by rick olivares
Just opening night for the new NBA season and there
are fireworks, game-winning buzzer-beaters, affirmations of contenders status
and reminders of who are works in progress.
The one that takes the cake is that argument between
the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and the Houston Rockets’ Dwight Howard.
With 7:07 left in the match and the Rockets ahead by 25 points, Howard pulled
down a defensive rebound while Bryant tried to poke the ball away. The two
stood for a few seconds with Kobe poking with Dwight trying to clear space
until he nailed the Laker guard with an elbow immediately earning a technical
foul. As officials and teammates separated the two, Kobe jawed at Howard and
called him “soft” and urged him to “try me.”
While Howard “started” it, it is but the latest in a
PDD (Public Display of Dislike) by the two and that had me thinking of an
article where Henry Abbott cited anonymous sources about players refusing to
play alongside Bryant for his reputation of fighting and putting down
teammates. That came barely a day or two after he was ranked at the NBA’s 40th
best player by ESPN that prompted Bryant to call the media network as a bunch
of “idiots.”
While I may not agree with the ranking, if Howard was
said to have an opportunity to take the high road in that scrum with Bryant,
Kobe also had the opportunity to do the same. Instead, as Lakers beat reporter
Ramona Shelburne Tweeted, “(Recently retired New York Yankees star Derek) Jeter
never made a “second story.” Never added logs to the fire. Kobe tries the same
but can’t help say something interesting.”
And, “Reading through @kobebryant quotes tonight
shows diff between him and Jeter (to whom he’s oft compared – aging legend,
iconic franchise).”
As everything unfolded with Kobe backtracking
somewhat and saying it was merely “trash talking,” I thought of Michael Jordan
and how his career went from being bookended with the shot at North Carolina
and the shot at Chicago to being cut at Laney and being cut at Washington which
is actually his last act as a NBA player.
In his final season with the Washington Wizards, he
alienated every single player that no one gave him a send-off. Michael Leahy
chronicled that final year with the Wizards in the unflattering book, “When
Nothing Else Matters.” I’d say that goes hand-in-hand with Sam Smith’s “The
Jordan Rules” the first book to demystify Jordan.
Kobe, who makes no bones about His Airness as his
basketball idol should learn from that. Despite what is a Hall of Fame career
and one that will see him named as one of the ten best NBA players of all time,
Bryant is headed down Jordan’s road. In fact, he is one of the most polarizing
players ever to lace up a pair of sneakers.
The 1998 NBA All-Star game foreshadowed Bryant’s
career. In what was then believed to be Jordan’s last in the mid-season
classic, Kobe waved off screens and teammates to take on Jordan and took the
most shots from the Western Conference squad. Not a few basketball analysts
point to this episode as a portent of what was to come – taking a volume of
shots and putting himself above the team.
Kobe’s response to criticism has shocking and
infuriating. In a game against the Sacramento Kings in 2004, he took one shot
in the entire first half after LA coach Phil Jackson pointed out that he shoots
too much at the expense of the team. That prompted then teammate Gary Payton to
ask before the next game, “Are you going to play or not?”
Incredibly, he did it again. During Game 7 of the
First Round match up with the phoenix Suns during the 2006 playoffs, Bryant
took only three shots in the second half. It is seen as not only quitting on
his team that lost a 3-1 series lead but also his petulance when criticized for
taking too many shots.
Earlier this 2014, he was in the center of a social
media storm when he ruffled feathers about the Trayvon Martin case. That also
didn’t endear him to LeBron James who could have joined the Lakers but opted to
return to Cleveland after his contract with the Miami Heat ended.
For the record, I am a fan of both Jordan and Bryant.
But it is tough being a fan of both. I still cringe when I think of or even see
video of the Black Cat’s Hall of Fame speech. Hopefully, Bryant doesn’t do the
same.
Bryant’s days on the hardcourt are numbered. I’d
rather he just let his game do the talking. And if anything, he should be
grateful that he is back and unlike teammate Steve Nash, whose body has
betrayed him to the point where his acquisition by the Lakers is seen as one of
the worst in league history (only because he didn’t play too much due to
injury), he has the opportunity to go out on his terms.
Now if he only doesn’t add more logs to the fire.
