Kobe Freaking Bryant

I am not sure how many of you are Pro Basketball fans, but . . .

Kobe Bryant had 62 Points in 33 minutes of play tonight. He shot 18 of 31 points, and the Lakers are leading by 34 points in the 4th quarter.

Now that is amazing.

62 FREAKING POINTS in 33 Minutes.

So are 95% of star athletes (unfortunately).

DG - both he and Shaq are big babies. And yes, as a person, he is nothing to write home about.

But, still, an amazing performance.

He is sketchy.

I don't like him, I don't like the Lakers (and I am from LA!) but that really was amazing!

True. Rightly or wrongly, Jordan always refused to take any social or political stand about anything, once reasoning that "Hey, Republicans buy sneakers, too."

While I adored watching him when he played, I was happy that when it came time to name "Athletes of the Century," some commentators (not all -- ESPN namely) ranked figures such as Muhammed Ali and Jesse Owens above him -- great sportsmen who also had a significant social conscience. Ali especially was willing to sacrifice his career and livelhood for his ideals, something Jordan, as great as he was, never could bring himself to do.

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but while he has a comparable skill level of Jordan at his best, he doesn't have his will, drive and passion to win.

That is an interesting perspective. I actually see the exact opposite in Kobe.

I am a big Lakers fan and a big Kobe fan as well. (Kobe the basketball player, not so much the impression of Kobe the person.) I find that Kobe has every bit of Jordan's drive and passion to win but he simply lacks the talent and the mental game.

The lack of talent isn't a knock on Kobe at all. I fully believe that he is the most (or at least second most) talented person in the league right now, but that doesn't make him Michael Jordan. From the time he came into the league he was unfairly labeled as the "next Jordan". So many of the "next Jordans" like Harold Minor and J.R. Rider faded so quickly that we stopped talking about them. In some ways, Kobe has a tendency to get labled as an underacheiver because he has been as successful as he has. The media seems determined to label every kid out there as the next Michael Jordan and it's tough to imagine it happening. It's a double edged sword I suppose.

As far as his drive - that is what made him want to do it alone. In fact, I'd say he has so much drive and passion to win that it's almost to a fault and he doesn't have Jordan's ability to pull back and utilitze his teammates quite like Michael could. Shaquille O'Neal is a huge part of this too. There is no way the Lakers would have won those 3 Championships with out him, but in a lot of ways he held Kobe's development back as a "superstar" a bit. After a subpar season in his first "Shaq-less" run around the league last year we are starting to see the "real" Kobe Bryant this season. I have to say that he seems happier this year than he has in a while and it doesn't hurt that he is healthy as well.

All that being said, there isn't a player in the NBA that I enjoy watching more than Kobe Bryant right now and last night was one hell of a game.

This year will be interesting. Kobe seems to have grown up a little bit, or at least recognized that he has to play with a team in order to win. The fact that Phil Jackson came back speaks a lot about Kobe becoming an adult. I do think he got unfairly blamed for the Shaq fiasco. If I was Jerry Buss, I would not have extended his contract for the max amount for 7 years either.

Newsweek had an interesting story on Kobe growing up, and the lack of socialization he got based upon his basketball skill. I think he has been kind of a head case, some due to his parents, and some due to the enormous value we place on sports. The whole alleged rape thing - it just showed how immature he really was. When confronted by the police, his response was "everyone else does it", similar to a kid getting caught.

Michael Jordan had at least some socialization in college. I think those years Michael had probably made a big difference in his overall maturity and development as a person and a player.

I do think these past few years have been interesting, and shown some matuation in him as a person. The Jury is still out on whether he can really lead a team, but I think the signs are that he has learned from his many mistakes these past few years. I think the Kobe of a few years ago may have asked to play the 4th quarter in order to break some records. He sat, and seemed happy to do so. Granted, the Lakers were up by 30, but he was not seeking to break any scoring records (he needed another 9 points to tie Elgin Baylor's scoring record for the Lakers).

I am a Laker Fan as a LA Native, and I truly hope that Kobe proves that he deserves to be in the same sentence as Michael. My initial asssessment is he just might.

OK - end of essay.

Cheeze -

Gays should be able to marry, obviously. Though certain far right freaks should not be able to reproduce.

And, with regard to the rape charge - it may not be PC to say this, but I am not sure he raped her.

He may have. He may not have. I could write another essay on that one. He may have honestly thought that she wanted to have sex, and she may have honestly not wanted to have sex. I just don't know. At some point, while it may not be PC to say this, if a woman comes to your room at 2:00 am . . . (I know, don't blame the victim, but at some point, there is an interesting intersection between what is a reasonable expectation and what is not.)

If she said no, then she said no. But, I have no idea what happened in that room.

Updated On: 12/21/05 at 10:57 AM

I am sure there is.

And I am sure in Kobe's head, he thought it was consensual. That does not mean she was not raped, though.

I just think it is safer to say he is an accused rapist. Blame the lawyer in me.

Maybe he, Danny Bonaduce, Hugh Grant, and Eddie Murphy can then form a support group.

Updated On: 12/21/05 at 11:07 AM

Now - THERE is a reality show!!! Someone call FOX! LOL

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Sure, you can!

He's on a vacation right now, but you are more than welcome to use him as your personal "elf".