When he’s at his best, he’s one of the most exciting athletes to watch in all of sports. But there are too many times he’s not playing at that peak level, or even close to it. And he has no one to blame but himself. But he’s Kobe Bryant, so it’s always someone else’s fault.
In recent years past, Bryant had the legitimate excuse that he hasn’t had enough talent around him to win a championship. He had to be the one shooting 35 times a game for the Lakers to have a chance. Now he sees himself as more of a facilitator, and ever since the trade for Pau Gasol in February 2008, it has been championship or bust for the Lakers. Bryant has repeatedly said that anything less than winning it all would be a disappointment.
But it’s not Kobe’s poor performance that's disturbing - everyone can have an off day - it’s what he said after the game that drove me crazy. In both good and bad times, Kobe has been measured against Michael Jordan, and this kind of collapse had many saying that Jordan would never blow a 13-point lead that late in a game. Here’s how Kobe
It would seem that Bryant would have no more excuses for a poor performance like he had this past Thursday. Kobe went 5-for-24, scoring just 18 points as the Lakers lost to the Jazz, 88-86. But those stats aren’t even the worst of it.
Kobe Bryant, you know, the supposed best closer in the game? He went 1-for-6 in the fourth quarter. Wait, it gets worse. The Lakers were up 13 points with just under three minutes to go in the third quarter, and blew it.
"One big difference. Michael had Scottie Pippen. He had someone who could distribute the ball and keep everyone else involved. … Having someone like Pippen would be a big luxury for me, because scoring is what I do best, but it's OK. It's a challenge, and I welcome the challenge."Bryant’s team is much more talented than the teams Jordan led to six championships. Also, everyone on the Lakers is extremely unselfish. Gasol is one of the best passing big men in the game, and nobody but Sasha Vujacic is thinking shoot before pass. To paraphrase from a famous political quote: You, sir, are no Michael Jordan.
But seemingly as quickly as Kobe can draw out my anger, he can just as fast turn it into complete adoration. Following his dreadful performance, Bryant put on an absolute clinic in Game 4. He hit 14 of his first 18 shots and finished 15-of-24 for 38 points.
Kobe should stick to forming his legacy on the court rather than defending it off. Bryant should let the media talk all they want, comparing him to Jordan, or whether LeBron James is now better. But he can’t – he is too concerned with his legacy. Bryant cares so much that Kobe demanded creative control over Spike Lee’s documentary about the basketball star. Lee had spent months getting permission to shoot Bryant for one game to show a day-in-the-life of Kobe. Just before taping, Kobe supposedly demanded creative control of the project. Bryant is so worried about being portrayed in a negative light he’ll do anything to stop it. But if they don’t win, it will be the second straight year that, with plenty of talent, Bryant falls short. What Kobe needs to understand is, he’s not going to be judged on a documentary or his teammates; he’s just going to be judged on whether or not he wins. And that’s the problem.