Note: This article has been written by Trevor Smith aka Big Poppa Pump, writing in from Italy and representing Queen’s University.
Kobe Bryant grew up idolizing Michael Jordan, dreaming of someday taking his place at the throne at the top of the basketball world. Jordan, the most complete player in the history of the beautiful game, has long been the beacon of light that all players that followed Him (intentional) have aspired towards. For these followers it was the love and respect the Jordan garnered off the court that they desired just as heavily as the skills and success he possessed on it. Kobe spent much of his first decade in the Association being compared to and held up against Jordan’s legacy. The likeness in their game, their mannerisms, their swagger, were evident even to the most casual of fans. Hell, Ray Charles could see the similarities. And this likeness would grow to be Bryant’s curse. Throughout his superstar ascension all Bryant heard about was how, despite being the best player of his generation, he would never step out of Michael’s shadow and never be appreciated in the same way. The longer Jordan was away from the game, the more protective his fans became of his legacy and the more hyper-inflated their memories of his game became, damning Bryant as a result. It seemed that the legions of Kobe haters would never be silenced.
“Kobe shoots too much”. “He only won because he had Shaq”. “Kobe doesn’t make his teammates better”. And on and on it went. Even January 22, 2006 didn’t do much to change people’s minds. All 81 did was polarize the public even more. Bryant knew about his critics, addressing them in a Nike spot last spring by telling them to go on and hate him “with all your heart” because he took solace in knowing others loved him for the same reasons he was jeered. Kobe then spent last spring and the beginning of this season trying to turn over a new leaf. Beginning in the Phoenix series, he began distributing like never before, running the offense brilliantly, and single handedly carrying a squad of scrubs to increasing success (including taking the Suns to the limit and beating the Spurs twice this year). Predictably though, the Haterade never stopped flowing. As always, even when Kobe wins, he can’t win.
Christmas came early for the anti-Kobe army, as Odom got hurt and the rest of the Lakers proceeded to shit the bed for almost three weeks. That, coupled with the occasional tendency for other players to hit Mamba’s elbows with their face, provided ample fuel for detractors to grab their torches and pitchforks. The calls of Bryant being a “dirty player” got so bad that even Big Chief Triangle, never KB’s strongest advocate, thought that there was a “witch hunt” against Bryant.
That’s when something snapped. After years of trying to make everyone happy, Bryant shifted firmly into Zach de la Rocha mode, raging against the machine. Last week Kobe stepped into the phone booth and became Mamba again, attacking the rest of the league like he was auditioning to be in the sequel to “300”. Under a barrage of fadeaway threes, leaning runners, and acrobatic lay-ins, the haters were drowned out to the tune of 225 points in four games. The basketball world was treated to the most complete and beautiful scoring display since Wilt was starring in Conan movies. Visions of Michael were forgotten and misguided notions about King James’ place at the throne were cast aside. This is Kobe’s time and he is hell-bent of making sure the world doesn’t forget it.
I have written before that Bryant’s greatest sin was being born after Jordan. Surely, the existence of Jordan’s untouchable ghost has been the main reason that Joe Public loathes Bryant in the manner that it does. “We’ve seen this show before,” the masses seem to say. Part of this is because of the tendency we all possess to glorify the past, to make the heroes of days-gone-by virtually bullet proof. This is perhaps most true of Jordan’s narrative. No one remembers that MJ didn’t win a title for his first eight seasons, or that early on he was often criticized as being a ball hog. All we collectively can recall is the six Larry O’Brien’s he won. Kobe of course had the gull to enter the league before His Airness had exited stage right, which guaranteed that an entire generation of Nike-heads would never accept him. He certainly didn’t win any points with the legions of Michael fans by going head to head with him at Jordan’s last All-Star Game in NYC in 1998 (I am not counting the Wizards era; that tragedy never happened). The three titles Kobe won before he was 24 didn’t help matter much either, as its awfully tough to route for Goliath.
All of this ceased to matter last week. From here on out continued discrediting of Bryant’s achievements is just foolish. This remarkable spree won’t cause people to actively like him more. Many will still hate him for reasons unrelated to basketball. But they must now take the Wes Mantooth approach: “I pure straight hate you, but goddamit do I respect you”. Kobe no longer needs the love. He knows he will never get it. Instead, he will be busy filling the history books with his name and leaving all defenders in his wake. The geniuses at FreeDarko summed up perfectly what this streak has done to the cause of those that continue, in the face of logic, to knock this man:
“Look plant people, this shit is not easy… if you watched Bryant play for a split-second, I’d like to think you’d grasp what an advanced basketball presence he is. He gets better every single year, to the point where footage from past rampages is almost embarrassing. I said this during last year’s ‘offs: hate him, you’re discrediting your own love of the sport. At this point, it reflects poorly on you as a thinking being.”
The new, angry Kobe Bryant is even more driven, even more focused than the original. He is determined to carry his franchise as far as his shooting hand will take them. There is one thing though didn’t change when Kobe snapped and beat back the ghost of Jordan, moved on from the Shaq debacle, and elevated into Chamberlain’s realm. That’s the simple fact that Kobe is without question the best player on the planet. Whether you love him or hate him, Bryant will keep proving that most obvious truth, 50 points at a time.