Kobe Bryant: One of the Greats or Just Selfish?

Anyone who follows NBA basketball at all has probably been in discussions on whether or not Kobe Bryant is one of the best players to ever play in the NBA. And you likely are also well acquainted with Kobe’s off the court issues caused by an incident in a Colorado hotel involving a beautiful blonde. Kobe was roasted by the media for that and wound up being hated by many, disliked by still more, and trusted only by his disappointed but devoted fans.

Society tends to be very harsh on athletes that have made mistakes in their personal lives. Tiger Woods is the most recent victim of this and even with his past accomplishments he now has the label of what he did in his personal life rather than his accomplishments on the golf course. I bring all this up because it is a big reason why Kobe Bryant gets a lot of hate. Although he was not convicted of anything, the rumors of his off court issues smeared his reputation and still do today. I point it out only to help us frame our question in a more objective light as we consider his career and his contribution to the game of basketball. Is he one of the games all time greats or just an arrogant egomaniac who shoots too much?

Kobe Bean Bryant, born on August 23^rd, 1978, grew up in Philadelphia, but he spent much of his childhood in Italy after his father moved overseas to play basketball. He learned how to speak both Italian and Spanish in his time overseas and he started playing basketball when he was three years old. Kobe moved back to the United States and built a very impressive resume throughout his high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School. Kobe became the 6^th player in NBA history to skip college and head straight to the NBA after racking up many awards during his senior year of high school including: Naismith High School Player of the Year, Gatorade Men’s National Basketball Player of the Year, a McDonald’s All-American, and a USA Today All-USA First Team player.

It all started for Kobe in 1996 when he got drafted 13^th overall by the Charlotte Hornets and got traded to the Lakers on draft day for Vlade Divac. Kobe is now headed into his 19^th year of NBA basketball with a very impressive resume: 4^th all-time in scoring, 15^th all-time in steals, and top 30^th all-time in assists. To go along with his individual accomplishments Kobe has won 5 NBA Championships and has played his entire career for one organization, the Los Angeles Lakers. Some call him better than Michael Jordan, some have him in their top ten of all-time, and others just hate the guy and think that he is a selfish player.

The 6’6” 210 pound shooting guard out of Philadelphia has always been known for his ability to score the basketball. He has mastered the art of scoring whether that be driving the ball to the basket, pulling up for midrange jumpers, posting up for fade-away jumpers, or draining three-pointers. Every basketball fan, Laker fan or not, knows Kobe can flat out score the basketball. Kobe has won two NBA Scoring Titles averaging 35.4 points per game in 2005-2006 and 31.6 points per game in 2006-2007. He also fell just shy of the record books when he scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors on January 22, 2006.

Kobe gets a lot of criticism for taking bad shots and being selfish with the basketball. This is true at times as Kobe averaged 27 shots per game in 2005-2006, when he won the scoring title, but with that being said he was playing on a Lakers team that had a starting lineup of: Smush Parker, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Chris Mihm, and Kwame Brown. No offense to the four other players on the court, but as Kobe stated, “I almost won an MVP with Smush Parker and Kwame Brown on my team. I was shooting 45 times a game. What was I supposed to do? Pass it to Chris Mihm or Kwame Brown?” Kobe understood his team and he understood that he needed to provide the scoring if they wanted a chance at winning. Although the Lakers did not win a championship in this year, Kobe still led the Lakers to a productive 7th place finish in the West with a point guard in Smush Parker who he called “the worst” and he went on later to say, “He shouldn’t have been in the NBA, but we were too cheap to pay for a good point guard. So we let him walk on.”

Now Kobe has mastered a trait that no other basketball player, besides Michael Jordan (from what I have heard), has: his desire to win. Kobe will do whatever it takes to win. Nothing will stop him in his pursuit for a championship whether it is an illness or an injury. Kobe has played through a plethora of injuries and he understands his dedication to the game as he once said, “I’ve played with IVs before, during and after games. I’ve played with a broken hand, a sprained ankle, a torn shoulder, a fractured tooth, a severed lip, and a knee the size of a softball.” Kobe has played through all these injuries, but the best example of his dedication to winning and battling is when Kobe tore his Achilles tendon. After tearing his Achilles tendon he stayed on the court to shoot his two free throws, which he made, and those two made free throws helped the Lakers beat the Warriors 118-116, which was a crucial win in their strive for a playoff spot on April 12^th, 2013.

Kobe Bryant is not used to losing. He has always been a winner no matter what he is doing and his competitiveness is what drives that. Right now the Los Angeles Lakers have started off the season at 0-5, their worst start since 1957. Unfortunately, these losses are going to continue piling up for Lakers and some believe that Kobe will get too frustrated with this and demand a trade. Come on readers, lets really think about this for a minute. You are telling me that Kobe Bryant is going to demand a trade to the 2-4 Knicks, the only team that can afford his salary, to try and win a championship in his last two years at the cost of giving up his legacy that he has earned over the last 18 years as a Laker? Although I just stated his competitiveness and drive to win, Kobe Bryant is tied with John Stockton for the most years that an NBA player has played with one team, 19. That has an enormous amount of value to it and giving that up in order to go to the Knicks, who are not very competitive, is a decision that is very poor in my eyes.

Kobe Bryant has shown the world his dedication towards the game of basketball over the past 18 years. It has been an honor getting to watch him play and I look forward to watching his last couple of years in the league before he gets elected to the Hall of Fame. Granted, it is going to be hard to watch one of the game’s greats fade away, and not just on jump shots, but he has taught so many that no matter what the circumstances are, always put 110% on the court and good results will show. So call him selfish if you want, but Kobe Bryant knows how to score the basketball and the only way he is going to do that if he has the ball in his hands. Kobe is one of the best to ever play the game of basketball and he has brought so much to the sport that he will be remembered forever and will go down as one of the best players to ever play the game of basketball. As Kobe puts it: “Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.”