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Kobe has matured a lot
LBJ
Bryant not always loved, but respected everywhere
By Jim Litke
Watching Kobe Bryant doin’ work on the Bulls in relative peace Tuesday night was a reminder that there’s always a way back.
Bryant wasn’t booed during the one-man show he staged in the first quarter— despite tormenting defender Kirk Heinrich repeatedly en route to 20 points in the period—and even elicited scattered chants of “MVP! MVP!” following a dunk in the closing seconds of the Lakers’ convincing 96-87 win. Five years ago, when Bryant was standing trial on a rape charge that was later dropped, even that bit of grudging admiration from fans on the road would have been almost unthinkable.
“We build up icons and we tear them down,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson mused before the game, when asked to compare the firestorm of criticism Bryant faced to the one engulfing Tiger Woods. “As much as they’ve been built up, they’ve been torn down.
“I saw it with Michael, obviously, as part of his retirement. There was the scandal about his gambling and so forth,” Jackson continued, referring to Jordan and their days together with the Bulls. “Those things are all redeemable. If you come back and show your character, and your character is about winning and about doing the job right, that’ll happen.”
While no two falls from grace are exactly alike—Woods stands accused of serial adultery, but not breaking the law—Jackson was right about this much: Sports fans are suckers for second acts.
Not all of them end well, of course. Mike Tyson left jail a bigger drawing card than he went in, but did precious little with that opportunity beyond digging a deeper hole for himself. “Why would anyone expect Mike to come out smarter?” promoter Lou Duva reasoned at the time, providing a perfect prologue for Tyson’s second act. “He went to prison for three years, not Princeton.”
Bryant doesn’t like to talk about the few semesters he spent in the school of hard knocks, walking away from a reporter who broached the topic in Los Angeles a few days ago. But there’s no question he mastered the important lessons.
They weren’t just about playing great basketball, since Bryant proved even in the midst of the trial, that he could handle that kind of pressure. He averaged 24 points that season and played all 82 games, including several after being whisked from a Colorado courtroom and delivered to the basketball court in a private jet and limousines.
Until then, teamwork was something the other guys on Bryant’s team were supposed to worry about. But in short order, Lakers owner Jerry Buss ran off Shaquille O’Neal and Jackson—since rehired—and gave Bryant a long-term contract, essentially pushing all his chips to the center of the table in a gamble that Bryant would come back a changed man. What Buss had in mind was not a better jump shot, but someone with the leadership qualities Bryant always parroted, but never really practiced.
We know now how that experiment turned out. Whether Bryant is a changed man away from the court, only his wife and family know. But on it, what always seemed like anger suddenly became purpose, as though he finally realized his legacy depended on not being just the best player on the floor every night, but the one who makes everyone else around him better.
That’s the Bryant who emerges, finally, from e Lee’s do entary, “Kobe Doin’ Work,” a former gunslinger-turned-sheriff who makes it his responsibility to keep everyone pointed in the same direction. After winning a championship last season, the Lakers have begun this one in imposing fashion. That’s because of Bryant, who finds little adulation away from the Staples Center, but has earned respect everywhere.
The parallels to Woods, as noted above, aren’t exact. But it’s interesting that according to one report, Woods told a friend during a phone conversation the day following his car crash that he was thinking about running out to a jewelry store to buy a “Kobe Special.” That, Woods explained a moment later, was a ring with a huge diamond attached, “a house on a finger.”
It’s hard to imagine Woods—at the moment, anyway—holding a press conference to make a tearful confession of his sins, the way Bryant did a half-dozen years ago, when the rape charges were first announced. But it’s easy to picture Woods, after an appropriate time away devoted to trying to salvage his marriage, returning to the sport he dominated with enough motivation to last the rest of his golfing life.
Kobe has matured a lot
LBJ
Why would he want your love? He will just take it anyway.
Before 2003, I was in the 'respect, but no love' category.
After 2003, I lost all respect for him.
lol respect
“We build up icons and we tear them down,”
It's a guaranteed money maker every time.
Honestly, sometimes I can't help but feel bad for Kobe. He's gone through a lot of during his career. He can be a giant bag at times, but I really don't think Kobe's a bad guy. He's one of the greatest to play this game, and as skilled as they come. You can see it in him that he's trying his best to win every night. A true hall of famer, we're all gunna miss Kobe when he retires.
It would be a lot easier to like Bryant if he played for a different team, due to the fact that Laker fans are the worst fanbase in sports and think they're en led to something.
LOL Oden ...
I think that is all I would say for any true fans is respect his game and dedication to his craft ...
you dont have to "like" every great player ...I didnt like MJ or Bird at first that came later but i respected them always and didnt shoot that MJ is a ball-hog (only say that whe that is used vs. Kobe to make a point) or Bird was built up cuz he's white ...game recognize game ...those that ignore's Kobe's must not have any ...
What en lement am I seeking as a Laker fan? The generalizations of Laker fans is just as bad as this so-called "en lement." I know a good portion of the Laker posters here are decent posters and so are people of the actual fanbase. Wherever this deep-seeded resentment came from is beyond me.
Of course Kobe can be a bag at times--a great deal of pro athletes are not immune to this designation. But he is, without a doubt, an incredible player, a sure 1st ballot hall-of-famer, and one of the best to have ever played the game. He also plays the so-called villain well. For better or worse, he is one of the faces of the NBA and we are fortunate as Laker fans to have him as our franchise player.
lol 21 blessings
Kobe AND LeBrick.
Dwyane Wade is where it's at.
I respect Kobe for trying so hard emulating every single thing about Jordan as he did, and coming relatively close.
I respect his game a lot, obviously you can't hate on his talent, he's one of the best ever and we won't see another like him..I don't respect rape, snitching or throwing teammates under the bus though, why the would anybody respect that?..
Yeah, he is a very good player, that is to be respected, but he is still an asshole.
Besides, LBJ is better.
Good enough for me.
42.7% shooting
lol 48% career compared to .455 for Kobme42.7% shooting
42.7% shooting
lol Kobe's 2004-2005 season
i respect kobe but i hate the lakers fanbase (except culburn,lakaluva and allanon) the rest can themselves, especially dr.house and 21 blessings
Most of theme hate you back ChrisRichards me ...I dont "hate" people for expressing their opinions even if they are misguided ...in fact that is PART of the reason I come here (more than the lakers sites) to see the "other side" a diffrent perspective ...what is the fun or challenge with everyone agreeing all the time?
you like a 56 year old child molester who has an internet history of posting gruesome images of murder, gay sex, among other things, and once called the employer of another poster to try to lose him his job? weird
So Bryant is now committed to making around him better? I thought the Lakers were better because they replaced Smush Parker, Brian Cook and Kwame Brown with Derek Fisher, Ariza/Artest and Pau Gasol.
Kobe's the same he's always been.
Never did any of that stuff.
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