It Could Be Another
Special Performance
by rick olivares
It was heartwarming to read that Kobe Bryant is
asking for fans to vote to the NBA’s All-Star Game, players like Portland’s
Damian Lilliard, who is having a great season, as opposed to him.
Fans, who are part and parcel of the NBA’s mid-season
classic, have been voting for Bryant despite having only played a handful of
games due to injuries.
My initial reaction was Black Mamba should sit this
one out and give way to the younger players. But as I stewed on it, I think
that he should play.
You know why? There could be magic in the air once
again. And here are two shining examples.
In 1992, Ervin “Magic” Johnson retired because he
contracted the HIV virus. Yet fans weren’t just ready to say goodbye to the
basketball great who was in the twilight of a Hall of Fame career. So they
voted for him to be on the starting line-up.
It wasn’t that simple though as some former Los
Angeles teammates said to the media that Magic should sit it out as the game
was for active players.
Nevertheless, Magic played and he tallied 25 points,
five rebounds, nine assists, and two steals in a 153-113 rout of the East.
The final moments of the game went into basketball
lore as he was guarded in consecutive possessions, first by Isaiah Thomas and
second by Michael Jordan. Each time, he swished a triple.
Magic was named Most Valuable Player of the Game.
The second instance took place 11 years after
Johnson’s magical game.
In 2003, Michael Jordan, now ravaged by injuries and
on his way out of the NBA. He wasn’t voted as a starter for the East but the
media and some vocal fans felt that Vince Carter should give up his starting
slot to His Airness. Carter declined and that invited unfair criticism.
The East’s leading vote getter Tracy McGrady and
Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers offered their spots on the starting
roster but Jordan declined. Finally, Carter relented.
In the game’s waning moments and the score tied at
136 in overtime, the East’s Jason Kidd found Jordan on the right flank. With
the seconds slipping away, His Airness swished that patented fadeaway over a
long-armed Shawn Marion for a bucket with 4.38 seconds left (he missed a
similar shot at the end of regulation). But Kobe Bryant would steal Jordan’s
thunder when he hit two of three free throws to send the game in overtime
(after a controversial call on Jermaine O’Neal). Kevin Garnett won the game in
the second overtime after he drilled three shots over Vince Carter in a 155-145
victory.
In 1992, Magic Johnson turned the torch over to Michael
Jordan. In 2003, it was Jordan’s turn to hand over the baton to Bryant whose
Lakers team was going for a fourth straight title.
Now it’s 2014 with Bryant on his last legs after what
is a Hall of Fame career. I say let him play – barring any injuries – on February
16 at the New Orleans Arena. No doubt,
he’ll be officially turning over the reins of the NBA to another superstar
(hint: he brought over his talents to South Beach) or someone else.
And I am sure that history will be repeating itself.
Prepare yourself for magic in the air. Trilogy.
I'm kinda torn here. He should be in the ASG. He's a legend and he's hella entertaining. That said, he's also pushing the young guns to the spotlight which I think is his way of passing them the torch.
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