As long as I have been involved in sports, the discussion on the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) in the NBA has always revolved around 3 people. For most millennial basketball fans, there are only 3 names that constantly pop up. (Sorry Tim, KD, DWade, Shaq. No Steph). Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James.
MJ is the standard. The established Goat, Lebron (still) is the King. But in-between, Kobe was the face of the league. He was the guy who most resembled MJ, literally. And the guy Lebron had to pass to get to the throne, literally.
According to some fans, Lebron has yet to pass Kobe, as a Laker great, but also an NBA legend.
But for me, there was a certain passing of the torch this weekend. Less than 24 hours before Kobe passed away, he tweeted his last tweet, directed towards Lebron.
Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames. Much respect my brother 💪🏾 #33644
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) January 26, 2020
Lebron James officially surpassed Kobe Bryant on the NBA’s All-Time Scoring List. A little over 5 years after Kobe himself passed Michael Jordan on that same list. Just like Lebron passing Kobe overshadowed the Lakers loss this Saturday, Lebron's greatness becomes a side note in the loss of Kobe.
I never was a hardcore Kobe fan. Never owned a Kobe jersey or Kobe sneakers. But this isn’t a pure basketball blog either. Both from a basketball perspective and a personal perspective, there never was anyone like Kobe. Kobe was different. I’ll try to explain.
If you would put up a Mount Rushmore of NBA greats, you’ll notice that Kobe was slightly different. Of course, there are many similarities. But when Kobe came into the NBA as (at the time) the youngest player ever, the expectations were quite different. Just look at their rookie seasons:
MJ: 38.3 MPG, 28.2 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 5.9 APG
Kobe: 15.5 MPG, 7.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 1.3 APG
Lebron: 39.5 MPG, 20.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 5.9 APG
My only Kobe memorabilia - A 2004 NBA Rewind Drawing I Made - One of the characters is based on a Kobe Bryant dunk ;)
Not only were MJ and Lebron Rookie of the Year award winners, they came into the league as the future of the league, the hopes of a generation, the American Dream. Michael Jordan as young kid who went from being cut from his varsity team in his sophomore year for being too short to hitting the game winning shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game and being drafted to a 27-win Chicago Bulls team that was in desperate need of scoring. Lebron James as the future of the NBA, being scouted (inter)nationally since High School, the kid from Akron, Ohio, deemed to bring Cleveland their first Major Sports Championship. And then there was Kobe, a second generation NBA player, with a Japanese name, growing up in Italy and being traded to his favorite team on Draft Day. To a 53-win Lakers team with top-10 offense that just acquired Shaquille O’Neal, the person that overshadowed him during the early days of his career.
Kobe’s path to stardom felt more like a cult/hype than a story of a hero. He was the whiny young player that was ungrateful for having won championships with a(nother) NBA great and instigating the break up. Everything was different for him. Compared to MJ and Lebron, he’s the only won who has won NBA championships without winning the NBA Finals MVP as well. He only won one regular season MVP in a 5 year stretch where he was considered the best player in the league. He scored 81 points in one game, but still only holds 2 scoring titles, less than Allen Iverson and Kevin Durant (and most likely after this season, James Harden). On the other side, he also won the NBA Dunk Contest as a rookie and somehow got selected for the NBA All Star Game at age 19, while coming off the bench averaging 15 PPG in 26 minutes per game. The best part, he was voted in as a starter, over Nick van Exel and Eddie Jones who were keeping him on the bench in LA. He gets more credit for his defense compared to Lebron, even though Lebron has more career steals in less games. But somehow, Kobe never got credit for his passing and was considered a ball hog, even though he averaged 5 apg as starter and has almost 700 more career assists than MJ.
Kobe was meant to be great. But never as great as he became. He rejuvenated the Dream Team from a US Men Basketball team that I personally saw lose to Italy by 17 points (and took home Bronze in Athens in 2004), to win Olympic Gold in 2008 and 2012. After that he won 2 more NBA Championships and solidified his position as a an NBA Legend with a storybook ending, scoring 60 points in a comeback win in the final game of his career. He didn’t stop there. Within 2 years after retiring, he won an Oscar for Best Animated Short with Dear Basketball. Something no one had ever done, but also, no one ever expected.
See, the reason I love Kobe Bryant is not because he was the most popular player on the court. It always felt like he had to work for it. And he always worked for it. There is a reason why Kobe was featured in Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers regarding his dedication to deliberate practice. If there was one thing Kobe stood for, it was doin work. Even off court, Kobe put in the work to keep his family together after the sexual assault allegations. He made it clear that he cared for Basketball and his family, that he loved them both and was willing to whatever it takes to keep them part of his life. While, of course no one wants to talk about this sensitive topic at the moment, I bring it up because I respected him for how he dealt with it.
For me, Kobe Bryant filled the gap between MJ and Lebron. MJ was criticized for being over competitive to the point of physical abuse, Lebron is being criticized for being too soft and just wanting to play with friends and have fun. MJ personal life story is filled with heartbreaks and gambling while Lebron's story portrays a fairytale family life. Kobe was always in the middle. To be honest, Kobe didn’t fill the gap, he had his own era. His work ethic made me believe that if you really put in the work, it wouldn't matter that you were different. Not everyone needs to like you, but it does help if everyone respects you.
Kobe was different. That’s why he won’t go down as Michael Jordan’s successor or as the predecessor of Lebron James. He will go down as Kobe.
8-24
RIP
Posted via Steemleo