I am not a Kobe Bryant fan.

I can’t take away any of the championship rings he has or the NBA regular season MVP award he won two years ago, but that doesn’t mean I have to celebrate his accomplishments or sign off on some of the arrogance he displays, as though he’s better than everyone else on the court.

Yeah, there’s some hate in those statements, especially after watching him lead the L.A. Lakers to an 83-79 win over the Boston Celtics in game 7 of the NBA finals. It was a great series, another classic to put in the ol’ Lakers-Celtics rivalry, but thanks to “Kobe Bryant and the Pips,” the dream season ended dreadfully for those old guys in green and white.

If that weren’t enough to stomach, I kept hearing the commentators talking about Bryant’s legacy throughout the game, as though he were hanging up his Lakers uniform for good after the season. Let’s be clear about one thing: When it comes to Bryant’s legacy as a Laker, if he retired today, there’s no doubt that he would be one of the top 10 players to ever wear the purple and gold.

As far as being the best Laker of all time? You’re dreaming!

Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar hold the top two spots, followed by Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West. Bryant could be next, but I’d pencil in Elgin Baylor and Shaquille O’Neal first.

Yes, Shaq is still ahead of Kobe.

While Bryant has five rings with L.A., we must not forget that the first three were won because the Lakers were O’Neal’s team during that period. He led the Lakers to three consecutive championships and won each of the Final’s MVP awards.

Bryant, on the other hand, has only been at the helm of this L.A. team for six years and is responsible for leading them to only two championships. He’s still in his prime, and the team is built to win a few more, so let’s see what Bryant does in the coming years before we anoint him as being No. 1 in Lakers history.

Like Mike?
C’mon, man, don’t get me started on this one.

During the game 7 broadcast, Jon Barry mentioned that Kobe was the closest player we have had in the NBA to Michael Jordan. Does he have some of MJ’s moves? Sure he does, and Bryant readily admits to stealing various players’ moves from years past to become the player he is today, but he doesn’t dominate game-to-game and from year-to-year like Jordan.

Bryant doesn’t have the same presence on the court, and opponents don’t fear him as they did Jordan. More important, you can’t begin to be considered as good or better than MJ if you’re not even the best player in your team’s history. That recognition belongs to Magic.

I like how Michael Wilbon addressed the issue during halftime of the game. He mentioned that it was Magic and Larry Bird who saved the NBA and that Jordan took the league to another level. In his opinion, no one else has done what those three have in changing the game, so you can’t put Bryant in the same category with them.

While I agree with those thoughts wholeheartedly, I will give Kobe one thing…he’s clearly better than LeBron James.

With all the talk about how good James is, all he’s been able to do is collect regular season MVP awards the past two years. Meanwhile, Bryant has taken home the real MVP award back-to-back years for leading the Lakers to consecutive NBA Championships.
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Damon Ford is a former journalist who is now a public relations professional working in the public and private sectors in Charlotte.
 

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