Figuring Out Kobe
I've seen myself in the early part of the decade hating the Lakers because they've been too much, or too great for everyone else. Especially Kobe Bryant.
Yes, that ball-hogging freak who wants to make a name for himself. The one who has don jersey number eight and acted as if everything depended on him. As if Shaq wasn't there. As if Brian Shaw wasn't there. As if Phil wasn't the coach. Shot after shot after shot (save few lob passes to Shaq), all is Kobe. And we're all saying like, "this kid is too much."
But come the three-peat championship, 2004, and the alleged cases against Kobe, and here we face a problem for the Lakers. With most of the championship and near-championship Lakers gone, Kobe Bryant was then left as a leader of a young team that offers less of a promise and more of a problem. The only one out there who could provide some support is the sub-par inconsistent forward Lamar Odom, who, in a way, knows how to score alongside Bryant. The heartbreaker came early in the season when Rudy Tomjanovich had to resign his post, alongside with Bryant's injury. And what was the result? Nada. No playoff appearance. And in their underdog state, I started becoming a fan of Kobe Bryant, because I want to witness a possible change that could come to him, a kind of conversion from selfish star to excellent teammate. And the next few years became a witness to this grand change, I should say.
The next years seemed to be more promising. Derek Fisher and Phil Jackson were back in the Laker business, in keeping Kobe Bryant happy in the big city. Also, new men came in for the Lakers squad in replace of old ones. But then, 2006 and 2007 were just big disappointments. Probably the closest ones to being success were Kobe's 81 points against the Raptors, setting a new 2nd highest NBA individual score in a game, and the 3-1 advantage of the Lakers over the Phoenix Suns (which, unfortunately, was followed by three straight defeats from Steve Nash and the Suns and deprived of the chance to advance in the playoff tree). After all this, perhaps Bryant's disappointment reached its maximum, with a clear statement before the start of the '07-'08 season: he wants to be traded.
But in what was supposed to be his last year as a Laker, he got perhaps the best gift shipped to him: Pau Gasol. Others judge this as a trade bust for the Memphis Grizzlies, but for L.A., it was a win-win situation: Memphis has been given cap space to develop young talents, and Los Angeles got something to keep Kobe intact: a reliable teammate. From struggling between the fourth and fifth position in the West, the Lakers managed to climb slowly to the top spot and ended with a 57-25 record. However, the upgrade wasn't enough as the Lakers, short of strength in the post and of the presence of Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza, lost to the Celtics in six games.
Nobody expected that 2010 will be for them, but most critics speculated that they are the team to beat. They had a complete roster, and, despite a few setbacks, they again landed the top spot in the West. They went through a rough road in the postseason, in search for consistency and team chemistry, and they eventually reached the Finals, beating the Orlando Magic in five games for their fifteenth franchise championship.
Perhaps we could divide the Lakers metanarrative into two phases, setting the Mamba as a focal point. From '02-'05, we have what we call a "Kobe Bryant v1," the ball-hogging scoring machine that everyone loathes, and from '05 to the present age, we have the "Kobe Bryant v2," the Black Mamba that everyone came to look up to and idolize. This is the Kobe Bryant that strived to form a team, to make everyone better by being selfish both in and out of the court. He is the Kobe Bryant who is more than 81 points, more than the three-peat and the fourth, more than the individualistic player that everyone knows.
Then what? He is the epitome of disciplined basketball, of achieving the impossible, and, most importantly, of team leadership. He is the chief now, and with the way he runs the team, the Lakers could reach great heights that was never expected back in 2005.
And this is the Kobe Bryant that I look up to, and he bears a significant mark that transcends all the stats, the awards, and the highlight reels. What I look up to him is his work ethic, the way he carries himself as someone who knows how to treat business as business, with no bull whatsoever. He is not an Allen Iverson or Shaquille O'Neal that grabs the attention of the cameras and the videophones and creates controversy and shallow creativity. Rather, he is the poker face of the NBA, more than determined to enjoy while being very serious, while toppling the different records set in the Association, while constantly sweating his way out, and, most importantly, while establishing himself as a true basketball player worthy of being imitated. Behind it all is a burning bush that speaks "Winning is living."
Sure, we can compare Kobe with MJ, and unquestionably, almost everyone would go for the latter. I myself would, but we now live in different times, where performance comes in a constant flux, and everything has been more competitive than before. And with many different superstars of Kobe's time coming and going, it is he who uniquely stands among the rest. Sure, we can say that LeBron James could soar greater heights, and he could actually lead a championship team. But, unlike LeBron who is the NBA's spoiled kid since '03, Kobe was able to walk his way up the ladder of skill and fame. He underwent a rigorous phase of asserting oneself as a player capable of playing in all kinds of teams, and I believe that the winning Lakers is not the only witness to this. In fact, his '08 Olympic Stint became a witness to the level of immaturity LeBron has and the team performance that Kobe possesses. In fact, LeBron could use a good tip or two from Kobe in order to improve the way he plays with his team.
Of course, other comparisons could be made, and with what I have shown here, there are still a lot to contest. But what I want to stress here is that the superstar that Kobe Bryant has been is not just a product of sheer genetics and multiple scoring feats. More than that, he is the result of hardwork, rigor, discipline, and a continuous rupture of self brought about by the different phases of flux that dawned upon his team. He stood up and proved to the world that to assert oneself, to show success personified, takes real hard work and the ability to adjust to certain circumstances in order to conquer the weaknesses coming from within and without.
To the fool who says Kobe hasn't gone this far, look at the Ubermensch of our time. I do not absolutize Kobe Bryant, but he is one of those who learned to stand up and make a difference in ways possible. He made a player out of Trevor Ariza and Shannon Brown, he scored and passed well in spite of four injuries that hounded him in every game. He knew unselfish play which led to the trophy. He allowed himself to be transformed under the guidance of Phil Jackson. He learned post-up moves at the rather old age (in professional basketball terms) of 31. He was the youngest in his era to grab four rings. All out of sheer determination that carries with it a vision. Now, who wouldn't want to emulate the way this guy works? Who wouldn't want to trudge the great and noble path to greatness?
And we return to the situation at hand, the problem with the Purple and Gold.
