Kobe Bryant Discussion: Mamba Out!

Is that you Roobonkscooter?

 

SG Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers.

I usually try to give the old warhorses–especially all-timers who are retiring–some leeway on this list, but often those old warhorses at least fake an effort or have long ago figured out exactly how to cut corners without inflicting the most defensive damage.

Steve Nash figured it out. When his legs gave out, Kevin Garnett figured it out. Dirk Nowitzki figured it out.

Kobe… did not do that this past season.

If anything, the Kobe I saw in 2015-16 had some nice offensive games but also looked so tired of even giving half-effort on the other side that he practically was circling himself and screaming: I WILL NOT PLAY DEFENSE AND YOU WILL NOT CARE.

Bryant didn’t just die on every screen, he practically went comatose. 5 on 4 from there on, every Lakers’ defensive possession. And opponents just lined that up, every time down the court, and got wide-open shots every time.

Getting back on D? Not Kobe, not all season.

I know Kobe was wobbling on multiple post-surgery body parts, but even giving him every benefit of the doubt (as I have in the past)… Kobe was assuredly the pound-for-pound worst defensive player in the league this season.

I cut him a major break on his retirement season by not making him NDPOY, frankly.

Some stats: Kobe registered a -3.18 DRPM, making him 451st-ranked player in the league in that
stat (out of 462).

Kobe had a -9.0 defensive differential per 100 poss’s (the Lakers gave up 9 more points per 100 poss’s with Kobe playing than they did without him, and it’s not like they were subbing in defensive monsters).

That’s the second-worst on/off differential among regular-rotation players in the league that I could find, behind only Kobe’s teammate Julius Randle at -9.1. (More on him later.)

That’s how you get a team as bad as the Lakers, almost no matter how well he plays on offense. And Kobe wasn’t so great on offense, either. (The Lakers were more efficient on offense without him on the floor.)

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2016/08/18/2016-nba-no-defense-team/

 

That's some blasphemy right there.

Wish it weren't mostly true.
But....

60!

 

I'm so salty, I want Kobe in Space Jam so bad. Kobe's a great actor, I loved his commercial with Micheal B Jordan. He would have killed, and it's more logical for him to play in it considering he's retired. Oh well.

I want to see Kobe do some stuff overseas too. Keep his brand big and growing.

 

Except that we were the worst defensive team in the league, and Kobe only played against starters because of his limited minutes, not to mention that by the time Kobe went out the second time, the game was usually decided. We don't get to be the worst defensive team in the league because of one player. That's on the coaching.

 

The last 3 years of Kobe were awful; mixed in were vintage Kobe games, but for the most part, he was probably the worst starter in the league last year for 66 games. That's not his fault, though. I believe his body just failed him. Either way, I posted it because we'll be getting an upgrade at that position in Deng; I don't think people realize how bad the coaching and Kobe were, and when calculating wins/loss, I don't think they take the two biggest factors of why we won 17 games into consideration.

 

Jesus is on twitter?

 

Kobe Bryant has set up a $100 million venture capital fund

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/kobe-bryant-set-100-million-105603349.html

Retired basketball player Kobe Bryant has set up a $100 million venture capital fund that will make investments in technology, media, and data companies, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Bryant has teamed up with tech entrepreneur and investor Jeff Stibel to launch Bryant Stibel, which will be based in Los Angeles.

They are not currently seeking outside funding.

The two have already invested in 15 businesses together since 2013, including the sports media website The Players Tribune, the telemarketing software company RingDNA, and the video game design firm Scopely.

They hope the fund will offer a complementary combination of their skillsets. Stibel is perhaps best known as the former chief executive of the public tech company Web.com. He has also founded numerous other tech and marketing companies and is a brain scientist.

Bryant on the other hand, is expected to offer his creative and marketing expertise — he even designed the Bryant Stibel logo himself.

In an interview with The Journal, Bryant noted that people may draw the comparison between his fund and that of New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony, who set up early-stage investment fund Melo7 Tech Partners, or of his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Shaquille O'Neal, who has also made a series of investments in technology and media startups.

Bryant said: “I think it’s interesting that the immediate reaction from people would be competitiveness between myself and others. I’m more interested in how I can help Shaq, Melo, or [NBA player Andre] Iguodala.”

 

"The are all just mice, and I have the cheese"

 

Stay away from the Madoffs of the world. He took some smart people. But Kobe's going to still be "The Closer" and still be the "Black Mamba" in the business world as well. Eye test.

 

If you are wealthy like Shaq, how is that not a little bit insulting though?