What does a man who just scored 40 points in a victory and
surpassed a record held by Michael Jordan say after the game? How
about this:
“I’m sorry.”
That’s what Kobe Bryant said, at least, after it became
clear in the last six minutes of the Lakers’ game against
Seattle Feb. 23 that Bryant was going for 40, teammates be
damned.
After finishing the game a sad 13-34 shooting, Bryant apologized
to his teammates, but qualified that statement with something that
has caused some controversy among various media types.
“It’s not like I really put the game in jeopardy.
Getting 40 is just such a challenge that you don’t want to
back down from.”
Bryant’s apology caused mixed reactions. Laker-haters have
always thought Bryant was arrogant and self-absorbed, and
concentrated on his disclaimer as evidence that Bryant would
continue to hog the ball and sabotage the Lakers’ playoff
chances.
Laker fans, on the other hand, noted the apology and encouraged
Bryant to just keep on throwin’ it down. The Lakers won
anyway, so what’s the real problem here?
The real problem is the incredible media scrutiny on Bryant.
Bryant was already a lightning rod for criticism, from both the
common fan (he was booed in Philadelphia after winning the All-Star
game MVP last year) and the media (Charley Rosen wrote a series of
articles for ESPN blasting Bryant for “selfish” and
destructive play).
His recent scoring binge increased this attention, bringing to
the forefront this overwhelming question: is Bryant selfish?
Not to take the Bill Clinton route here, but I really want a
solid definition of selfish. Jerome James, one of the biggest
stiffs in the NBA, was once quipped with “Jerome James looks
out for Jerome James.” So does Bryant look out for Bryant?
There’s no question that part of Bryant’s insatiable
drive is motivated by what he wants to leave as a legacy. Bryant
wants to be remembered as one of the greatest of all time. He wants
legendary status and he’s certainly put himself in a good
position to be remembered in this manner.
But does that make him a bad teammate? Bryant currently averages
6.3 assists per game, good for 11th best in the entire NBA. And by
the way, have you taken a close look at Bryant’s teammates?
If I’m a Laker fan and I watch Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Samaki
Walker and Devean George throw up brick after air ball after missed
layup, I’m begging Bryant to take 40 shots a game.
There’s not a single other Laker that can create a shot
for himself. They depend on Bryant and Shaq to get open looks for
them and even then they’re incredibly inconsistent in
knocking those shots down. So if selfish means taking a lot of
shots, then be selfish Bryant. Be very, very selfish.
Does selfish mean arrogant? The excellent NBA journalist Ralph
Wiley pointed out that if you took the amount of arrogance Bryant
had in his body and multiplied that by five, you’d get about
one-tenth of the arrogance of Michael Jordan in his prime.
I, for one, have never seen Bryant show up opponents or act out
the kind of bizarre histrionics that Allen Iverson, Chris Webber or
Kevin Garnett regularly display.
Bryant is both eloquent and thoughtful. He lacks the street-cred
a player like Iverson or Paul Pierce has, but a lot of that has to
do with the fact that Bryant grew up in Italy, away from the rough
streets of America. This caused a kind of cultural separation with
the current hip-hop generation that dominates the NBA.
The fact of the matter is the Lakers are 11-2 during
Bryant’s amazing run and have gone from being out of the
playoffs to the seventh seed (and climbing), including wins over
Houston and Utah without Shaq. Bryant plays through the pain.
Bryant plays equally hard on defense as he does on offense.
And need I mention how breathtaking some of these games have
been? He’s put up three of the greatest dunks of all time
this year. He brought Jazz fans to their feet, chanting
“Ko-be, Ko-be.” He made those at Madison Square Garden
lose themselves in a frenzy with his dizzying performance. Even the
movie stars and executives of Staples Center stand up and cheer
while Bryant does his thing.
So Bryant said he was sorry. Did it make a difference? Shaq, the
big quote machine, said it best.
“Long as we’re winning ain’t nothing to be
sorry for.”
I LOVE this game! E-mail Yuhl at cyuhl@media.ucla.edu if you
agree.