Wizards broadcast sounds great here. Really needed to watch a performance like this from Kobe after how unbearable this season has been. Enjoy them while you still can.
To the stat guys of Lakersball: Is Kobe the first player to score over 30 points in his 20th season? Or has someone else done this prior?
Eh... you know, the amount of people who played 20 years in the NBA is... Kobe, Kareem and... So you can make a pretty educated guess. Edit: Garnett too. And Kevin Willis, but he is not a candidate for that specific achievement.
There are only 4 other players to play 20 seasons in the NBA: Kevin Willis, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin Garnett, and Robert Parish. - Kevin Willis played 29 games for Atlanta in his 20th season and had a high point total of 12 points. He then played 5 games for Dallas in his 21st season. His high point total was 6 points. - Kareem played 74 games for the Lakers in his 20th season. His high point total was 21 points (he did this twice). - Kevin Garnett played 47 games in his 20th season, 42 for Brooklyn and 5 for Minnesota (he's currently on his 21st). His high point total was 18 points. His high point total for this season is 8 points. -Robert Parish played 74 games for the Hornets in his 20th season (he played 21 overall). His high point total was 16 points. In 43 games the next season his highest point total was 12 points.
That's amazing. Shows you how ridiculously difficult it is to make it to twenty seasons in this league. Shows how great and how much of a competitor Kobe is. Makes me laugh when people say Kobe doesn't care anymore. If he didn't he would've retired already. He's only playing because he still has a love and an appreciation for the game. I'm looking forward to the next era of Lakers basketball, but I will definitely miss the Kobe era. It's been an incredible run. Been an honor and a privilege as a Lakers fan to watch this man play the game of basketball.
Look. I get that view. But I just disagree. A lot of people are going to look at last night's game and feel good about Kobe again. I will not. He has been this Kobe since he blew out his achilles. And it's not "disrespect" to say he is hurting this franchise right now. It's a factual statement. Yes, he played well and that in turn led to the other kids playing well. But he may have 4-5 games like this the rest of the season. I don't cherish bad basketball. I don't cherish selfishness. Dan Lebatard (who I really hate) had a point this morning where if you say negative things about Kobe, you're a hater. I think Kobe is top 10 all-time, but I am a Laker fan, not a Kobe fan. Kobe could be valuable to the rookies. They COULD learn stuff from him. But he is not teaching them good habits when he essentially goes out there and plays dreadful team ball. All the butterflies everyone is feeling right now will flutter away quickly when Kobe drops a 30% stinker next game.
Not about being a hater or whatever, but when you can't even sit there and appreciate what he did last night. At 37 years old scoring 31 points and it didn't take him 30 shots to do so. He was much more efficient then he's been anytime recently. It looked like the Wizards were gonna win that game going away after coming back and Kobe as he's done so often stemmed the tied and was clutch down the stretch. Forgive me for being appreciative of that. I will always be appreciative of Kobe. He's earned that from me and every Lakers fan. Someone said on another forum and it's true, but it's really sad that other fans of the NBA and non Laker fans are more appreciative than some Laker fans. I got no issue with critiquing him, but when people say stuff like Kobe is a disgrace, he's ruining his legacy, I've lost respect for him, he's the number one reason the Lakers suck, etc. that's just ridiculous. The man tore his Achilles and instead of retiring he chose to comeback because that's the kind of player he is. His refusal to give in, his mentality, his will, all that is what makes him so great. He's as driven an athlete as we've seen and probably ever will see. His body has been through hell and back and he still keeps fighting and competing. That's why he'll never lose my respect, why I'll always be appreciative, and his legacy is more than secure to me.
Kobe only knows how to play one way and I refuse to throw him under the bus when he is down. That's just not right. He has given us 15+ years of excellence and he deserves our support.
I'll support him when he plays well, but for the vast majority of this season not only has he not played well, but he's played stupidly too. Adjust your game to fit your limitations. He spent a decade doing that before, but now he forgot how? If he played smarter and still stunk, I'd be much more accepting of the situation.
I can't be hypocritical here. I loved most of what Kobe did last night (hello, baseline turnaround shots!!), but the rest of the season? Not so much. In fact, not at all. Jacking up double digit three point shots per game when you are shooting 20% on them and complaining about your legs AND coming off rotator cuff surgery? It's just been stupid basketball. Kobe's better than that, obviously. He's arguably the best player I've ever seen in my life - certainly the very best, most complete offensive player. So it's incredibly disappointing to see him play so undisciplined, so selfishly, and so inefficiently. It hurts my freakin' eyes to watch it!!! I expect more from KB. Last night was beautiful though.
Agreed. Last night was awesome. I didn't even watch the start of it because I swore off the team yesterday, but after seeing the boxscore I came to check in with you guys and immediately started watching the DVR of the game. How great was that? I didn't think he had any more of those left in him. Still, I worry now that he'll just go back to doing what he was before this game and taking bad shots and being frankly irresponsible on the court. His body is unlikely to hold up after a night like that at his age with his miles.
It was pretty mind blowing to see him do that realdeal. And such a lift after that depressing 76ers debacle. We'll have to see where he goes from here. I think it's a game by game type thing. I don't expect him to score 31 again any time soon and I don't need to see that really. Just play smart, Kobe - that's what I ask. Do what you can do, take what the defense gives you, remember to move the ball and sure, take the occasional greedy shot, you've earned it. But stop it with the constant chucking. It's beneath you.
Well Kobe told Stephen A Smith that he hasn't completely grasped when his legs come and go. So the game in Philly could have been a 40pt night if he had his legs. They were makeable shots by his standards.
Maybe 24 is taking more treys this season because it is the only way he can get separation between him and his defender. He just can't get by them anymore.
Once or twice, but if you're older and you are air-balling more traditional threes why would you take a shot that far out?