
Im sure some hate him Smush sure does but the winners that played with Kobe, like Pau, fisher, Harper Rick Fox have love for their little brother ...
For the haters:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQYz0I5dE_A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hi0skAwlHM&ebc=ANyPxKowatFoaFzh-AbOD0u4gZAeX_0WRJcscQ6DappgYdXhb9MVnArlFZFubcD6h1m 8xkSiWt1bHuoNZqzh0tnHHgDGtoLR_g
The true last days of Kobe Bryant:
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/74309/the-last-true-days-of-kobe-bryant
To read about Kobe's mentors click here (http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/15193525/kobe-bryant-personal-mount-rushmore-mentors-starting-michael-jackson)
The King of Pop on Kobe:
"Keep doing what you're doing," Jackson implores him. "Don't come back to the pack and be normal for the sake of blending in with others. Don't dumb it down."
"This is what you love. This is your obsession,'" Bryant recalls. "He said, 'I know what it's like to be different. Embrace it.'"
"You've got to study all the greats," Jackson tells Kobe. "You've got to learn what made them successful and what made them unsuccessful."
In June, Bryant is still basking in the glow of his fourth championship, a victory over Dwight Howard and the Magic, when his cellphone jingles. It's a call from Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine, who tells Bryant how happy her son was that Bryant had "proven everyone wrong."
Jordan on Kobe:
"He has that tunnel vision where you only think about winning, not other people's perception of you," Jordan says. "You might not like Kobe, but you know what? He couldn't care less."
Perhaps you've heard the legendary tale of how Kobe once elbowed teammate Sasha Vujacic in the face during a 2004-2005 practice, causing Vujacic to burst into tears? What you do not know is that following the incident, Kobe calls Jordan, seeking his counsel. Even Kobe wonders: Has he gone to far?"Sometimes you have to be an a--hole," says Jordan today when asked about that conversation. "Sometimes your teammates are going to hate you, but all the guys I went after -- Luc Longley, Steve Kerr, Jud Buechler -- they won multiple championships, so I'm pretty sure they understand."
Magic on Kobe:
But in the winter of 2009, with the Lakers coming off a crushing Finals loss to the Celtics the previous season, Bryant arrives three hours early at the practice facility and discovers Magic sitting in the breakfast room. The two sit together, alone, for two hours, Kobe chastising Magic for being critical about him in the press, Magic challenging Kobe to use his influence in the community.
West on Kobe:
A concerned West reaches out, imploring Bryant to tap into his humility -- if such a thing even exists. "Find it," West urges him. "It will save you."
"I have always had a fondness for him as a player ...Sometimes he would disappoint me with some of things he would say, in particular to players who did not play as hard as him ...but I think on balance, this has been a remarkable player the player of the decades ...simply one of the greatest players that ever played the game.
"He was a showman , but he was also a winner. And he has left a legacy throughout the world. Millions of people love this guy and millions will miss what he was able to accomplish in his career."
... "what I admired most about from a distance since I was no longer there, was his ability to play when other players simply would not play."
Bird on Kobe:
Kobe tells Bird he was always curious about his routine, his pre-game preparation, his off-season conditioning, He asks Bird how he handled team-mates who didnt perform with the same intensity. "Larry said, "you know what? That's why you Micheal and me might have been better off playing individual sports".:lol
Hakeem on Kobe:
At first he was little awkward because it wasnt his natural movement. ...but by the time he was done he was so fluid. How quickly he got it - that was unbeliveable says Dream who worked with Dwight, Yao Lebron ...Kobe was the one who got it the fastest and used it the most" ...if you are all about ego, you dont come down to my ranch"
Kendrick Lamar Fade to Black:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a04pFOGtq3Q
Lil Wayne Kobe Bryant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCH-owsrC-A
Kobe greatness:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kobe+bryant+greatness+personi fied
Kobe's best dunks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtfZeoFU0J0
Kobe drops 45 10 and 3 on Spurs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0HtbJFEzJM
Kobe drops 48 and 16 on Kings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR3kpKk0mfA
Kobe's takeover vs Pacers in the Finals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5e-hIvfWL0
Kobe Bryant one of the all-time great Lakers. He may have been a first class asshole but he was a winner. And his team-mates respected him ...
Ron Harper
Kobe’s relentlessness wasn’t just about games. Basketball was a 24/7 obsession for him. When they rolled the ball out at practice, there was no need for him to warm up. He was already warmed up at 7 a.m. He was ready to get it in. He would go at guys so hard in practice that I started to think to myself, Okay, this guy is really trying to be MJ. He’s trying to be the greatest of all-time.
Brian Shaw
If you scored on Kobe in practice, or even if you just made a nice play with him guarding you, he would not let you leave the gym unless you played him one-on-one. Who wants to play Kobe one-on-one? Nobody. But he would bug you until you finally gave in. If you crossed him over or scored on him, the rest of the team would gas it up because everybody knew how competitive he was. So they made a big deal out of it. Those early 2000s Lakers teams were full of instigators.
So this guy J.R. Rider gets to the team in 2000, and things got really interesting ...
Great Story follows:
Brian Shaw
J.R. had been a star in Minnesota and Portland. He was the go-to scorer. He also had played some really good games against the Lakers. So he came in with a lot of confidence. So one day in practice, J.R. says to Kobe, “Don’t get it twisted. I’m a star too, and I used to give you buckets.” So Kobe says, “Man, you really think you could take me? Alright, after practice, me and you. One-on-one.”
Ron Harper
Phil Jackson loved this stuff. (another asshole) He didn’t even wait for practice to end. He says, “Alright, you want to go? Everybody off the court.”
Devean George
The older players were always woofin’. If somebody scored on somebody in our practices, it was like we were at Rucker Park. “Ooooohhhhhhh! He got you! He got you, boy!”You got Shaq out there instigating stuff, “Oh! Don’t let him get you like that! Don’t let him cross you!”It was a show every day. Now you got Kobe vs. J.R. in front of everybody? Oh, my gosh. Nobody went to the showers. Everybody pulled up chairs on the sideline. It was like a heavyweight fight.
Brian Shaw
This is 22-year-old Kobe. Crazy athletic. Unlimited stamina. I mean, he kicked his ass. He pulled out everything in his bag — dunk, up-and-under, pull-up, crossover.
Devean George
Fadeaway. Left hand. Right hand. Blowing by him.
Brian Shaw
We were on the sidelines gassing it up. People are laughing, yelling, “Hey J.R., be careful what you wish for.”
Ron Harper
Guys were waving white towels, yelling, “Stop the beatdown, please! Please stop!”
Horace Grant
J.R. wanted to fight everybody in the gym.
That is the essence of Kobe Bryant .... For Full story http://www.theplayerstribune.com/kobe-bryant-lakers-retirement-teammate-tributes/
More team-mates:
Ron-ron
"We'll be on the plane," Ron Artest says. "Playing cards. Kobe will walk up, stop the game and say, 'Ron, come to the back of the plane.' Then, he'll show me some tape and say, 'Look at this. Here's what you need to do.' I'll go back to my seat, and then he'll walk up to Shannon Brown, stop the card game and do the same thing. And it doesn't matter if you're sleeping. He'll wake you up and show you things you've never thought about. He puts so much time and passion into the game. I have no problem following somebody who's worth being followed, who works as hard as me. I will follow Kobe anywhere."
Ty Lue:
"Every time we acquired a new guy," Tyronn Lue remembers, "He would play those guys one-on-one after every practice just to show them, like, ‘I'm the man, I'm the man.'"
Pau:
If you play with him, you’re looking every day at living proof of why the greats are the greats. It’s not by accident. It’s an obsession to reach that level and remain at that level. The dedication, the commitment, is such a unique thing. You don’t find it. He inspired me to be better, to see the game in a more detailed way.
We beat the Magic in the 2009 Finals, and everybody was happy, but it was different for him. It had a special meaning. Basketball was his life, and winning was his devotion. I’m not taking anything away from his family, which means the world to him, but basketball had so much depth to it.
When the Chris Paul trade, which I was going to be a part of, was vetoed in December 2011, he was like a big brother, standing up for me. At one point he told the Lakers, “If you’re going to trade him, do what you have to do and trade him. If not, leave him alone and let him play.”
We didn’t hang out that much off the court, but toward the end we had several meals one-on-one, and we would reminisce. When I was deciding whether to leave the Lakers in 2014, he came to my house in Redondo Beach. He said he wanted me to stay in L.A. and battle with him and finish our careers together. Those were his words. I told him I was in a place where I needed a change in my heart. I needed a change of air. It was one of the toughest things I’ve ever done, telling him, “I’m deciding not to play with you anymore.”
I signed with the Bulls because I wanted to put myself in position to win another title. I haven’t been able to do that. I miss him a lot. I miss his presence. I miss that attitude. Not many players have it.
The White Swan, the Black Swan, all of that, it didn’t upset me. It didn’t frustrate me. It showed he cared about me. It was tough love. He was challenging me because he expected more from me. When somebody cares about you, that’s when they challenge you. When they don’t care about you, they ignore you. That’s when you should worry.
Shaq:
“My favorite Kobe story was when we were going back and forth against Indiana and I had fouled out. So I’m thinking damn, here we go again. I [messed] up. Remember I was killing Rik Smits and I fouled out and they made that run? Everybody was worried, including [then-Lakers coach) Phil [Jackson]. And Kobe came up to me and said, ‘Don’t worry. I got it.’
CDR:
At one point it damn near came to blows because Bean will do anything for an edge. So he was elbowing me on the low for separation and I couldn’t let that go as a competitor. As a man. The refs were too scared to call the foul bc he was intimidating them all practice. But at then end it was all love. The respect is mutual. Gave me some pointers that are priceless. It’s a misconception on Bean. Ppl think he’s a sucker…hard to play with. It’s just that he expects the most of his teammates because works so hard. Easily the realist hooper I’ve met. He never lies and I respect that."
Fisher:
Game 7 in the 2010 NBA Finals against the Celtics is another vivid Kobe memory for me. He was only 6-of-24 from the field — it was one of the worst shooting performances of his playoff career — but because of his energy and physical toughness, he was still was our best player in that game, grabbing 15 rebounds to help us reach the winner’s circle again.
And that’s what people don’t realize when they highlight the number of shots Kobe has hoisted over his career. When that shot was failing him, he would still do whatever it took to help the team get the W. Hitting the glass, collecting 15 boards, or 10 assists, or three steals, or two blocked shots; it didn’t matter. He did it all, and he did it well.
Plus, none of that accounts for the brand of physical defense that Kobe brought night in and night out. Quite simply, he made it very hard for opponents — often the other teams’ best players during crunch time — to score. And his shooting woes never impacted his defense, which is a rare thing in this game, particularly now.
Im sure some hate him Smush sure does but the winners that played with Kobe, like Pau, fisher, Harper Rick Fox have love for their little brother ...
For the haters:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQYz0I5dE_A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hi0skAwlHM&ebc=ANyPxKowatFoaFzh-AbOD0u4gZAeX_0WRJcscQ6DappgYdXhb9MVnArlFZFubcD6h1m 8xkSiWt1bHuoNZqzh0tnHHgDGtoLR_g
The true last days of Kobe Bryant:
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/74309/the-last-true-days-of-kobe-bryant