Why do people love kobe bryant

All of the sudden the Lakers weren't looking so bad. Andrew Bynum emerged as a likely double-double per night, and Kobe suddenly had many people to pass to. His points-per-game went down dramatically, and his image seemed to improve after leading L. There were still many instances however when Kobe would focus much more on facilitating the ball to his team, than finding his own shots.

Funny how whenever he tried to get the team involved he was later criticized for "Not taking charge, or quitting on his team. Shoot too much, and you're a ball hog, shoot to little and you are the reason LA struggled to score. These days he plays a pretty balanced game between scoring and passing, but Kobe will take heat from someone no matter what kind of teammate he is.

For me in the past, it was Tim Duncan. I hated how he led the Spurs many times to interrupt my Lakers championships. I hated how stale his style of play was, and how it was so reliable. What I hated most however, was how good he was, and how he was the guy standing between my team and a title. For many of you readers out there, that man has been Kobe Bryant for some time now Although it seems to be fluxing toward Lebron James.

You have faith in your team as any fan should, but if you're in the West you know they have Kobe to face to escape the conference. No matter how much faith you have, this has to worry you. Both Magic and Celtics fans know how it feels now to be "one Kobe away" from having a title on their shelves in recent years.

And why wouldn't you hate a guy that year after year kicks you out of the playoffs? I don't think Jazz fans have trouble with the concept. I honestly don't blame you if this reason fuels your fire against Kobe, because we have all been there.

Shaq was on his way to Miami, Fisher decided to give the Warriors a try, Phil Jackson was running for the hills, and Kobe was left in metaphorical ruins. It would soon get worse for Mr. The book came out, and the press had a field day with sections that literally picked apart Kobe Bryant.

Phil Jackson claimed in his book that Bryant was "Un-coachable. These comments from Phil solidified what most people had been suspecting of Kobe for a long time, and added to their distaste toward him.

Bryant was vindicated however less than one year later, as Phil Jackson returned once again to coach the Los Angeles Lakers through another season. Jackson retracted some of his comments about Bryant later on, and along with his presence back in the coaching position it somewhat cleared Kobe's name on the subject. I can see how if all you heard was the rumor and you never checked to see how accurate it was, this would be a good reason to hate him.

If it were true, it would mean that he possibly broke up what could have been the biggest dynasty ever right? With time now ticking and Kobe running out of options, he leaned right and flung the ball at the rim before falling to the floor, eyes transfixed at the flight of the ball. Bucket, buzzer, overtime. Then in double-overtime, the Lakers were down two and inbounding the ball with 1 second left — barely enough time to catch and shoot.

Kobe made a mad dashing from the baseline through a handful of bodies to spring free, took the inbounds pass, turned and aimed a 3-pointer just over the fingertips of the 6-foot Theo Ratliff. The shot was so puffy and perfectly arched that the net barely rippled when the ball dropped through. The road crowd was frozen silent. Kobe ran spread-armed into a sea of yelping teammates who leaped from the bench. I stayed up late on the East Coast and witnessed this with a throat that went dry.

But post-playing Kobe left all the edginess behind. The route barely traveled, from the teenager who believed he could do it all to the year veteran who did. And then, Kobe Bryant took it further, after retirement and until his passing. To someone who sat with him for an interview in the hallway of Lower Merion, while his classmates swerved to avoid our legs, my vision of what happened next remains clear: Kobe lived a life of contested development and of course conquered it.

His first NBA coach also noticed this complete transition while both attended the funeral of Frank Hamblen, the long-time assistant coach under Jackson with the Bulls and Lakers. Remember, I had Kobe at the start of his basketball life.

I knew he had matured and I knew he had the Mamba program and he was really looking to help kids and make a difference. I knew that.

But then I saw and heard him at that funeral. It was the man he became. He was headed in that direction. Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here , find his archive here and follow him on Twitter. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.

You agree that your personal information will be used to send you messages about NBA related products and services, and share your personal information with NBA partners and affiliates so that they can also contact you about products and services that might be of interest to you. Hall of Fame: Class of Shaun Powell. May 12, I watched him develop over the years and was confident in his ability. Plus, he was a year-old high school student.

My thoughts felt validated during the second round of the playoffs. An year-old confident Bryant shot four airballs in the fourth quarter and overtime.

The crowd was laughing and cheering for the Utah Jazz. I was at home livid! However, from that point on, Bryant went to 18 All-Star Games. He is undoubtedly a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Needless to say, my anger for those airballs quickly changed to cheers of admiration. Kobe was now my favorite Laker, and I cheered tirelessly for him. Today, the public pays their respects to this basketball legend. We still feel the pain of his tragic death on Jan. What did Kobe do to deserve this outpouring of emotion?

First, he is the only basketball player I have ever seen that airballed four times in the fourth quarter and overtime in a game. And not only was it a game, it was also a playoff game. I attacked the game the way he played both ends.

I took so much things away from him, and he made a big impression on me as a kid, just about how to go about playing the game. I credit everything, aside from God-given talent, I credit everything else from him. Something about his name even just rolls off the tongue nice when you're counting down three, two, one, you yell 'Kobe! Facebook Twitter Email.