“There’s no doubt in my mind that it’s Kobe’s goal to be better than Michael Jordan. A lot of people that are great basketball players wouldn’t even attempt like, saying it. That would be like, off limits. And, I commend Kobe for that. A lot of people are scared to walk in those shoes”. – Lamar Odom, The Association: Los Angeles Lakers
Here we are. One night away, one more ring to win. If the Lakers are able to vanquish both the Boston Celtics and the demons by whom they have been haunted by for the last two years, our iconic superstar we’ve seen grow and mature right before our eyes for the last 14 years, will stand just one title away from the man that he is an all too eerie replica of.
Kobe Bryant, basketball’s most polarizing figure, may be playing for his fifth championship, but deep within his spirit, exists a personal conquest to behest Michael Jordan’s legacy behind his own. What was once a pedestal thought to be many moons beyond any point that could even be dreamed of by any NBA player that has come since his Airness, the Black Mamba slithers ever so closer to the summit.
Perhaps one day, if we’re lucky, Kobe will personally admit to the world that he has always wanted to exceed the standard set by Michael. Their basketball personas bear an uncanny resemblance to one another – be it devastating offensive abilities, lock-down defensive capabilities, the intensity with which they train and play, and of course, the sub-zero glacier river storming through their veins in the clutch.
The obvious glaring discrepancy is their off-court personalities, an issue that the majority of critics agree, no one has ever come close to having MJ’s enthralling charm.
Kobe does indeed make certain that he is perceived in the proper light, a task that he has committed himself to for the last six years, but on the same token, he is more obsessed with how he will be remembered as a basketball player. In the current population of NBA athletes, from the elite to the 15th man, there is not a single soul whose nucleus burns and hungers for a championship more than his. The Mamba’s heart beats for three reasons: his wife, his kids and to win.
That drive to always play for a title and make the necessary sacrifices is what separates him from any other superstar in the league.
We can only wonder what thoughts and emotions are flowing throughout Kobe’s mind as he sits less than 48 hours away from Game 1 of his seventh NBA Finals berth. Think about that for a moment – the Mamba has played for the championship in seven of his 14 professional seasons. The fact that this particular Finals comes as his second shot at immortalizing his place in Lakers history could not set up his narrow path to ultimate greatness, anymore beautifully.
NEXT: Nothing less than BEST
As Lamar Odom said, who would dare speak of even gunning for the spot that Michael Jordan erected over 15 grueling years of greatness?
Clearly, no player would ever say it, but Kobe intends on letting his rings do all the talking for him. The Mamba cares no longer for regular season recognition and accolades. This man is even so good that he has cultivated his innate ability to pace his game throughout the season, reserving his energy and dominance for the most critical games in the playoffs. Wasn’t it just a few weeks ago that Kobe admitted to “playing on one leg”? He subsequently played the best basketball of his career in this year’s Western Conferene Finals.
That is by no means to say that the Mamba does not play at his absolute best or give his best effort all season long, but rather, he has reached a point in his career where he is able to harness the best out of his teammates. He does not have to score 30 to 40 points every night for his team to win games.
As Phil Jackson stated during The Association, “Leaders have to be able to serve and that’s one of the things Kobe has learned. That’s always been the mark of a star, how much better can he make his other players, not how great he is himself.”
The Great One has realized full well that he cannot achieve the level of greatness that he so voraciously seeks, without pushing his teammates to join him in their own chase for supremacy.
NBA championships will always be won by the better team in the final series and it’s not always about talent or skill, but rather the will to win. If a player cannot be inspired by the intensity and heart of a Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan, they have no business sharing the court with them in the same jersey.
Kobe’s path to authoring another historic chapter in his individual and team legacy will have to run through the 2008 champion Boston Celtics – as he says, “They’re in the way.” They are the road block to his fifth NBA championship, the Lakers’ 16th and his first against the franchise’s most loathed opponent. As much as this Finals represents his own individual destiny towards basketball immortality, it’s also very much about determining his final place in Lakers history as his career crawls ever so closer to the sunset.
The shoes that most would cower away from walking within, have never been too big for Kobe Bryant.