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Jordan destroying Kobe one on one as well right now. Back to back plays. But you can see that Kobe took it serious and learned from it. I wish I could see Kobe and Jordan go at it again.
Damn, I am watching Kobe and Jordan in the 1998 All-Star game and Kobe is beasting. He is so young.
Amazing how great he was even at that early age.
Jordan destroying Kobe one on one as well right now. Back to back plays. But you can see that Kobe took it serious and learned from it. I wish I could see Kobe and Jordan go at it again.
Lakers had 4 players in this All-Star game.
Now we have a rookie Tim and Robinson on the court at the same time. What a great game.
Whottt channel?
Nba tv
No easy answers for Kobe's damaged finger
By Kevin Ding
The Orange County Register
Kobe Bryant said the summer for him would be all about getting healthy.
So, is he now? Well ...
Bryant had surgery to clean up his pesky right knee and has been recovering well. Even though it was his third surgical repair there in seven years, things should be good enough on that front.
Then there's the finger ...
Despite some speculation that he'd have surgery to fix the right index finger that he called a "constant battle" for him last season, that didn't happen. That's because surgery wouldn't really fix an arthritic finger that has so little cartilage with which to work, something Bryant found out even before July rolled around.
You don't usually have surgery when you have arthritis anyway. Maybe you get a cane, install bars in your shower or call your grandchildren for help you when you've fallen and can't get up.
Kobe being Kobe and also being just 32, he isn't quite ready for any of that.
So he has been diligently doing what he can for the finger, even if it's about as exciting as kneading dough.
An array of finger exercises is making the best of a tough situation, improving Bryant's range of motion and strength. The finger feels better than it did in June – and perhaps Bryant's daughters have come to be connoisseurs of finger puppetry – but the finger also hasn't had any 250-pound, hard-fouling dudes hacking it to make it swell.
The reality is that Bryant isn't necessarily much better off than before, because this is a chronic situation. Arthritis is the wearing down of the cartilage in the joints, and the middle knuckle on Bryant's index finger is flat-out worn down.
It was actually the top knuckle on that finger where the avulsion fracture occurred on Dec. 11 as Bryant tried to field Jordan Farmar's low pass. Bryant kept playing – and somehow managed to be NBA Western Conference Player of the Month for December – as he waited for the top knuckle to heal. Yet even before those bone fragments up there finished healing, the middle knuckle was already hurting him more than the top knuckle.
The ultimate gamer, Bryant still made do. He committed to his retooled shooting stroke with less emphasis on that index finger. You don't get much shooting touch with a finger when it's not even touching the ball because of splint and tape, so he just moved on to work with the thumb and middle finger.
Now he'll just have to keep making do.
Bryant and Lakers trainer Gary Vitti looked into some experimental, cutting-edge treatments but decided they didn't make sense at this time. This training camp, Bryant might tinker around with some different support on the finger, but odds are that the finger will need some sort of assistance for the rest of his career.
How big of a deal is that?
The numbers show Bryant was a less consistent shooter, especially from the free-throw line, after he had to deal with the finger problems last season. Let's bear in mind, though: Bryant was still the NBA Finals MVP with a hard splint and heavy tape job on the finger. Wouldn't exactly be a disaster for him to keep playing that way.
The worst he looked late last season was when the knee – not the finger – limited him. Bryant couldn't move around the court or elevate normally early in the first round of the playoffs. After Bryant got that knee drained, no matter the annoyance of his finger, he scored at least 30 points in 11 of 12 playoff games and then slayed the Celtics.
The net result is his war story, and certainly a far better one regarding that finger than Michael Jordan permanently damaging his right index finger in a cigar-cutter accident in 1999.
The thing is, Bryant can't size this new championship ring to be worn on his right index finger for kicks and be done with it. He will have to write that story again and again and again.
Yet we know by now those are the types of challenges he savors.
Until his dying day as an NBA player, every time Bryant raises that lone index finger skyward in the universal sign of being the best, it'll resonate as a symbol of even more.
I was checkin' that out as well ..... Tim looked like a freakin' third grader. They were the next wave. Good times back then.
Bryant still recovering from knee surgery
By Marc J. Spears
Kobe Bryant doesn’t know how much his surgically repaired right knee will allow him to play in the preseason, but he does plan to be on the court for the Los Angeles Lakers’ Oct. 26 season opener against the Houston Rockets.
“If it’s ready to roll, I will play,” Bryant said. “It’s tough because I don’t like talking timeline or timeframe because people get all antsy. When it’s ready, we’ll roll. I can’t see [missing the season opener]. That’s so far down the road. With where I’m at right now, strength-wise, it’s very, very good.”
Bryant, 32, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee July 23 and was expected to be ready for the start of training camp, which began Saturday night. He was bothered by the injury last season and needed to have the knee drained during the first round of the playoffs.
Bryant said his knee feels a lot stronger now, but it hasn’t been truly tested yet. While Bryant didn’t have a timetable for his return, Lakers coach Phil Jackson is hopeful Bryant will play some minutes in the preseason.
“I’ve been shooting. I haven’t been doing any extensive running or anything like that,” Bryant said. “It’s been more about getting the strength up and the stamina in the leg back and running hard consistently for an entire month. I haven’t played since Game 7. I’ve been doing things around [the knee] to strengthen it for when I start playing again.
“You don’t want to get into a cycle where you rush out there because everybody is calling you to play. You kind of get into this downhill thing where you play catch-up all the time. Now you’re fighting swelling. The swelling’s out, you play. You don’t want to go back and forth.”
Bryant not only played with an injured knee much of last season, but also an arthritic right index finger. The injuries – along with the Boston Celtics’ defense – conspired to wear him down during the NBA Finals. In Game 7, he missed 18 of 24 shots.
“At one point during the playoffs, I just said I had to get us to the championship by any means,” Bryant said. “Barring future injuries, I felt like that was a year where we could lose this championship because I was playing on one leg. I got to muscle through to get through these two weeks [of the Finals], get this championship and worry about the knee later.”
Nice... one excuse in the back pocket for ESPN and Lakerfan.. is that same pinky finger still detached from the rest of his hand?
Kobe Bryant Blows Up For 43 Points In Rare High School Game
By Aron Phillips
For most of us, our Kobe Bryant memories come from the past 14 years he’s been in the NBA. Seeing as how he never played college ball, unless you were from the Philly area, chances are you never saw Kobe before he became Kobe. With that said, check out the 17-year-old dominating at the Gym Rat Midnight Madness in New Jersey. He’s kind of a beast.
Excuses are only necessary for losers.
Manu's nose "injury", for instance.
Kobe tops Europe jersey sales for third straight year
By Official release
NBA.com
The Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant tops the list of most popular NBA jerseys in Europe for the third consecutive year. Coming off his fifth NBA le in 2010, Bryant also has the most popular jersey in the U.S. and China. Moving up two spots to No. 2 is LeBron James, formerly of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade rounds out the top three. The Most Popular NBA Jerseys in Europe list is based on sales from retail locations across Europe during the 2009-10 NBA season.
European NBA players continue to gain popularity in their homeland, representing six of the top 15 players on this year's list. They include Pau Gasol of the Los Angles Lakers (No. 4), Andrea Barganani and Jose Calderon of the Toronto Raptors (No. 6 and No. 7, respectively), Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks (No. 9), Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs (No. 10), and Danilo Gallinari of the New York Knicks (No. 11). International players make up approximately 20 percent of NBA rosters.
Top 15 Most Popular Jerseys in Europe
Player Team
1. Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers
2. LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers*
3. Dwyane Wade Miami Heat
4. Pau Gasol Los Angeles Lakers
5. Kevin Garnett Boston Celtics
6. Andrea Bargnani Toronto Raptors
7. Jose Calderon Toronto Raptors
8. Dwight Howard Orlando Magic
9. Dirk Nowitzki Dallas Mavericks
10. Tony Parker San Antonio Spurs
11. Danilo Gallinari New York Knicks
12. Joakim Noah Chicago Bulls
13. Chris Paul New Orleans Hornets
14. Paul Pierce Boston Celtics
15. Carmelo Anthony Denver Nuggets
*Now with the Miami Heat
Keep Reading...
Kobe admits knee was "extremely painful" during finals, about 60 percent now
By Kurt Helin
Kobe Bryant played six minutes in the Lakers first exhibition game in London, after which he sat with ice on his knees.
Londoners chanted his name in the second half, but they got more Pau Gasol. Kobe played the six minutes he did out of obligation to the fans, his knees need more rest and recovery following offseason surgery.
Surgery he needed because those knees were sore. Lakers.com reporter Mike Trudell had these postgame comments from Kobe on Twitter:
Kobe said his knee was "extremely, extremely painful during the NBA Finals." Said he feels better, but is at about "60%" tonight.
Kobe Bryant: "I wanted to get up and get in" when the chants came. "But I had the ice on the knees. Couldn't get back in."
Kobe did drag those knees to a finals MVP performance, but it's another sign these Lakers are built to win now -- the next handful of years -- and then the window closes. Kobe is 32 with a lot of miles on him, Derek Fisher is 36 and Gasol, Artest, Odom, basically all the key Lakers outside Andrew Bynum are 30 or older. The Lakers may be younger than the Celtics but really only by a couple years.
Kobe will play sparingly in the preseason. Come Oct. 26 and the opener against the Rockets, expect 30 some minutes. Whether his knees are ready or not.
Biggest excuse maker in sports history..
Phil set for now to limit Kobe to 16 minutes a game
by Kevin Ding
Orange County Register
Phil Jackson acquiesced to Kobe Bryant’s request to re-enter the Lakers’ loss in Barcelona. That didn’t go well, and Jackson said Saturday he would talk to Bryant about it.
Jackson said Monday one way he’ll adjust that situation is limiting Bryant’s playing time in upcoming exhibition games while his surgically repaired right knee gets stronger. He played 25 minutes in Barcelona, but Jackson said 16 minutes is enough now — which would mean Bryant going for eight minutes to start each half.
“Any more than that right now is expecting a little too much,” Jackson said.
The Lakers play the Sacramento Kings in Las Vegas on Wednesday night. The next games after that are Saturday and Sunday at Staples Center.
My opinion about Kobe the person is changing
He doesn't seem like a fake ass anymore when he's talking. He is behaving like a normal person in interviews, seems like he dropped the fake personality, the acting, and some of the MJ biting.
He's more of a normal, genuine person now.
I just hope one day LBJ will see the error of his ways as well
For Bryant, it’s all about the chase
LOS ANGELES – Kobe Bryant is pursuing his sixth NBA championship, a benchmark that would match Michael Jordan’s career total and immediately launch a debate about how the Los Angeles Lakers star measures up to the league’s greatest player ever.
Jordan, however, doesn’t sound quite ready to allow Bryant to stand toe to toe with him.
“He is always going to be within the conversations of some of the greatest players who’ve played, by the time he is finished,” Jordan recently told USA Today about Bryant. “Where does he rank among those, if you are talking about positions? If you are talking about guards, I would say he has got to be in the top 10.”
Not top five. And certainly not top two.
Top 10.
Bryant didn’t take Jordan’s comments as an insult.
“It’s an accurate statement,” Bryant said. “I’m definitely one of the top 10 guards. It could mean two, it could mean one, it could mean four or five. I’m definitely one of the top thousand. Look, I know how he feels about me.
“There have been a lot of great guards to play the game. For me to sit here and say, ‘He should have said top five,’ that’s disrespectful to the other guards that I’ve watched.”
When asked whether Jordan’s words were motivating, Bryant said: “That stuff doesn’t get to me. You can’t motivate me or take me to a place that I’m not already at.”
So where does Bryant think he ranks amongst the NBA’s best?
“I can’t put myself in that position – I really can’t,” Bryant said.
Bryant, however, is comfortable revealing how he hopes to be remembered after his career is over. He entered the NBA in 1996 as a No. 13 pick. At that time, only former Lakers general manager Jerry West had visions of Bryant becoming a superstar.
“I’ve always been comfortable as a kid growing up to think that when my career is over, I want them to think of me as an overachiever despite the talent that I have,” Bryant said. “To think of me as a person that’s overachieved, that would mean a lot to me. That means I put a lot of work in and squeezed every ounce of juice out of this orange that I could.
“Hopefully, they perceive me as person who did whatever he had to do to win above all else. Above anything. Above stats. … If they say that about me I’ll be happy.”
Bryant claims he isn’t motivated by trying to match Jordan, but he does respect the elite company he would join by winning his sixth championship. Only 13 NBA players have more than five NBA les. No Laker has ever won more than five les with the franchise.
“I don’t look at it as motivation,” said Bryant, who hasn’t talked to Jordan since the Lakers played at Charlotte last season. “I’ve never given it thought that I wanted to get six to catch Michael. His six and my six are different. That’s not to say that his were more challenging than mine because I had to play a different role and do something out of character my first three. They’re just different.
“It steps into a territory that only a select few have ever been to. I understand. That’s what special to me, that I’m this fortunate to have this opportunity. So, let’s try to make the most of it.”
Most of the offseason attention has been on the Miami Heat adding LeBron James and Chris Bosh to play with Dwyane Wade. But the Lakers also could be better after signing Steve Blake, Matt Barnes and Theo Ratliff.
“The excitement is warranted,” Bryant said. “Obviously, the trophy remains with us. [Other teams] have made steps in the right direction to try to take it from us. That’s what makes it exciting. The hype is warranted. But for us, it’s business as usual.”
The Lakers’ biggest concerns center on the health of Bryant and center Andrew Bynum, who both had knee surgery. Bynum isn’t expected to be back until the end of November, at the earliest. Bryant struggled in his first four preseason games, averaging 10 points on just 22 percent shooting, before scoring 19 points in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Utah Jazz.
“I’m pleased with my development,” Bryant said. “I feel like I’m getting better every day.”
For now, Bryant isn’t worried about the Heat. Or Jordan. He’s just hungry to chase another championship.
“For me, the special comes in the challenge of it,” he said. “That’s why last year was so special for me because we were like down and out. I remember doing a press conference when we were down 3-2 [in the NBA Finals] and everyone was saying nail-in-the-coffin stuff. That’s what makes it special for me.”
Kobe statline vs. Houston: 8-20, 27 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover. Pretty dece start, I love the fact that Pau got most of the shots tho...hopefully it stays that way
congrats bean for becoming lakers all time leading scorer
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