Written by: Alan Ni
Here’s a quickie, how many championships did Michael Jordan and LeBron James have at age 24?
Zero.
Here’s another, how many rings did Kobe Bryant have at age 24?
Three.
Now that I got that out of the way, I want to ask you guys something, why do people hate on Kobe so much? To me, it’s because they don’t want to admit his greatness.
Every single time Kobe does something that nobody has ever seen before, the result is, “Oh, it’s just Kobe.” Not amazing. Not great. It’s normal? Because “Kobe” did it?
That makes absolutely no sense to me.
People take every chance they get to diminish this guy’s talent and work ethic for the game, basically to the point that they stole an MVP from him. Yeah, Kobe should have two of them. Most Laker fans should know what I’m referring too. That dreaded 2006 season, when he went on a tear during the regular season. From the string of 40 and 50 point games to that other-wordly rampage he had on January 22nd.
Then in the 1st round, he had his game winner that still gives us Laker fans chills when we watch it on YouTube. If that isn’t an MVP season, I really don’t know how high the bar was that year for MVP. But, oh wait, Steve Nash won. I really didn’t follow Steve Nash’s game that year, but it was his SECOND STRAIGHT MVP. Only Bill Russel, Wilt, Kareem, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Tim Duncan, and most recently LeBron have done that.
Do you mean to tell me that he is in the same category as those players? No disrespect to Steve Nash, but he is far beyond that class of players and let’s not forget that his SECOND STRAIGHT MVP season was better than Kobe’s in the opinions of the “professionals.” Sorry, but that is simply not true.
Next: The Next MJ or the First Kobe?
Of course, many fans(not just Laker fans) started to question the validity of the decision and they tried to cover it up by saying that Kobe’s performances did not help the team? I don’t know if it’s just me, but that’s the worst excuse I have heard in my life. Plus, is helping the team win games by scoring big HARMFUL to the team?
As you can probably tell, I’m still bitter from that 2006 season.
I don’t know what frustrates me more, people saying Kobe would’ve never won his rings without Shaq and Pau or people saying that LeBron is the closest player we’ve seen to MJ.
If you told me LeBron is the next Michael Jordan, I would bet all my money that you never watched a game of basketball in your life. Surely, LeBron has some of the sickest drives and dunks we’ve ever seen, but the next Jordan? Come on. Kobe has perfected nearly every facet of the game. From his unstoppable turnaround jumper to his suffocating defense, there is nothing Kobe Bryant can’t do.
Next: The Game’s in the Brain
However, the most important part of his game is his work ethic and will to win. When Kobe Bryant is determined, it’s scary. Just one look at that face and he’ll turn you into a believer. To me, that’s the most critical difference between LeBron’s game and Kobe’s game. Some nights, it just looks like LeBron is out there getting his stats. To him, it appears, getting stats is more important than helping the team win. Until LeBron learns that, he will never surpass the Black Mamba.
When people tell me Kobe would have no rings if it wasn’t for Shaq, it just makes me shake my head. Let’s get one thing straight, Shaq wouldn’t have those three rings if it wasn’t for Kobe. Every dynasty this league has seen always had a dynamic duo. Jordan and Pippen, Magic and Kareem.
Do you ever see people criticizing Magic that he would never have won without Kareem? No. Why? Because he is not Kobe. Like I said before, EVERYTHING this man achieves is diminished in every way possible nowadays. That’s just not right.
Either learn to respect greatness, or just don’t watch the game at all. Amen.