KB’s revenge (photo. Chris Sembrot)What was going through Kobe Bryant’s head when the party inside the TD Banknorth Garden became official on Tuesday night? His thousand-yard stare could have been any number of things. But now we know that taking out his aggression on the rest of the world in this summer’s Olympic Games was definitely part of that mindset.
Back in the locker room, Bryant informed Pau Gasol that he should give his countrymen in Spain fair warning for the impending beatdown:
“Being that we lost this series, you (guys) have no chance at a gold medal. I ain’t goin’ 0 for 2, homie.”
Earlier this post-season, Stephen A. Smith sat down with Kobe and reminded him that Jordan is the only person to ever win the regular season MVP, the Finals, the Finals MVP, and an Olympic gold medal. Kobe played it off like he truly didn’t care about having his name in the same sentence as MJ’s, but there’s plenty of evidence to the contrary.
What’s more important for Kobe’s legacy: to win a title without Shaq or to win a gold medal?
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June 20th, 2008 at 9:31 am
DO says:
to win a title without shaq.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:36 am
girlybballluver says:
Gotta win a title without shaq.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Marques says:
It’s gotta be win a title without Shaq, because he ran Shaq out of town. He has to prove he made the right decision.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:57 am
Dime Magazine says:
he wants that gold - and he wants to be “the guy” on a team that gets the gold - but overall it has to be a title w/out shaq.
- PC
June 20th, 2008 at 10:16 am
karizmatic says:
win a title without Shaq
June 20th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Rafa23 says:
he didn’t run shaq ot of town. they both made lots of mistakes during their time, but in the end kupchak didn’t want to give shaq an extension.
it all came out last summer…
June 20th, 2008 at 10:31 am
Daily boy says:
A title w/o Shaq of course but the rest of the teams in the olympics better be prepaired for the Best that he’s got.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:34 am
hahns says:
lets face it, shaq needed kobe juast as much as kobe needed shaq….AND for all you who keep harping on how shaq got his own…DWADE was the mvp! dwade took the team on his back, not shaq.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:40 am
rob stewart says:
I think the USA team could win a Gold with Matt Maloney on the team, so I definetley think Kobe needs a title without Shaq. Ifnyou don’t know who Matt Maloney is then it makes my point even more clear. As I watch Kobe play I have learned that talent level does not justify arrogance level.
June 20th, 2008 at 11:04 am
the_don_mega says:
its pretty obvious…
he needs to win a title without Shaq…
@rob stewart - LOL at the shout out to matt maloney!!!
June 20th, 2008 at 11:10 am
jay says:
kob needs a ring but he is goin to be beast this summer. i never have seen kob struggle that much on offense! destination gold! nuff said! kob is going to go nuts this summer as some redemption! look out!
June 20th, 2008 at 11:52 am
Phileus says:
I was thinking about this: if Kobe leads Team USA to the gold this summer, would that set his legacy back on track? Wouldn’t he be the savior of USA Basketball? And wouldn’t it be more important (in terms of just popularity, not his personal desire) to be the champion of a nation’s basketball team than the champion of one city’s?
I personally feel that, if we get the gold, I’ll forever cheer for the people who did the most for it regardless of where they are in the League.
June 20th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Jim says:
@Phileus I think for real ball fans, yes. But I think most people just expect them to win. Think about how badly the 2004 team was treated in the media. I think the media and most casual fans will just be like “about time.”
June 20th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Celts Fan says:
@Rob Stewart - true, but even on Team USA, Kobe is THE GUY and it doesn’t hurt to have an enraged Mamba on our side (unfortunately, he’ll still be pissed next year and probably cop a chip when he actually gets some muscle back in Bynum)
but of course, it’s a title w/out Shaq.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Kermit the Washington says:
To win the title without Shaq. Heck, with all the pro-Kobe junk I talk nowadays, it’s important for MY legacy!
June 20th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Al Bowsprit says:
If Team USA wins the gold this summer it will do very little for Kobe’s “legacy,” unless it’s his heroics that win the medal. USA should win the gold easily without him. But Kobe and his fans should forget about his “legacy.” He’s in a team sport and needs to be the best team player possible. If he does that - and he’s made great strides recently in that direction - his “legacy” will take care of itself.
Bill Russell didn’t worry about whether Wilt Chamberlain would be considered the best center of all time. He just went out and led his team to championships - 11 in 13 seasons. Wilt may have been the best individual player, but who had the better career? Right now Kobe trails Tim Duncan in that regard. Stop with the MJ comparisons. Stop with the “best player on the planet” (he obviously wasn’t the best player in the last series) and focus on winning more championships. Leave history to the historians.
June 20th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
BlazeMcHerbs says:
Kobe dug this hole himself, he will forever be viewed as a Wannabe Jordan.
I give him props for being the best individual player in the world right now, but he’s so far from Jordan’s level its disrespect to MJ.
And that’s what its really all about. There will be someone better than MJ, its the way it goes. Jordan just set the bar so high, its not even gonna be a debate when the next coming is in his prime, cuz he’s gonna have to beat those Jordan accomplishments and set the bar higher for someone else.
Obviously, Kobe is not ever gonna be better than what MJ was on a NBA court, its up to LeBron now, lets see if he has it in him.
June 20th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Smitty313 says:
How has Kobe dug himself a hole thats just plain stupid to say. Jordan didn’t win a ring until he was 28. Kobe is 29 with three. I’m not saying he will win a ring ever again, but his basketball career is not over yet. Kobe could win three rings in the next 5 to 8 years or how ever many years he has left. What if he does win three more rings. That would be 6 rings and he would have went to the finals 8 times. All I’m saying he’s not done yet. When there is no Kobe who will you have to hate on.
June 20th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
BlazeMcHerbs says:
The hole he dug? Its him forever being compared to Jordan.
I pretty much explained that in my post, but i’m glad to answer your question.
I actually wanted Kobe to win, so yeah, i guess im a hater.
Anything else numnutts?
June 20th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
AY says:
Forget jordan, kobe’s career is turning into the jerry west story: the game’s ultimate clutch player, the face of the league, but can’t win enough championships to justify being one of the greatest. Jerry West needed wilt just like kobe needed shaq; in fact, forget winning one without shaq. At this point, wouldn’t it be infinitely more impressive if kobe asked to get shaq, and delivered another one carrying the big guy on his back and help shaq surpass duncan, instead of desparately trying to win one without him?
June 20th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
BlazeMcHerbs says:
I just realized, you probably still dont get it. HOLE= he started all this wannabe jordan stuff.
I’m just wondering, what hole were you talking about? The Finals are over, do you always do shit before thinking it through?
If so, gimme your checking account number, I just need to verify it real quick
June 20th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
BxBaller says:
Focused Kobe=Trouble for the world.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
tealish says:
Lol @ all you fools revolving around Kobe. Regardless of whether TEAM USA wins the gold or not, it will have little to do with Kobe and much more to do with how the entire team, collectively, respect their opposition and play with said respect.
If they haven’t learned from recent failures and revert back to playground ball, trash-talking, making retarded extra passes, attempting half court alleyoops, etc… I would not be surprised if they came home with the Silver or Bronze or worse. Kobe is 1 guy. They could take him off for all I care. It’s the team play I’m concerned about.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
doc says:
Kobe gotta win a NBA chip fuck that gold they gonna win that regardless.And Wade didnt carry that Heat team.He scored the points but Shaq was still getting double and triple teamed every night making it that much easier for Wade to waltz down the lane.Ask Kobe about them good old days.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
eyeused2b says:
Why does Kobe have to win a title without Shaq to gain validity, but Shaq doesn’t have to win a title without another dominant player to gain the same validity? It’s a team sport. Shaq didn’t win it by himself.
I’ve always been of the mindset that since Kobe has three titles, his legacy is already solidified. It wasn’t like he was the 12th man on those teams. If his personal goal is to get another ring, then he should put his all into getting one, but if he never achieves it, he still has three more rings than many other “greats” can claim.
With that said, I’ll go with the Olympic gold medal, because he doesn’t have one yet.
June 21st, 2008 at 1:58 am
asdf says:
I think the ring is more important. Like everyone else said, Team USA is going to win anyways with or without him. Everyone else is determined as well.
But the Finals was really disappointing for me as a Lakers fan. While watching the games, i hear questions like “how is Pierce always getting fouls”, “isn’t Kobe suppose to be good?”,”how come Kobe don’t drive and get fouls like Pierce?”. I didn’t know what to say as when you watch it, Kobe looks slower than Pierce. How many times did pierce go to the hoop and how many times did Kobe get to the basket when pierce was on him? It didn’t make sense, you know Lebron wouldn’t be picking up the dribble, especially in the final minute. Lebron would be running a marathon to the basket. Doesn’t make too much sense, jump into people (like pierce) and get fouls. Kind of telling me that Kobe is kind of soft too. This is also coming from a Lakers fan for 10 years.