Yeah, but if not for Billups and them in 04 and Ray Ray and Pierce in 08 Kobe would have 7 rings, so you win some you lose some. I am gald he was motivated by it though, shows you he is very compe ive. I know he was watching saying please no #5 I want to have the most rings out of the two. Tim is very compe ive too, so I am sure he keeps taps as well, infact I would bet on it.
He is one like IVY who will never ever accept getting older or change his game to get more wins or rings! He will want to be in his prime forever and it will be very hard for him to accept the fact he is older now and needs to change his game some! That is not Kobe nor his mindset, he probably wants to be the man he was ten years ago. Thats a problem.
Kobe is a frustrating player in the way he tries to individually dominate and hog the game. But there should be no doubt in anyone's mind that talent/skill-wise, he is probably in the Top 10 player list ever. His ability to get a shot off in crunch time, turn on defense when required, take really difficult shots and make them on above average basis - make him among the best players ever. It is only that, he is frustrating as a egomaniac on the court. But which team wouldn't want him in his prime? Even at 35, he remains a major threat.
He is a legend nobody will deny that, he is what you said he is. The sad thing is though that like MJ can work against you later on! Bigtime! He can not accept a different role sides the #1 on a team, coming off the injury and 35 that is more of a detriment to the team! Tim has moved past that alot of times and adapted, I am afraid this guy will not and eventually dig his own grave in the NBA like IVY did.
What is going for Kobe is that despite these flaws, he plays for an extremely rich team that is always going to play the luxury tax and fill the squad with enough options to round out Kobe's flaws.
And that is why, Kobe's strengths get maximised and his obvious egocentric flaws get minimized in the Lakers' system.
That advantage was not quite there for MJ or Duncan. And that is precisely why MJ and Duncan are better and greater players than Kobe, who has near equal or even better talent than most shooting guards ever. MJ and Duncan made their teammates better by adjusting to their systems better. In Kobe's case, he was helped by a rich owner and a market which simply bought its way out of issues and always fielded enough talent to take away from Kobe's flaws and maximised his abilities. When, they couldn't manage to put that talent in around Kobe - during the post-O'Neal years or post-peakOdom/peakGasol years, their teams were hurt by Kobe's misgivings. That never happened in the case of Jordan or Duncan.
Exactly. Last year he had two 7-footers, both of whom can score in the paint. Yet he shoots it 20 times a game, even at age 35, and creates discord because the bigs aren't getting the ball enough. By the way, these are multiple all-star bigs, not scrubs or rookies. Then within six weeks of blowing out his Achilles, he repels the younger 7-footer to the point that he leaves 30M on the table and walks. Meanwhile, the Lakers get ZERO compensation. Translation: Bryant wrecked the franchise by running Howard off. And for what? So he can come back at age 36 and shoot the ball 20 times a game? The guy is flushing himself down the bowl of irrelevance.
The irony of that quote is how he stated the part about playing together. The ol' sport still has not grasped that concept.
don't be bullsh*tting us Kobe
Like I've said before, Bryant is unwilling to share the spotlight with another "superstar" because he wants all the glory. You hear him talking ring counts, scoring les, etc...that should tell you everything you need to know about this guy's personality.
Tbh, the lakers would be a lot better team if they had gotten rid of Bryant a couple of seasons ago.
I don't get the Kobe hate TBH. My favorite player outside of any Spurs tbh.
He still thinks he's the best, and he's not. He just drove his franchise ship right up on the coral reef of irrelevancy by running off a younger super star. All of those things are true.
Kobe must have been rooting so hard for Miami in that series
I agree there with the talents they surrouded him with, in down years they always run out to try and get a big trade and bring so and so in, Duncan never had that luxury but he had a steady TEAM! I would take the steady team alot of times over just big names in there and they don't match. Tim has had it good as well with the FO surrounding him with talent from the draft, their FA pickups though have been few and far in between and namely just role players that FIT THE TEAM and they hit on (Barry and Horry).
Timmy: I got 5 now, Kobe!
Kobe: You never repeated!
him.
Where would Kobe be without Phil Jackson? A whole lot less, and that goes with Jordan and Shaq too. Truly good players start threatening to win it all right off the bat like Magic, Bird and Duncan. Jordan took a long time before he was winning championships, same with Shaq and Kobe. Werent Shaq and Kobe getting swept out of the playoffs every year?
aren't the players on eech team pretty comparable at this point? kobe, manu. pau, td. metta, kawhi (in turms of skill set). steve blak, nando. y couldn't the lakers go?
Metta is gone, but no he is not near Kawhi right now (He is falling off fast). Blake and Nando? Nando has not even played yet? Parker is alot better than any of their PG's too, our team is overall alot better and our star is not coming off a major injury.
Kobe is a contrast that to tp who humbly stepped into his alpha dog role.
Kobe must have been rooting so hard for Miami in that series
Kobe doesn't give a about Duncan's legacy, because the media won't talk about Tim, even with 5 rings, tbh..
They love their wing players, and Lebron has already matched Kobe's output as the main guy on his team, and you can bet that Kobe hated every second of it, tbh
Its going to be even more of a treat to watch him struggle when he returns.
Off the top of my head..
- Kobe had a meltdown, asked for a trade in 2007, threw the entire organization under the bus, demanded that Andrew Bynum is traded, refused to go to Chicago if Deng was included in the trade(which potentially prevented the Lakers from getting a good return), etc..
- He quit on his team in game 7 vs. Phoenix and sabotaged his team in 2004 to get out of Shaq's shadow(which Phil Jackson confirmed)..
- He snitched on Shaq during the police questioning after his rape, despite Shaq having absolutely nothing to do with his situation
- Countless stories of him being an asshole and inability to deal with him in the locker room during the Shaq years..
- Constantly uses injuries as an excuse..
- Has had feuds with Phil Jackson, Dwight Howard and Shaq..has been called out by those guys, in addition to Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, tbh..
- He's a rapist, tbh..
Ding Ding DingOff the top of my head..
- Kobe had a meltdown, asked for a trade in 2007, threw the entire organization under the bus, demanded that Andrew Bynum is traded, refused to go to Chicago if Deng was included in the trade(which potentially prevented the Lakers from getting a good return), etc..
- He quit on his team in game 7 vs. Phoenix and sabotaged his team in 2004 to get out of Shaq's shadow(which Phil Jackson confirmed)..
- He snitched on Shaq during the police questioning after his rape, despite Shaq having absolutely nothing to do with his situation
- Countless stories of him being an asshole and inability to deal with him in the locker room during the Shaq years..
- Constantly uses injuries as an excuse..
- Has had feuds with Phil Jackson, Dwight Howard and Shaq..has been called out by those guys, in addition to Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, tbh..
- He's a rapist, tbh..
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