Kobe’s Own Words
Dime #22The article in the L.A. Times today that cites the Dime cover story that Kobe wrote a little while back prompted us to go back and take another look at Bryant’s words. Interesting to see what he had to say a few years ago about how he viewed his relationship with his teammates, the fans and Phil.
The following excerpt is from the cover story of Issue #22 of Dime.
My biggest fear is not winning another title. But fear is a great motivator. I’m determined to lead this organization back to the top. The people who once celebrated me are the same people who doubt me now. They say that because I don’t have Shaq that I can’t win, that it’s over. The only thing I truly worry about is that my drive and my will are sometimes too much for my teammates to handle. Do I expect too much from them? How can I elevate them to play with my same passion every night?
What helps me understand and deal with this is the fact that I was once in their shoes. I once played a supporting role on this team. Back then I knew how much pressure Shaquille had on him to win a ring and I also knew I could help. So I studied the game offensively and especially defensively because I knew that if I could harass on the perimeter with him clogging the lane, it would demoralize our opponents more than anything we could do offensively. I also knew that the teams he played on in the past did not have a closer. No one could take the game over down the stretch or hit the game winner or make the key free throws. Those were Shaq’s weaknesses, so I had to step up and make them my strengths. I knew how much more I could bring to the battle, but that wasn’t my role. I was a scorer who became a facilitator in order to win. But now I worry because I know how hard that was for me to learn, how many sleepless nights I had and how much criticism and trade rumors I had to endure before I mastered my role. This is probably what my current teammates are going through. All I can do is pray that one day we will reach the same level of chemistry and understanding that existed between me, Shaq, Rick Fox, Derek Fisher, Robert Horry and all the other players I once went to war with.
The fears I have are soothed a little by the presence of Phil Jackson. Simply put: he is the best coach I have ever played for. Everything I have learned about the game can be traced to him and Tex Winter. They teach the game at such a deeper level than x’s and o’s. The game is a rhythm, a dance. Phil and Tex have taught me to feel the game. To think the game without thinking, to see without seeing. They taught me how to prepare. How to conceptualize the spirit of my opponents and attack them where they are weak. I’ve seen how prepared PJ gets before games, and as the on-court leader he is trusting me to do the same. So I do all the things he has taught me to do before tip-off and once the ball is in the air my mind is at ease and my body is ready to play. I take it to the other team on both ends of the floor. I take pride in being able to do that. I HATE being scored on, even by players who some say are ‘un-guardable’. I don’t believe it when they say ‘Oh, that player is just hot today.’ Fuck that! Cool his ass off then.
When we play on the road and the entire crowd is booing me it doesn’t bother me at all. What I think about is simple: “When these fans leave this game I want them to remember how hard I fought and the passion and drive with which I played.” I have always played this game with passion. And I always worked hard. When I saw the movie Rudy I remember thinking, “what if I worked that hard?” God has blessed me both physically and intellectually to play this game, so what would happen if I push as hard as the character in this film? I would love for people to think of me as a talented overachiever. Even though those fans may chant ‘Kobe sucks’ when they leave that arena I want them to walk out with a different feeling than they came in with. When they leave they’ll leave with the understanding that they have just witnessed a player give himself completely to his passion; they have just watched an athlete pour every ounce of his heart and soul out on that floor. And hopefully, when the next volume of my life is all said and done, they will respect and appreciate the years that I spent giving all of me to the game that means everything to me.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
GEE...Engine Engine number 9, on the New York transit line says:
If only more players had that mindset.
Can someone send this to Tracy McGrady??? Please.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
turambur says:
Wow. That is a very moving article. It really challenges the way I look at athletes, and especially Kobe. I’ve heard a little of his struggles with keeping up with Shaq in their early years together, but I never knew how deeply it affected him.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Oscarisalakerfan says:
WOW Send this as telegraph to every player in the association!!!!
May 6th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
PALakerFan says:
That’s why 10 years from now when Kobe retires as the All-Time leading scorer in league history, with 6 or 7 titles, and 2 or 3 MVPs, he’ll be regarded as the best basketball player who ever lived. He has Jordan’s passion but with more ability. Kobe’s also not a pansy like Jordan and won’t make 2 different comebacks.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Bust Jlaze says:
No other player in the league could have written an article like this. This is why, my friends…Kobe Bean Bryant is the best player on the PLANET. Not Chris Paul, not Bron-Bron. Kobe Bryant.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
GEE...Engine Engine number 9, on the New York transit line says:
Bean is just a strange name though. LOL Forget whatever meaning or history it got. Come on ..Bean?
May 6th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Big Shot BOB says:
LakerFan are you serious…Jordan a Pansy? Ask Kobe yourself No Michael Jordan = No Kobe. He taught Kobe everything he knows!!!
May 6th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Bust Jlaze says:
I don’t know, Gee…think about it…what if your Nickname was your Middle name? Like instead of “Michael Jeffrey Jordan”, it’d be “Michael Air Jordan”…I think that’s what Kobe’s dad was trying to do.
LOL I’m just playin…strange middle name for sure.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
yoda says:
I don’t believe it when they say ‘Oh, that player is just hot today.’ Fuck that! Cool his ass off then.
this is why i respect him. never liked him too much ( im more of shaq fan), but always respected him. never give up, on both ends of floor. thats why everyone in league is afraid of him. bron might soulcrush you on offense, but kobe crushes you on both ends.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Big Al says:
WOW. that was incredible. it kinda gives you a look into kobe’s mind. gotta agree with Bust, that is the reason kobe is the best player in the league.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Bust Jlaze says:
This bugs me about Kobe’s legacy:
If you suggest that Kobe is as good or better than MJ, people will hang you. Why? Their reason (which is valid) is that Kobe hasn’t come close to MJ’s accomplishments!
But those SAME PEOPLE will often tell you that Bron is better than Kobe. But has BronBron come close to Kobe’s accomplishments? NOPE!
This is the same double-standard logic that kept Kobe out of the MVP talks for so long. He doesn’t make his teammates better. Then the next year, it’s ok he makes his teammates better but he’s not leading the best team in the league. The only reason he finally got it, is because these people’s double-standard logic finally backed them into a corner.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Bond says:
Vince Carter just called and said he’s not sure what the big deal about this article is.
May 6th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
hahns says:
KOBE IS A BEAST
yoda, that was definitely the best line in the article… the guy is a true competitor.
ive been tellin my friends this since last year, i think kobe is more talented than mj was…hes still got ~8 years left in his career to be the GOAT- its definietly possible
May 6th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
the antoine says:
kobes dad gave him that middle name because when he balled back in the day they called him Joe “Jellybean” Bryant… never seen a shot he didnt like..
May 6th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Bust Jlaze says:
*rolling eyes*…antoine, we KNOW we KNOW!!
Gee: you knew SOMEONE would step in and try to explain the history of the Bean thing…even though you tried to stop them LOL
May 6th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
GEE...Engine Engine number 9, on the New York transit line says:
LOL @ 12.
That is funny cause Antoine Walker just sent a text message saying that article is crap.
Bust Jlaze it’s one in every blog, 2 in some lol.
May 6th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Junio says:
Reading this text was the moment I started to like Kobe as player. The whole text is fantastic, the only to understand his drive…Well deserved award this year…
May 6th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Logan Light says:
I remember reading this article when it came out… I’ve been a Kobe fan since. I don’t always think that he chooses to make the best decisions off the court (who does), but he us just as passionate about his craft as KG. Honestly, he leads like Michael. He scowls, yells, disapproves, but he’s the first to help and give advice if you’re willing to accept it. He’s the first in the gym. Last to leave.
I was watching the Lakers/Jazz Game 1 on Sunday and Kobe crosses AK-47 and drives for an and-1 layup. I rewound it on my DVR and said, “Wow, Kobe is special.” To which my wife laughed – she thought I was calling him retarded… She knows very little about basketball (only that I love it), but she watched the play and understood that what happened wasn’t easy… and that Kobe made it easy to watch.
Just like the Jordan 23’s – I used to have a professed hatred for Kobe Bryant… oddly enough, he’s grown on me.
LL
May 6th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Lady Luck says:
“The fears I have are soothed a little by the presence of Phil Jackson. Simply put: he is the best coach I have ever played for. Everything I have learned about the game can be traced to him and Tex Winter. They teach the game at such a deeper level than x’s and o’s. The game is a rhythm, a dance. Phil and Tex have taught me to feel the game. To think the game without thinking, to see without seeing. They taught me how to prepare. How to conceptualize the spirit of my opponents and attack them where they are weak. I’ve seen how prepared PJ gets before games, and as the on-court leader he is trusting me to do the same. So I do all the things he has taught me to do before tip-off and once the ball is in the air my mind is at ease and my body is ready to play. I take it to the other team on both ends of the floor.”
This confirms a statement I made the other day about the differences between Lebron’s career and Kobe’s. Coaching is something that makes good players great and great players superstars. Kobe’s game was elevated not only because of his hard work and desire, but also because he had coaches who could put him in a position to succeed and teach him the right way to play. How to use your strengths, how to strenghten your weaknesses. A lot of the younger guys are uncoachable because they think they know it all (as do most teenagers/young adults) Lebron needs to have that great coach in order to realize his real potential. The league might hope that he doesn’t because he’s already a beast!
Kobe – I love you!!!!!!!
May 6th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Sam I Am says:
Kobe is a beast…Like I want him to win it this year without Shaq and all…
But I’m a #1 KG fan and I really want him to get it, I mean I pray its the Celtics and Lakers in the finals and KG wins it…
LOL def don’t want Luke Walton to get it BOOOOOOOO
May 6th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Bust Jlaze says:
Luke Walton is a beast…
May 6th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
GEE...Engine Engine number 9, on the New York transit line says:
Thinking though, how polished would Kobe’s career be if he never complained and never got into that stint in Colorado?
He would be the “Golden Child” of the NBA.
I am not saying I am glad he did those things, but I am glad that it put people into reality, that amazing as he is….he is still human. As humans we make mistakes. I am just glad dude rebounded from them tremendously.
May 6th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Bust Jlaze says:
Gee…
I was thinking the same thing recently. Actually, Kobe’s situation made me realize that as much as I loved watching him, and Mike before him, they BOTH were BUGGING! haha
May 6th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Bust Jlaze says:
And then I realized that ALL celebrities are freaking INSANE. So there’s no reason to idolize these cats. Just appreciate the show they’ve dedicated their lives to put on for us.
May 6th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
GEE...Engine Engine number 9, on the New York transit line says:
On the other side of things. I seen a player catch the drama before like Roger Clemens. Dude got so many “possible” accusations against him it ain’t even funny.
You have to think Drama wise the NBA did ok this year too. The last incident was like Melo’s driving deal? Other associations should take notes. …..Then again the off-season is coming and strip-clubs will be calling!
May 6th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
GEE...Engine Engine number 9, on the New York transit line says:
Dang that is suppose to be I “ain’t” seen
I am wearing this keyboard out with DIME lol.
May 6th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Bust Jlaze says:
Yeah, aside from Melo’s bad driving and Tinsley’s bad shooting (not basketball shooting lol), the NBA’s looked pretty clean the past couple years. I give it 2 more years before there’s another huge brawl tho. Seems like everyone’s been getting real testy lately.
Actually come to think of it…the League doesn’t really have that one guy that you know is going to get a brawl poppin off like it used to. There was Artest, but he’s calmed down. Rodman before that, and before that I don’t know…Kermit Washington? LOL
Any current players you guys can think of that is a bench-clearing brawl waiting to happen?
May 6th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Bust Jlaze says:
Oh, that’s gonna be my new name, at least for a minute…haha
May 6th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Kermit Washington says:
BAM.
May 6th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Star Jones says:
Dwayne is my MVP
May 6th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Smitty313 says:
Kobe’s dad nickname was Bean. Joe “Jelly Bean” Bryant. If Kobe comes close to winning 6 or seven titles he would take MJ’s spot as the greatest ever.
May 6th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
M Intellect says:
Not to be a prick but why did it take an article for people to realise this is the dude is?
He has had constant hatred from pretty much everyone, from pretty much the inception of his career, to struggle for existence on the Laker’s w/ Shaq and Phil Jackson, a publicly exposed affair/court case, booed in his home town when he won the All-Star MVP and was called a ball-hog because he wouldn’t pass to Chris Mihm and Smush Parker so he could win.
If you compare his situation in the last few years w/ T-Mac’s in Orlando, you can see the gulf in player. T-Mac got nothing in the East. Kobe got the play-offs in the West.
This comment makes me sound like a SUPER KOBE STAN but this is actually just the truth. His ability to WILL his way to win games seperates him from Vince, T-Mac and Bron. I think only D-Wade comes ‘remotely’ close.
This dude is an inspiration to me, whether I’m in the boxing gym or on the trading floor.
And…DAMN…I sound gay…
May 6th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
marcus says:
so… if kobe is kobe bean bryant, then, can we sometimes call him “mr. bean”?
ROFL… just messin… all love and respect for kobe bryant!
May 7th, 2008 at 12:30 am
godfreyallstar says:
kobe is not better than jordan. sorry. but i do agree that lebron gets a double standard because people use the same logic against kobe that they could against lebron(accomplishments). I believe that lebron will one day be great, but right now kobe is the most skilled player in the league. His drive is incredible. And I can’t stand him, but i respect the hell out of him. Not better than jordan, though. He is the closest thing to jordan since jordan, and we will see if lebron can perfect that jimmy and become even more unstoppable.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:10 am
Suciniac says:
I remember a statement from Bron where he said I don’t need to work on anything,I’ve just got to fine tune them.That right there shows the difference between Kobe vs The other next MJ’s.If that Rape incident hadn’t occurred Kobe would definitely have been the poster child for NBA.Then the Shaq trade just wound his Persona into the ground.Dude’s done very well to come back and win the MVP.That just shows that even though people still don’t think highly of him his talent,will and drive is undeniable.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:39 am
tobacher says:
thist is just mostly…
…kitsch, sugar, pseudeo whatever you wannna call it…
What is kobe gonna write into an article like this guys? – WHAT YOU WANT TO F*** HEAR.
Supporting role? Facilitator?!? – laughable, remember how Kobe played back then? He was playing against the opponent as well, but mostly fighting his teammates for the ball.
“The chemistry we had..:” What the f***? Him and Shaq = great chemistry? it’s like itchy & scratchy saying they got good vibes, good old times, “oh it was ok for me to be killed by scratchy every night, i did it for the team”
Btw: How the hell does Kobe not get dissed for wanting out just when his team started to finally get better?? – ANd it’s not like that was entirely new, it was pretty apparent last season, that Luke, Jordan and vujacic would get a lot better, and seemingly he had’nt talked to Bynum for like ages…
don’t fall for it, amazing player, weak person.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:46 am
YOUNGFED says:
K-Hova Baby!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 9:28 am
JAX says:
tobacher….
C’mon, yo. You are missing the bigger picture. Of course he has character issues that rub peeps the wrong way. Look how he grew up underneath the most glaring microscope known to any player coming into the league. Jordan didn’t come into the league like that. Not straight outta high school any way. Kobe got his knocks in the shadow of greatness already made. The expectations that go along with that is part of the package that he had to deal with. Just like Magic had to. And Kareem. And Wilt. IT’S THE LAKERS, HOMIE!!! It takes a player with brass balls to handle that kind of pressure EVERY YEAR. I love Shaq also but why is it that he left every team that was destined for greatness when it looked like the pressure was mounting to do just that? Orlando, LA, Miami. Great coaches and players around him. And he split every time. And when Nash leaves, he’s gonna get into it with Amare. Kobe has his issues but when it’s all said and done, he’s still a Laker.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
bombame says:
re: I don’t believe it when they say ‘Oh, that player is just hot today.’ Fuck that! Cool his ass off then.
really, who else can RESPECTFULLY write that text in the league other than maybe KG and ummmm artest/bowen?
cp3, vc, t-mac, d-wade, lebron, pierce, ray-ray, redd…he’s talking about you fools. i remember a game against houston a few years ago where t-mac was killing the lakers in the first half. second half came w/ kobe guarding him. t-mac literally didn’t score the rest of the game and the lakers won. that was magical…
May 7th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
jimmhumm says:
Kobe is nice. He is a genious on the court. He has more skill than T-mac even when T-mac was at his prime. He is still better than LBJ. Off court Kobe is just another dude. But you have to respect his approach to the game.
He did lock up T-mac in a few houston games but he has trouble with Shane Battier for some reason. Dude can’t score on Battier for nothing.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
doc says:
He aint the best because of some BS article he had made for people to like him since that day like some of yall said.He the best because he work on his shit and he got some of the best talent ever.His pop and uncle was in the league the shit aint just practice.