Man I'm so tired and luckily go the day off tomorrow. But last night I was up here watching until 4am and went to work at 7:30am. It's just crazy how you grow with your idols. And that he is still doing it - just awesome. Gonna enjoy it as long as it lasts. I only saw Kobe at 2012 Olympics but I already scheduled a trip to the states next winter (not just because of Kobe but you know^^). Need to see this guy live before it all ends. And I was surprised and impressed on how the Wolves handled all that. Just classy. And his article is really inspiring. I think he is one of the few guys who didn't leave an inch of talent behind. That's what i admire about him.
^^ Love your post DJBelvedere. I couldn't agree more. Kobe has squeezed every ounce of effort and talent out of himself. That's the fact! I think it's a very large part of why we who love Kobe feel so strongly about him. He gives it all on the court and off of it with his tireless prep and work ethic. We love that he's a warrior through and through and will never stop or quit and won't accept anything less from himself. That article Kobe wrote that Battletested posted was beautiful.
OK have been on my cell last couple of hours trying to soak all this in. Not the same as being on my Pro Mac with 27" display and a real keyboard. Just now read this quote from Kobe in his own creative way. I read it as his brilliant thank you and acknowledgement to Michael Jordan.... about what he has meant to his life, overcoming disappointment and of course his own brilliant basketball career. MJ gave Kobe props last night and though he doesn't say this, and of course was thankful publicly for MJ's congratulations, I bet it meant the world to him. I think this here ..... what Kobe acknowledged he is thankful to Mike for is even better than Mike giving Kobe props for passing himself on the all time list. Well done Kobe. As freaking usual.
I live on the East coast, and sometimes it's so hard for me to stay up to watch games, so I applaud people living in time zones where they have to stay up for six or eight hours later just to watch LA. Big ups, man.
I know, that one right before the fts was halfway down and came out. It's a bummer but still...... doesnt make the accomplishment any worse. I really believe this when I say it, in 50 years from now. No one is going to really care that he passed Jordan on FTs instead it will be strictly about him passing him up. I mean, how many people remember how Jordan passed the other greats to get at #3?
Congratulations Kobe for passing MJ. Every night i stay awake till the morning just to watch Kobe play. He made me a Laker fan for life. His hard work and attention to detail are examples that i use every day in my life.
Granted I haven't seen the video so many Reggie didn't mean it as bad as it read but he really could have just complimented MJ instead of backhanding Kobe in the process. Really disappointed... Reggie said this during his interview on The Dan Patrick Show
I was listening. He was adamant about it. Dan Patrick asked Reggie Miller,"Who would you rather guard?" Reggie responded with: "Jordan. Listen, Jordan on his worst day was ten times better than Kobe on his best day. That's no slight to Kobe, just the truth for me." I was sitting my car thinking... how is that not a slight to Kobe? Kobe was a more explosive offensive player than Jordan and oh yeah Reggie: Kobe beat you in the Finals remember? Couldn't been that bad then, could he?
I usually every day listen to The Dan Patrick Show, really love it too. I've missed the last few days though and I hope Dan somewhat stood up for Kobe with that Reggie comment. I know Dan loves him some MJ but has always been fair to Kobe.
No he didn't really. He seemed surprised though. It was a strong stance from Reggie who in recent years has been complimentary of Kobe. I just don't understand why at this point in their careers you would ever have to tear down Kobe to build up Jordan. At this point? Really? Even at the end, Reggie? Some sour grapes maybe. It just seemed odd that he'd go there.
I really dont think its sour grapes because Reggie like you have said has always respected Kobe a ton, but even this I'm sure if he really sat down and looked at this quote again would compliment Jordan in another way. Heck, I never tweet to people, but just now I tweeted to Reggie basically saying "Different way to compliment Jordan, come on man" this stirred me up that much.
I think Reggie Miller just adamantly / religiously believes that Jordan's the best and it came out all wrong. I hope he takes back what he said. I have no problem with people saying that Jordan is #1. Kobe's not far behind though, and what he said was pretty insulting.
This. I have no problem saying Jordan as better, but Kobe is absolutely 100% in the conversation. The generation that played primarily with Jordan is so enraptured by him that they'll never consider anything other than Jordan being #1. Still though, there's no need to tear down one to build up the other.
Ridiculous statement. I'd call Jordan slightly better than Kobe, but to say 10 times better is ridiculous and feeds into the myth that Jordan was a basketball god that never missed or could do no wrong. I'd say Reggie is bitter, but then they both took titles from him, so maybe it's just that Kobe tried to fight him. I'm also tired of hearing people say the last few days that Kobe couldn't get all these points in Jordan's era, because of the hand checking rules. First, Kobe played many years while hand checking was still allowed, and he flourished, against some of the best defenders of all time, in some of the toughest playoff series' of all time, on the way to titles. And second, the hand check rules, at least IMO, never seemed to apply to Kobe like they do other stars. You can't touch Wade, LeBron, Paul, and others, but you can ride Kobe like a horse from baseline to baseline with no call.
That's what it is, it's a religion for the Jordan cult. Personally I do give Michael the edge over Kobe mainly due to his efficiency but it's pretty close. The fact is, you can make arguments for several different hall of famers being the G.O.A.T. Kareem scored more points and won just as many championships as Jordan, and dominated in high school and college. Magic dominated in the most competitive era of basketball. Is Jordan the best ever? Maybe, but there's no need to act like it's some sort of religion. That's insane.
OK I have been thinking about this over the past couple days and have decided to chime in. Mike was a lot like Shaq, Magic, Pistol Pete, Wilt, Kareem (and a couple of others) who were the first to do what they do in the way they did it. He is the original bada** shooting guard. His skill and athleticism at that position was beyond anything we had seen. He created a way of play for others to emulate and follow. He was Dr J but with more weaponry and against a greater spectrum of players who were also pretty damn good across the board. I hated MJ but even with that hate I too had to admit that the man was one of the best to ever play. For years I put Magic over him because Magic did things that shouldn't have been done. MJ was the better player but Magic was the better teammate. I then added Kareem to the mix because he was essentially unstoppable. The arguments can be made for these guys and others. But what about Kobe? I am in the Kobe camp and not just because I am a Lakers fan. I'm in it for a few reasons. 1. Kobe was able to come in while MJ was still playing, play the same style and not only succeed with it but excel at it. 2. Kobe doesn't have the physical gifts MJ has and yet still put up comparable numbers. Yes, MJ was more efficient and had better numbers but I think Kobe had bigger competition. 3. Kobe's longevity. 4. and here is were it gets fun... The media! The media has all but proven that Kobe is the best by the way they respond to what Kobe does. Kobe broke MJ's scoring the reaction "Kobe does it in more years", "Kobe missed 6000 shots", "Kobe is less efficient", "Kobe has lost in the Finals", "Kobe had Shaq" etc etc etc. Every time Kobe does something there is a push to try and diminish it. The reason in my opinion is because many in the media and sports world don't really have a lot of real reasons why Kobe isn't the best. When someone says Championships all of a sudden a guy with say 11 rings isn't mentioned. When we say MVP's, Finals MVP's then we never hear how Shaq was just as dominant in the playoffs as Kobe. When it comes to MJ people seem to think he was the best on the team on both ends of the floor and carried a team that couldn't survive without him. Yet, the year after he retired that same team went to the ECF's ( I believe) and won over 50 games. Kobe is always discredited using his team while MJ never has been. Scottie Pippen during those years made life easy for MJ. Scotty was just as lethal and defended the other teams best players for most of the game. If teams double-teamed MJ he had more than enough weapons to counter. The debates can go on but the fact that so much discredit is being tossed at Kobe tells me that the smoke is full on flames. History will truly look at how great this guy is and GOAT will be definitely within his grasp. Thats my view... some will say homer but eh thats fine too.
Clearly there are times Kobe was better than Jordan. Anyone who doesn't admit that should simply watch a few Kobe clips. There are literally hundreds of games where Kobe was better than Jordan AT SOME POINT in Jordan's career. The quote is so stupid I can't even believe I'm talking about it.
