Sports Talk with MC

by MC

In my many years of watching and studying basketball, I have never seen any NBA player whine, and pick at his superiors and peers in an underhanded fashion, as much as Kobe Bryant has as of late.

While he may be the most outstanding one-on-one player in the game today (or ever), his actions as of late may have just tainted whatever legacy was in store for him- for good.

What’s all this news about him dissing Andrew Bynum and GM Mitch Kupchak behind their backs? What’s all this talk about Kobe throwing insults all over the place on an amateur video? What’s all this chatter about him wanting to go to the Windy City, Dallas, or the Big Apple?

As great as Kobe Bryant is, and as much as his numbers, which don’t lie, command respect, he doesn’t command ENOUGH respect, in my view, to bash those who have helped him get to the level of greatness he is at, and in a manner that suggests backstabbing, no less. If he wants to be traded, I say he should just come out with it and quit dragging down the whole ship in the process. It’s enough stress to know that you’re losing your star player, so, it would be better not to add to the strain by going on a tirade that, really, isn’t merited.

Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant had a much publicized feud years ago. Why do people seem to be inclined to side with O’Neal as opposed to Bryant? Well, it doesn’t help that Bryant has been accused of being a ballhog, and someone who allegedly “raped” a girl in Colorado a few summers ago, and someone who has notoriously had the tendency to feud with his teammates over matters relating to “his thunder being stolen”. The Diesel, on the other hand, has remained “soft spoken” (by “Hollywood” standards), and his just remained committed to winning, and, if need be, deferring to teammates if and when he’s not “on” (this has never become more evident than in O’Neal’s recent tenure with the Miami Heat, wherein he’s deferred to Dwyane Wade almost exclusively). Yes, Shaq did, once upon a time, volley comments about then newbie Yao Ming which were less than kind, but hey, compared to what his former sidekick is doing now, the Big D’s words then can almost be considered as part of good humor.

Did Shaq carry the Lakers, and Kobe, through all 3 titles won by the Lakers early in the decade? Absolutely. If he hadn’t, then the team would have imploded much earlier than it did.

Supposedly, number 24 wants to go to an Eastern Conference team more than one in the West. I can’t blame him, really, as it seems like the West is more saturated with talent. The less talent, the greater the chance of him being in the limelight, and the greater the chance of Bryant making it far with a patch job sort of team (i.e. Cleveland, circa 2006-2007). Although wanting to be East can’t be helped in terms of making an honest bid for gold, such a fact, in light of Kobe’s public persona at this point, doesn’t help in making him look less conceited.

If I’m an Eastern conference GM (look out, Isiah), would I want a man that once scored 81 pts in a single game on my team? The answer would be yes, but (and I mean BUT), one must also consider all the baggage Bryant brings. KB24 will demand the ball, even to the point wherein certain games will seem to feature 1 on 5 repeatedly. KB24 will demand excellence, both to reasonable (and unreasonable) lengths. KB24 will whine if he isn’t winning, and will do so without class, as evidenced by this recent chain of events. If you can absorbed his 30 a night, plus all the headaches, then you might as well whip out your wallet, your draft contracts, and yes, your lawyer, now.

Somewhere out there, Shaquille O’Neal (and consequently, maybe even Raja Bell), is laughing. They now comprise a club called the “I TOLD YA SO CREW”. There’s no way they, or even us, could have seen this implosion coming, right? Well, maybe not. Maybe, even a wee bit, we saw the possibility of craziness from afar.

We just refused to acknowledged the real chances of it happening on the pretense of Bryant being part of the NBA’s cream of the crop. Heck, he could even be the best.

Like the song goes, sometimes you can give your best, but your best still will prove not to be good enough.

In this case, though, it’s more a measuring of character, rather than profits off endorsements or balling brilliance.

This is one competition related to basketball wherein this disgruntled star clad in gold and purple has failed, and miserably so, I might add.

Only time will tell what will come next in this war of words, and egos.

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