Not the greatest, but still a legend
He isn’t the greatest L.A. Laker of all time.
Rings are only the cover charge that gets you into that discussion, no matter what club we’re talking about. Surpassing all-time points totals is another feather, not the cap.
One strongly suspects that in calling Kobe Bryant “the greatest (L)aker ever” after he inched by him on the career scoring list was only Shaquille O’neal’s inside-out way of suggesting that he, in fact, might better deserve that title.
No, bleeding team colours is the decider in any best-ever conversation.
In that regard, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-jabbar and Jerry West come out better than Bryant, a man who once spitefully suggested he’d rather “play on Pluto” than in L.A.
Bryant may, however, be the greatest general manager in the history of the franchise.
Few players in any sport have consistently used their media pulpit to push their team toward constant improvement, even if most of that pushing has been in the form of needling rather than moral suasion.
After being headed off at the NBA’S administrative pass in their effort to acquire Chris Paul earlier this season, the Lakers have played sulkily for nearly two months. They find themselves in the unfamiliar position of eating lunch with the nerds of the Western Conference, rather than sitting up at the quarterback table with Oklahoma City.
Things need never change in basketball, but they will as long as someone is willing to put a microphone in front of Bryant.
His two co-stars (names listed well below the title) are already talking like they have a packed bag at the door, just in case.
We need to “prove that we’re able to win, or else they’re going to start doing things,” Andrew Bynum said.
“There’s always a sense that if something was going to happen before, something might still happen,” amateur physicist and primary trade bait Pau Gasol added. And then there’s Bryant, who sounds like a majority shareholder overseeing an underperforming stock portfolio and a thoroughly intimidated board of directors. “We have to be patient and we have to make the right moves and I’m sure we will,” Bryant said. “(T)hat’s why I’m not tripping on it.” Check. Mate in one. This is the main reason people hate Kobe Bryant. They hate him because he refuses to pretend that he does not enjoy using, and occasionally abusing, the outsized power being able to reliably put a ball into a hoop gives him. He finished sixth on Forbes’ recent list of America’s most disliked athletes (a list, it should depressingly be noted, that had a monochrome aspect. Eight of the top 10 were black men). Of course, Bryant’s legacy will in large part be formed by his oncourt accomplishments — the outrageous skill set, the five championships, the famous drive to excel. Some guys make it look easy.
Bryant made it look inevitable, which is the real test. But what will make Bryant legendary is his single-mindedness, his unapologetic refusal to abet mediocrity, either from himself or from the poor saps playing alongside him who are expected to match his ethic (difficult) and his talent (impossible). Bryant is the sort of guy you wish worked for you, but whom you could not stand to work with. This does not make Bryant a bad person. He is, obviously, an egomaniac. He is apparently a philanderer — and do not judge on that score until you’ve walked in a pro athlete’s shoes and chosen the higher road, when the low one is so tempting. What it does make Bryant is the professional par excellence, a man who will reliably trade a great deal of money for a great deal of production. The tantrums he throws in for free. There aren’t many of those around, and never have been. Bryant’s not the best any more, and so we are left comparing him to the new Alpha. There’s little in their games that make Bryant and Lebron James similar. There’s still less in the way they carry themselves. James has allowed himself to be pushed into several varieties of caricature, the latest of which is as a whining conciliator. Despite (or possibly because of ) his efforts to win back fans, James still topped Bryant by one spot on that most hated list.
If he were to take anything from Bryant, James might want to follow the Laker’s lead in caring a lot less about what goes on away from his basketball team, and a lot more about effecting what change he can within it. That is the beating heart of Bryant’s majesty. Like all chances to visit the throne room, you’re best off doing it in person when the Lakers arrive on Sunday.