I never understand this. He is arguably the best scorer the NBA has ever seen, his defense is great, he can throw some nice dimes.
His knowledge of the game is so high. He knows how to draw a foul whenever he wants, he knows where all his teammates need to be on the court, and he thrives on pressure.
His work ethic is among the hardest in any sport. Alomst no one in the NBA works as hard as he does.
People say he's arrogant, but that was years ago and does not act like that anymore. He doesn't dust off his shoulders after shots or anyhting like that anymore.
The whole feud with Shaq: Kobe took the high road not saying anything while Shaq ran his mouth for months. Kobe did nothing to "run Shaq outta town". Jerry Buss and Mitch Kupchak saw Shaq for what he is, an aging, lazy, extremely egotistical high contract not worth keeping. It has yet to pay off, but it was the smart move in the long run.
He doesn't pass enough? He never had competent teammates on his own until this year, even now they blow many of his great passes. People who think he doesn't pass enough, clearly don't watch enough Laker games.
The comments Phil said about him in his book: blown out of proportion by the media. I read his book and it was taken out of context. Besides, they made ammends and clearly Phil knew it wasn't what he really felt.
The "Rape" case: no evidence, the woman was mentally ill and had attempted to commit suicide several times. And what pro athlete hasn't been promiscuous at one point.
He speaks very properly, he's not ghetto, he doesn't get in trouble like some NBA stars do. He's not one of the players why David Stern wants to change the NBA. He's very intelligent and speaks 3 languages.
I don't see why anyone can't like him. Except when he's dominating the floor against your team.
B4 the trial Kobe seemed like an arrogant prick that just wanted to set records and be considered better than MJ. I hated him then. He seems to have really opened up since his whole episode and i actually like him and enjoy watching him play. I always thought he was one of the most talented players ever, easily. He just never struck me as remotely likable, like Shaq or MJ. i think his ordeal really opened his eyes and he is actually a better, more humble person for it.
Before the rape trial and Shaq breakup he seemed like a jerk, now he seems like he's trying too hard to be liked a la Alex Rodriguez.
But even if I fully respect his game, I will always hate on him because of the Laker gold. No amount of well thought out talking points could ever persuade me otherwise!
Well Kobe was so good so young it kinda made him arrogant. I mean he came into the NBA straight out of HS, and he was one of the 1st to do it. Within 4-5 yrs in the league he was part of a dynasty. Everybody becomes different when people blow your head up and Kobe kinda believed it. Kobe has changed this season but people that don't really follow the Lakers that much will still think about all the negative things about him because that is all they know. Kobe can not completely change his image until he wins a championship without another superstar. Everybody called Jordan a ball hog until he started to win. Now everybody is on Jordan's band wagon.
Bryant seems pretty aloof and won't socialize with his teammates outside of the court, so some people will not like him. Kobe seems to brush off fans and act like he is better then other people, so he will not be liked. I guess because he's not sociable and he seems uncomfortable with the attention. The rape charge did kinda look like a blackmail attempt ,so Kobe isn't as hated as he once was when these allegations first came up.roulettethedog
When he was younger he was kind of a loner in the locker room, he once said Dennis Rodman was the perfect teammate because they never spoke off the court. But that's just since then drastically. He talks to his teammates and hangs out with other players in the league, and I have never once heard of him brushing off fans. Where did you get that from? How does he act like he's better than people? And you really think that he "blackmailed" that girl?
I don't hate Kobe but as someone else said people simply hate the best and nothings going to change that. People have to admit though hes a great basketball player and he makes the players around him better but I could really careless what kind of person he is off the court.
I never really hated him. I think it just bothered people that he preferred being a loner in the older days, and also it didn't help that Shaq was far more popular. Now I think his image has taken a turn for the better, as he has become more open and is actually turning out to be a pretty good leader.
I don't "hate" Kobe. I do dislike him because I think he is a ball hog and is a jerk because he thinks he is SO great. I'm sorry but it's not hard to score a lot when you shoot 50 times! He has games were his shooting percentage is in the LOW 30's which is pathetic! I think he is a very good player but he isn't the best scorer at all! Anybody could be if they took as many shots as he does! He was dissing on Gilbert A who plays just like him! What a joke!
[QUOTE="nickdastick"]I don't "hate" Kobe. I do dislike him because I think he is a ball hog and is a jerk because he thinks he is SO great. I'm sorry but it's not hard to score a lot when you shoot 50 times! He has games were his shooting percentage is in the LOW 30's which is pathetic! I think he is a very good player but he isn't the best scorer at all! Anybody could be if they took as many shots as he does! He was dissing on Gilbert A who plays just like him! What a joke!
He doesn't put up that many shots, you clearly don't watch him that much. His shooting percentage is over 45% which for a 2 is very good. And what player doesn't have games which their FG% isn't high? Ever heard of a bad game? And how do you know "he thinks he is SO great"? Does he say these things in the media? Does he show off after a shot/dunk? No. Where do people get this image of him that he thinks he's God? I agree with you about what he said about Gilbert Arenas though, he was frustrated after Agent Zero dominated the Lakers in that game.
I don't like Kobe because he is a crybaby... I liked when detroit beat the lakers and Kobe had tears running down his arrogant face....I mean he allready had 3 championships...Karl Malone didn't cry, Gary Payton didn't cry, Shaq didn't cry...Kobe=Crybaby...and after that he cried during his trial... This is what I think of Kobe= :cry:
I don't like Kobe because he is a crybaby... I liked when detroit beat the lakers and Kobe had tears running down his arrogant face....I mean he allready had 3 championships...Karl Malone didn't cry, Gary Payton didn't cry, Shaq didn't cry...Kobe=Crybaby...and after that he cried during his trial... This is what I think of Kobe= :cry: haterex
So because he cried after losing in the finals you don't like him? Arrogant? Not in years. Karl Malone and Payton cried because they were already used to getting their asses kicked in the Finals. It just shows Kobe cares about winning. He probably cares more about winning than almost anyone in the league.
B4 the trial Kobe seemed like an arrogant prick that just wanted to set records and be considered better than MJ. I hated him then. He seems to have really opened up since his whole episode and i actually like him and enjoy watching him play. I always thought he was one of the most talented players ever, easily. He just never struck me as remotely likable, like Shaq or MJ. i think his ordeal really opened his eyes and he is actually a better, more humble person for it.razasharp20
Maybe because he's cocky (he HAS to be the star; can't cooperate w/ Shaq).... and oh yea, he raped a girl.helium_flash
How is he cocky? I love how no one ever answers that, or gives an example of how he's cocky. He didn't have to be the star, Jerry Buss and Mitch Kupchak wanted him to be the star. Shaq couldn't handle that, so he demanded a trade. Shaq, the self-proclaimed "General", "Big Aristotle", is the most egotistical person in sports after TO, and is retarded on top of it.
Shaq in Greece during the Olympics: Reporter: "So did you visit the Parthenon while you were in Greece?" Shaq: "No we didn't go to any clubs."
[QUOTE="helium_flash"]Maybe because he's cocky (he HAS to be the star; can't cooperate w/ Shaq).... and oh yea, he raped a girl.ticalmc2k2
How is he cocky? I love how no one ever answers that, or gives an example of how he's cocky. He didn't have to be the star, Jerry Buss and Mitch Kupchak wanted him to be the star. Shaq couldn't handle that, so he demanded a trade. Shaq, the self-proclaimed "General", "Big Aristotle", is the most egotistical person in sports after TO, and is retarded on top of it.
Shaq in Greece during the Olympics: Reporter: "So did you visit the Parthenon while you were in Greece?" Shaq: "No we didn't go to any clubs."
Too bad he traded shaq because shaq actually won without him.
[QUOTE="helium_flash"]Maybe because he's cocky (he HAS to be the star; can't cooperate w/ Shaq).... and oh yea, he raped a girl.ticalmc2k2
How is he cocky? I love how no one ever answers that, or gives an example of how he's cocky. He didn't have to be the star, Jerry Buss and Mitch Kupchak wanted him to be the star. Shaq couldn't handle that, so he demanded a trade. Shaq, the self-proclaimed "General", "Big Aristotle", is the most egotistical person in sports after TO, and is retarded on top of it.
Shaq in Greece during the Olympics: Reporter: "So did you visit the Parthenon while you were in Greece?" Shaq: "No we didn't go to any clubs." when you are 20 years old you should pay respect to the legends of the game that have been doing it before you. It's just proper respect. You don't wave away picks from karl malone in all star games, you don't launch back to back 3 point air balls in the playoffs against Utah with the game on the line 5 seconds into the position, and most importantly you don't put yourself above the team. NOW, needless to say this appears to be the Kobe of old and not now. He seems like he has matured and grown up into a team player who isn't worried so much about "this is my team not anyone elses". But the problem is that he burned so many bridges with his conduct those first 5+ years that some people just don't want to give him a chance. Then you add to that the blame casted his way for the dismantlement of a potential great dynasty, it was just too much. Name me another superstar in ANY SPORT that would rather worry about individual feuds than team accomplishments, and that's EXACTLY WHAT HE DID. They didn't have to be best friends to play w/ each other, but to bring it to the point of breaking up potentially one of the best teams in history is rediculous. Jordan didn't hang out w/ Rodman, but they did their business on the floor and went on the their way. I don't think much of the rape thing because i know all he's guilty of was infadelity, which happens all the time, not rape. Oh yeah he did throw shaq under the bus and say that he "pays off women" he sleeps with. Come to think of it Kobe is just a BLEEP!!
Log in to comment