Lakers: Can Kobe Overcome His Ego?

[Thread]

^He's already made his bones though. And he knows it. It's on "them" now. '10 released the pressure ever more. If he'd a lost that Finals "they"|"you" woulda had him again. And he knows it. He can take it at his leisure now. He has the con. After the rape this reality is the best he could ever had hoped for. And he's coming to terms with that fact.

I just thank Christ for '10. I've told the tale a thousand times, but, I ain't told it in over 9 months:::My Luva had been put in exile by Kori prior to Game 7. He had a lodged a picture of Longoria's ass on Parker's composite. The Ellis girl took umbrage and threw him out. (Parker did look adorable with the appendage I do confess). I digress::: At 13 down 3rd quarter I was lamenting to Luv that it was all over, we were gonna lose and have to face the humiliation of the NBA Forum...."Nobody closes us out, Cully. Nobody." He smacked me upside the head--we cut the e-mail--and I spent the next hour pacing the floors. Well, the rest is in the NBA annals:::With jacks & timbers we started back down with Fish draggin' us kickin' & screamin'. I still dream about Vuj hitting those free throws and then immediately afterward during the TO dedicating them to Kobe. I God's.

And Kobe, against the prediction of millions, went up at the top of the arc, couldn't get it off, started down, still unable to get it off and then shoveled it to Artest. I God's.

I'll take this to the grave:::

- "Nobody closes us out, Cully. Nobody."

- Lakaluva

[Thebesteva]

Kobe is an amazing player, but his ego ruined the opportunity for him to surpass Michael Jordan. The very fact that MJ was unanimously loved by the entire media and fan base and that Kobe is despised by both exposes this. You could have been a Laker fan but still be in awe of Jordan, the same cannot be said about Kobe. Kobe was always about >me<.

Take this offseason for example, he had a star studded team and in training camp he went completely out of his way to say this is "MY TEAM." Then, when the team started losing he looked over at Dwight and threw him and Pau under the bus with the "big boy pants" comment about Pau and indicating that Dwight isn't mentally tough, as if it wasn't his fault the Lakers were losing when he was chucking 30+ a game. Then he had an amazing epiphany that passing might help and the Lakers started winning. The very fact it took a 17 year veteran with 5 rings nearly half a season to realize this is ing unbelievable.

At the end of the day, Kobe is amazing at raising his abilities as a player, he just can't get anyone to want to believe in him. That's what made the 09-10 season so special, he finally had a team that looked up to him. Once D. Fish and Phil left, it was back to pitbull Kobe chewing up all his teammates around him.

[Thread]

Kobe is an amazing player, but his ego ruined the opportunity for him to surpass Michael Jordan. The very fact that MJ was unanimously loved by the entire media and fan base and that Kobe is despised by both exposes this. You could have been a Laker fan but still be in awe of Jordan, the same cannot be said about Kobe. Kobe was always about >me<.

Take this offseason for example, he had a star studded team and in training camp he went completely out of his way to say this is "MY TEAM." Then, when the team started losing he looked over at Dwight and threw him and Pau under the bus with the "big boy pants" comment about Pau and indicating that Dwight isn't mentally tough.

At the end of the day, Kobe is amazing at raising his abilities as a player, he just can't get anyone to want to believe in him. That's what made the 09-10 season so special, he finally had a team that looked up to him. Once D. Fish and Phil left, it was back to pitbull Kobe chewing up all his teammates around him.

It's not a ing game. It's business. They had a ball last night after quarter 1. They could relax and have fun, like they've been doing their entire career.

It ain't no fun competing for an NBA Championship. It's not supposed to be. Bryant understands that fully. Artest too. That's what he saw in Los Angeles, and why he went to Bryant and told he'd come and help him.

Howard, Nash, et al can't even fathom the sacrifice involved.

Howard & Nash have been skinnin' & grinnin' their entire careers and haven't a ring twixt 'em.

Where Kobe ed up, where his sin rests is in the rape and 4 years lost because of his reckless actions. He'll take that to the grave.

[td4mvp2k]

Ego??? The guy is an established player in this league, don't mistake ego for confidence, a trait all great compe ors have.

no ego? r u trolln?

[Thebesteva]

It's not a ing game. It's business. They had a ball last night after quarter 1. They could relax and have fun, like they've been doing their entire career.

It ain't no fun competing for an NBA Championship. It's not supposed to be. Bryant understands that fully. Artest too. That's what he saw in Los Angeles, and why he went to Bryant and told he'd come and help him.

Howard, Nash, et al can't even fathom the sacrifice involved.

Howard & Nash have been skinnin' & grinnin' their entire careers and haven't a ring twixt 'em.

Where Kobe ed up, where his sin rests is in the rape and 4 years lost because of his reckless actions. He'll take that to the grave.

I'll never forget when one of Kobe's former teammates talked about going to Kobe Bryant's daughters birthday back in 2003. He said when they got there it was just people on Kobe's payroll, not 1 person was a friend. The place looked empty, and nearly none of his 3peat teammates showed up despite being invited. The guy is an interesting character, kind of like the Howard Hughes of the NBA. He definitely deserves to be somewhere from 11-15 in best players of all time.

[Thread]

I'll never forget when one of Kobe's former teammates talked about going to Kobe Bryant's daughters birthday back in 2003. He said when they got there it was just people on Kobe's payroll, not 1 person was a friend. The place looked empty, and nearly none of his 3peat teammates showed up despite being invited. The guy is an interesting character, kind of like the Howard Hughes of the NBA. He definitely deserves to be somewhere from 11-15 in best players of all time.

He's an introvert, a functioning sociopath. Like me, tee, hee.

[Koolaid_Man]

I'll never forget when one of Kobe's former teammates talked about going to Kobe Bryant's daughters birthday back in 2003. He said when they got there it was just people on Kobe's payroll, not 1 person was a friend. The place looked empty, and nearly none of his 3peat teammates showed up despite being invited. The guy is an interesting character, kind of like the Howard Hughes of the NBA. He definitely deserves to be somewhere from 11-15 in best players of all time.

o Smush

[Killakobe81]

TO the OP Nope and I hope he doesnt. It's his gift and his curse it makes him take dumb ass hero shots ... but it also gives him an unsakeable confidence.

[Koolaid_Man]

I've been a professional athletic trainer for about 16 years and have been able to work with a range of athletes from the high school to professional level. Right now I run in a clinic in Cincinnati and have most recently been training with some players on the Bengals. I activated my reddit account just a moment ago and because I've been seeing the videos of Kobe's most recent dunks and the comments you guys have had to share I decided I might as well chime in what I know about the man. And let me just state by saying that this story doesn't touch on anything we don't know about Kobe but rather that he simply is not human when he is working on his craft. I was invited to Las Vegas this past Summer to help Team USA with their conditioning before they head off to London, and as we know they would eventually bring home the Gold (USA). I've had the opportunity to work with Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade in the past but this would be my first interaction with Kobe. We first met three days before the first scrimmage, on the day of the first practice, early July. It was a brief conversation where we talked about conditioning, where he would like to be by the end of the Summer, and we talked a little bit about the hustle of the Select Team. Then he got my number and I let him know that if he ever wanted some extra training he could hit me up any time. The night before the first scrimmage I remember I was just watched "Casablanca" for the first time and it was about 3:30 AM. I lay in bed, slowly fading away when I hear my cell ring. It was Kobe. I nervously picked up. "Hey, uhh Rob, I hope I'm not disturbing anything right?" "Uhh no, what's up Kob?" "Just wondering if you could just help me out with some conditioning work, that's all." I checked my clock. 4:15 AM. "Yeah sure, I'll see you in the facility in a bit." It took me about twenty minutes to get my gear and out of the hotel. When I arrived and opened the room to the main practice floor I saw Kobe. Alone. He was drenched in sweat as if he had just taken a swim. It wasn't even 5AM. We did some conditioning work for the next hour and fifteen minutes. Then we entered the weight room, where he would do a mul ude of strength training exercises for the next 45 minutes. After that we parted ways and he went back to the practice floor to shoot. I went back to the hotel and crashed. Wow. I was expected to be at the floor again at about 11 AM. I woke up feeling sleepy, drowsy, and almost pretty much every side effect of sleep deprivation. Thanks, Kobe. I had a bagel and headed to the practice facility. This next part I remember very vividly. All the Team USA players were there, feeling good for the first scrimmage. LeBron was talking to Carmelo if I remember correctly and Coach Krzyzewski was trying to explain something to Kevin Durant. On the right side of the practice facility was Kobe by himself shooting jumpers. And this is how our next conversation went -- I went over to him, patted him on the back and said, "Good work this morning." "Huh?" "Like, the conditioning. Good work." "Oh. Yeah, thanks Rob. I really appreciate it." "So when did you finish?" "Finish what?" "Getting your shots up. What time did you leave the facility?" "Oh just now. I wanted 800 makes so yeah, just now." My jaw dropped. Mother of holy God. It was then that I realized that there's no surprise to why he's been as effective as he was last season. Every story about his dedication, every quote that he's said about hard work all came together and hit me like a train. It's no surprise to me now that he's dunking on players ten years younger than him and it wasn't a surprise to me earlier this year when he led the league in scoring. Thanks for reading and allowing me to share you my Kobe Bryant story. If anyone has any questions I can clarify. Sorry if the story was at all hard to follow as this is my first time on reddit. Rob.

[Koolaid_Man]

http://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments...im_an_athletic

[pgardn]

I've been a professional athletic trainer for about 16 years and have been able to work with a range of athletes from the high school to professional level. Right now I run in a clinic in Cincinnati and have most recently been training with some players on the Bengals. I activated my reddit account just a moment ago and because I've been seeing the videos of Kobe's most recent dunks and the comments you guys have had to share I decided I might as well chime in what I know about the man. And let me just state by saying that this story doesn't touch on anything we don't know about Kobe but rather that he simply is not human when he is working on his craft. I was invited to Las Vegas this past Summer to help Team USA with their conditioning before they head off to London, and as we know they would eventually bring home the Gold (USA). I've had the opportunity to work with Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade in the past but this would be my first interaction with Kobe. We first met three days before the first scrimmage, on the day of the first practice, early July. It was a brief conversation where we talked about conditioning, where he would like to be by the end of the Summer, and we talked a little bit about the hustle of the Select Team. Then he got my number and I let him know that if he ever wanted some extra training he could hit me up any time. The night before the first scrimmage I remember I was just watched "Casablanca" for the first time and it was about 3:30 AM. I lay in bed, slowly fading away when I hear my cell ring. It was Kobe. I nervously picked up. "Hey, uhh Rob, I hope I'm not disturbing anything right?" "Uhh no, what's up Kob?" "Just wondering if you could just help me out with some conditioning work, that's all." I checked my clock. 4:15 AM. "Yeah sure, I'll see you in the facility in a bit." It took me about twenty minutes to get my gear and out of the hotel. When I arrived and opened the room to the main practice floor I saw Kobe. Alone. He was drenched in sweat as if he had just taken a swim. It wasn't even 5AM. We did some conditioning work for the next hour and fifteen minutes. Then we entered the weight room, where he would do a mul ude of strength training exercises for the next 45 minutes. After that we parted ways and he went back to the practice floor to shoot. I went back to the hotel and crashed. Wow. I was expected to be at the floor again at about 11 AM. I woke up feeling sleepy, drowsy, and almost pretty much every side effect of sleep deprivation. Thanks, Kobe. I had a bagel and headed to the practice facility. This next part I remember very vividly. All the Team USA players were there, feeling good for the first scrimmage. LeBron was talking to Carmelo if I remember correctly and Coach Krzyzewski was trying to explain something to Kevin Durant. On the right side of the practice facility was Kobe by himself shooting jumpers. And this is how our next conversation went -- I went over to him, patted him on the back and said, "Good work this morning." "Huh?" "Like, the conditioning. Good work." "Oh. Yeah, thanks Rob. I really appreciate it." "So when did you finish?" "Finish what?" "Getting your shots up. What time did you leave the facility?" "Oh just now. I wanted 800 makes so yeah, just now." My jaw dropped. Mother of holy God. It was then that I realized that there's no surprise to why he's been as effective as he was last season. Every story about his dedication, every quote that he's said about hard work all came together and hit me like a train. It's no surprise to me now that he's dunking on players ten years younger than him and it wasn't a surprise to me earlier this year when he led the league in scoring. Thanks for reading and allowing me to share you my Kobe Bryant story. If anyone has any questions I can clarify. Sorry if the story was at all hard to follow as this is my first time on reddit. Rob.

Rob...

Who has the worst case of foot smell you have ever worked with?

Im talking you could harvest the toe cheese.

Thanks,

-A Fat Kid w/ toe cheese

[dfens]

I've been a professional athletic trainer for about 16 years and have been able to work with a range of athletes from the high school to professional level. Right now I run in a clinic in Cincinnati and have most recently been training with some players on the Bengals. I activated my reddit account just a moment ago and because I've been seeing the videos of Kobe's most recent dunks and the comments you guys have had to share I decided I might as well chime in what I know about the man. And let me just state by saying that this story doesn't touch on anything we don't know about Kobe but rather that he simply is not human when he is working on his craft. I was invited to Las Vegas this past Summer to help Team USA with their conditioning before they head off to London, and as we know they would eventually bring home the Gold (USA). I've had the opportunity to work with Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade in the past but this would be my first interaction with Kobe. We first met three days before the first scrimmage, on the day of the first practice, early July. It was a brief conversation where we talked about conditioning, where he would like to be by the end of the Summer, and we talked a little bit about the hustle of the Select Team. Then he got my number and I let him know that if he ever wanted some extra training he could hit me up any time. The night before the first scrimmage I remember I was just watched "Casablanca" for the first time and it was about 3:30 AM. I lay in bed, slowly fading away when I hear my cell ring. It was Kobe. I nervously picked up. "Hey, uhh Rob, I hope I'm not disturbing anything right?" "Uhh no, what's up Kob?" "Just wondering if you could just help me out with some conditioning work, that's all." I checked my clock. 4:15 AM. "Yeah sure, I'll see you in the facility in a bit." It took me about twenty minutes to get my gear and out of the hotel. When I arrived and opened the room to the main practice floor I saw Kobe. Alone. He was drenched in sweat as if he had just taken a swim. It wasn't even 5AM. We did some conditioning work for the next hour and fifteen minutes. Then we entered the weight room, where he would do a mul ude of strength training exercises for the next 45 minutes. After that we parted ways and he went back to the practice floor to shoot. I went back to the hotel and crashed. Wow. I was expected to be at the floor again at about 11 AM. I woke up feeling sleepy, drowsy, and almost pretty much every side effect of sleep deprivation. Thanks, Kobe. I had a bagel and headed to the practice facility. This next part I remember very vividly. All the Team USA players were there, feeling good for the first scrimmage. LeBron was talking to Carmelo if I remember correctly and Coach Krzyzewski was trying to explain something to Kevin Durant. On the right side of the practice facility was Kobe by himself shooting jumpers. And this is how our next conversation went -- I went over to him, patted him on the back and said, "Good work this morning." "Huh?" "Like, the conditioning. Good work." "Oh. Yeah, thanks Rob. I really appreciate it." "So when did you finish?" "Finish what?" "Getting your shots up. What time did you leave the facility?" "Oh just now. I wanted 800 makes so yeah, just now." My jaw dropped. Mother of holy God. It was then that I realized that there's no surprise to why he's been as effective as he was last season. Every story about his dedication, every quote that he's said about hard work all came together and hit me like a train. It's no surprise to me now that he's dunking on players ten years younger than him and it wasn't a surprise to me earlier this year when he led the league in scoring. Thanks for reading and allowing me to share you my Kobe Bryant story. If anyone has any questions I can clarify. Sorry if the story was at all hard to follow as this is my first time on reddit. Rob.

you're a disgrace to laker fans monkey man

[UZER]

http://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments...im_an_athletic

Kobe gets kicked out of house by Vanessa, to avoid raping anyone he goes to gym to "work it off", but never letting an opportunity go to waste, he calls some poor dude to come witness his dedication and spread the word.

[Thread]

Kobe gets kicked out of house by Vanessa, to avoid raping anyone

You've nary room. Your Neal raped too. Don't worry though, it's not like the girl was your wife, or daughter. She was just some waste of space. You're OK.

[Calispursfan11]

So now Kobe's only remaining path to glory lies in individual accolades not team success... Has he begun Ricky Davis style stat padding yet?

[callo1]

I think you mistaken Kobe for Duncan when say tired...Kobe's 3rd in scoring and can easily win it if he wants to...

But Steve Nash mentioned after the game that Kobe is one of a coach...we know Kobe is bright but we cannot say the same thing about Duncan...I've never seen Duncan coaching his team on the sidelines like Kobe does:

Honestly, who wouldn't have to draw up plays for the team when you have _Antoni as your coach. I wouldn't be suprised to see the ball boy out there scribbling down something for the Lakers.

@ comparing a "player coach" with _Antoni and a team clinging to an 8th seed vs. a player on a team with the best record in the West.

[Killakobe81]

It's not a ing game. It's business. They had a ball last night after quarter 1. They could relax and have fun, like they've been doing their entire career.

It ain't no fun competing for an NBA Championship. It's not supposed to be. Bryant understands that fully. Artest too. That's what he saw in Los Angeles, and why he went to Bryant and told he'd come and help him.

Howard, Nash, et al can't even fathom the sacrifice involved.

Howard & Nash have been skinnin' & grinnin' their entire careers and haven't a ring twixt 'em.

Where Kobe ed up, where his sin rests is in the rape and 4 years lost because of his reckless actions. He'll take that to the grave.

This. Cully gets it. While many of the rank and file LAker haters, Kobe haters etc. eat up that media fed koom-by-ya ... Kobe is not a leader bull- . Cully realizes the WORK it takes to win a le especially that first one. Only now has Lebron returned to the shucking and jiving ...after the Mavs pushed his in, he calmed that the down and finally began to harness his immense talent. Myopic fans on here wanted to give the excuse of the caliber of his team-mates ...and sure they did help him win ... but the Heat became scary when Lebron spent the time Like Kobe and MJ before him locked in laser focus and not playing nice. After you win is when you can do a "harlem shake video" not before. Kobe reminded us of this .agin this year... there should be no fun in losing or failing to meet your potential. None. Magic fooled us with that smile but he knew this. Bird and KAreem were disliked by many because their demanor could not hide this. Phil finally got O'neal to realize it as well.

Duncan does not havethis burden since Pop shoulders it for that squad ...

[Riddler]

This. Cully gets it. While many of the rank and file LAker haters, Kobe haters etc. eat up that media fed koom-by-ya ... Kobe is not a leader bull- . Cully realizes the WORK it takes to win a le especially that first one. Only now has Lebron returned to the shucking and jiving ...after the Mavs pushed his in, he calmed that the down and finally began to harness his immense talent. Myopic fans on here wanted to give the excuse of the caliber of his team-mates ...and sure they did help him win ... but the Heat became scary when Lebron spent the time Like Kobe and MJ before him locked in laser focus and not playing nice. After you win is when you can do a "harlem shake video" not before. Kobe reminded us of this .agin this year... there should be no fun in losing or failing to meet your potential. None. Magic fooled us with that smile but he knew this. Bird and KAreem were disliked by many because their demanor could not hide this. Phil finally got O'neal to realize it as well.

Duncan does not havethis burden since Pop shoulders it for that squad ...

If Kobe was such a leader, then why are the Lakers in 8th place?

[Killakobe81]

If Kobe was such a leader, then why are the Lakers in 8th place?

Are you new here?! apparently all players success is A TEAM ACCOMPLISHMENT or failure ...

[Riddler]

Are you new here?! apparently all players success is A TEAM ACCOMPLISHMENT or failure ...

Then why is it Kobe has made the playoffs with less talent around 05-06? This roster is one of the most talented he has played with, and everyone always has to sacrifice their game to play with Kobe. Kobe never sacrifices. He can't. A leader inspires his teammates. Kobe's teammates wonder if they'll get the ball when they're open.

[Calispursfan11]

Is it possible that Kobe is a good teammate and the rest of the squad are just terrible teammates? I don't think that applies to Nash but the rest is up for debate tbh... If so, not much Kob-ster can do to force success.

[Thread]

Is it possible that Kobe is a good teammate and the rest of the squad are just terrible teammates? I don't think that applies to Nash but the rest is up for debate tbh... If so, not much Kob-ster can do to force success.

He dragged Gasol kickin' & screamin' to it. , he'd never scratched in the playoffs till Kobe took him in.
Artest came to Kobe and literally begged, naked as day he was born in the shower to come to LA and learn under the tutelage of Bryant.
Jackson, hat-n-hand came to Kobe and begged for a hand down, aka his job back. Even though Jackson had sold him down the river, Bryant acquiesed.

Kobe ain't no soft touch. Shaq porked the pooch, Kobe set him free, then hunted Daddy down and stuck him in a hole at 5-4.

[Riddler]

He dragged Gasol kickin' & screamin' to it. , he'd never scratched in the playoffs till Kobe took him in.
Artest came to Kobe and literally begged, naked as day he was born in the shower to come to LA and learn under the tutelage of Bryant.
Jackson, hat-n-hand came to Kobe and begged for a hand down, aka his job back. Even though Jackson had sold him down the river, Bryant acquiesed.

Kobe ain't no soft touch. Shaq porked the pooch, Kobe set him free, then hunted Daddy down and stuck him in a hole at 5-4.

Then Kobe begged for Phil back and got stuck with _antoni

[Thread]

Then Kobe begged for Phil back and got stuck with _antoni

Please. Jackson didn't want to coach: Limited road games, year-to-year contract, bring his successor with him, Kool provides the 14 incher for the girl, Dale watches, et al & etc.

[Riddler]

Please. Jackson didn't want to coach: Limited road games, year-to-year contract, bring his successor with him, Kool provides the 14 incher for the girl, Dale watches, et al & etc.

Doesn't matter. Kobe still begged for him back and would have had him back if it weren't for Jimmy Buss. Instead he's fighting for the 8th spot.