Kobe Bryant sits down with Stephen A Smith to discuss the Olympic Gold medal, losing to the Celtics last year, ending his career as a Laker and his growth as a player and a person.
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Archive for the 'Kobe Watch' Category
L.A. Times: Following is an excerpt from Times NBA columnist Mark Heisler’s new book, “Madmen’s Ball: The Continuing Saga of Kobe, Phil and the Los Angeles Lakers.” This excerpt takes place at Lakers’ training came before the final season with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal on the team:
As things turned out, the problems that surfaced in Honolulu were just a tune-up.
On media day, the organization set up a picket line outside the El Segundo practice facility and barred some members of the media, hoping to lessen the hysteria. Perhaps thinking he could redirect the media, like Moses parting the Red Sea, [ Phil] Jackson reminded them there were more important things, like the war in Iraq, going on. Of course, without press coverage that was disproportionate to the importance of what he did, Jackson wouldn’t be making $6 million annually. In any case, the press didn’t melt away.
Every day, Black [John Black, Lakers publicist] announced Bryant would only take basketball questions, but it was the reporters’ job to ask other questions, and Bryant often answered them. When a CBS producer asked Bryant about that day’s events in court, Black lifted her credentials on the spot. After Newsweek’s Allison Samuels wrote a tough cover piece, she couldn’t even get credentials.
Continue reading ‘Kobe vs. Shaq: A look at the start of the final chapter’
O.C. Register: It was Jan. 4, 2004, and the most memorable Clippers moment in the entirety of this intra-city “rivalry” occurred during a timeout at Staples Center.
The bright red fabric was held aloft, like a flag symbolizing hope for a better future. The thing was practically dancing because of the way its owner was turning it to and fro, reveling in the beat of the music and feeding off the roars from the crowd.
It was a designated Clippers home game against the Lakers – the only game in four meetings the Clippers would win in a season that would end with the Lakers in the NBA Finals and the Clippers at 28-54 – and everyone knew the implication.
On the back of the red Clippers jersey this fan was showcasing to everyone, looking as official as could be, was No. 8 … and “BRYANT” above it.
Six months later, the dream almost came true. Bryant tiptoed through the final hours still considering the Clippers’ free-agent contract offer before re-signing with the Lakers.
“I could see myself playing for the Clippers,” he said then. “Ultimately, it was in my heart to be a Laker. But it was a tough decision.”
Continue reading ‘Remember when Kobe considered the Clippers?’
We assume, zero Michael Vicks…
L.A. Times: Bryant’s popularity even extends to the animal kingdom.
From a database of more than 465,000 pets insured by Veterinary Pet Insurance (indeed, it’s medical coverage for dogs, cats, birds and exotic domesticated animals), 359 pets are named “Kobe,” making it the 189th-most popular name out of 65,536 pet names across the nation.
Five pets in the database are named “LeBron,” two are named “Yao Ming,” and there’s a “Boston Garnett” along with a “Dirk Nowitzki.”
The most unusual sports name in the pet world, however, might belong to a Yorkshire Terrier that answers to “Kobe Shaq Jackson.”
Hoopsworld: Kobe Bryant looks like a man on a mission after coming up short in The NBA Finals last season Yes, he already has three championship rings and now a MVP award; however, he’s heard the whispers of people saying he can’t win a title without Shaquille O’Neal. And when Kobe’s hearing whispers of any kind that provide extra motivation, it usually spells trouble for the rest of the league.
In short, dude looks as focused as he’s ever been. That’s particularly scary for the rest of the Association when you consider Bryant’s already the best player on the planet and has been now for some time.
While Bryant is hungry to get another NBA title this season, he’s still got a twinkle in his eye on the heels of winning a gold medal with Team USA this summer as he explained to HOOPSWORLD in an exclusive interview on Saturday in Denver.
“It was just such an unbelievable experience, and we just had such a great time doing it,” Bryant told HOOPSWORLD. “It was a long journey, but it all seemed like it went by so fast now. It just feels so good to have that gold medal. But that last game against Spain, if you’re going to win it, that’s the way to do it. If you want to get back on top and cement the USA’s position as being the top-dog, you wanted a little bit of a test.”
Of course, Bryant’s teammate Pau Gasol was a member of the Spanish team the United States defeated to secure the gold medal, a fact that certainly isn’t lost on Bryant.
With week one wrapping up and Kobe having a clutch performance to once again defeat the Nuggets, this article claims he is in the MVP race lead. Whether or not it’s too early, those “MVP” chants still give me goosebumps…
NBA.com: Welcome back to Race to the MVP. We missed you. We missed writing it. We missed the arguments between the Kobe Bryant lovers (a lot of you) and the Kobe haters (possibly even more of you).
1. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers (Stats: PPG — 19.5; RPG — 9.5; APG — 4.0; SPG — 1.5; BPG — 0.0; FG% — .483; FT% — .833)
Love him or hate him, Kobe’s greatness can’t be denied. He’s talented, he works hard and he plays hurt. For anyone other than Kobe to win MVP this season, they’ll need to take it from him. Think he’ll let that happen easily? His initial individual numbers for this season aren’t eye-popping, but his Lakers have won their first two games by an average of 29 points.
SLAMonline: So: Is he? Is Kobe Bryant, right now, the best basketball player alive?
Sure.
He is, without question, a very good basketball player. He is tall. He runs fast, and he jumps high. He makes a lot of baskets, and he possesses a “high basketball IQ.” Among the rest of the basketball players playing basketball in the NBA today, his “skill set” is arguably unsurpassed. He does, in other words, most of the things involved in playing basketball better than do most other basketball players. No. 1 seems about right.
Who might be better? Probably no one. There are only a handful of basketball players in the “who’s the best basketball player” conversation, and arguably only one in legitimate contention, but the case for that basketball player has had numerous holes poked in it. A lot of those pokes have been valid. So, maybe consensus is easily reached: There is no basketball player who is clearly better at playing basketball than is Kobe Bryant.
Ergo, Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player.
And yet.
This was halarious. Kobe and a bunch of other big times names (Phelps, Hawk, A-Rod) all find their inner rock star in this new Guitar Hero ad…
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