Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a National Basketball Association player for the Los Angeles Lakers; he is also the son of former NBA player Joe "Jellybean" Bryant.

Controversy and Trial

Kobe Bryant is, however, open to a lot of criticism spawning from what critics consider, a collection of personality flaws. Detractors have branded Kobe as a selfish, egotistic player who pads his own achievements at the expense of his team. These criticisms came under great discussion following sexual assault allegations stemming from his June 2003 encounter with Katelyn Faber in a Vail, Colorado hotel room. Consequently, Kobe's squeaky-clean image took a big hit.

Related Topics:
Katelyn Faber - Vail, Colorado

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Although these charges were eventually dropped in the fall of 2004 (a civil suit followed but has since been settled as well), Kobe's tarnished image continued to swan dive. Furthering Kobe's blemished reputation was the public rift through the Laker core of O'Neal, coach Phil Jackson, and him. In well documented episodes throughout their careers together on the Lakers, mainly over leadership of the team, Shaq and Kobe have feuded in dramatic fashion. The 2000-era Lakers were built around the dominant center in O'Neal but Kobe seemed to tire of his formal role as "second fiddle" on the team. The two (Bryant and O'Neal) would often launch jarring verbal attacks at each other, beginning with Shaq's allegations of Kobe as a ball hog and Bryant's maligning of O'Neal as "fat." While both party's evaluations of each other were not far removed from the truth, their much-publicized beef quickly became must-see news items, tantamount to a hypnotizing soap opera, in the sports world.

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Bryant's prodigious talent, coupled with his immense ego, led him to clash with coach Jackson. While offensively efficient in Phil's "triangle offense," Kobe had a personal distaste for Jackson's brand of ball and subsequently called it "boring." In games, Bryant would often disregard the set offense completely to experiment with his own one-on-one moves, incensing the normally calm Jackson. Kobe managed to test Phil's patience enough that the "Zen Master" demanded a Bryant trade, although Laker management rejected the request. When Phil's coaching contract ran out following the 2003-04 season and the Lakers failed to produce a championship despite sporting, in addition to Shaq and Kobe, hall-of-fame caliber players in Karl Malone and Gary Payton, Jackson was not invited back to coach the team. Many fans attributed Jackson's departure directly to Bryant, whom Laker owner Dr. Jerry Buss championed. Buss also seemed determined to facilitate Shaq's departure from L.A., perhaps because he feared not being able to resign the younger Bryant. Kobe was a free agent and O'Neal had two more years of record-breakingly high pay left on his contract.

Related Topics:
Karl Malone - Gary Payton - Dr. Jerry Buss

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For these reasons, many basketball fans have blamed Bryant for the break-up of the Lakers' dynasty after a one-sided 2004 Finals loss to the Detroit Pistons. Shaquille O'Neal was hastily traded to the Miami Heat, resulting in a complete overhaul of the Laker roster, with Kobe Bryant as its centerpiece. Kobe resigned with the Lakers for the veteran maximum salary after a surprisingly long flirtation with the Lakers' perennially disappointing suitemates, the Los Angeles Clippers. Bryant's first chance at the helm of a team would be a very rocky one, however. With his reputation already badly damaged from the proceedings in Colorado, Kobe was closely scrutinized and criticized in the 2004-05 NBA season. The first salvo came from Phil Jackson in the hastily published The Last Season: A Team in Search of its Soul. The book detailed the sordid events of the Lakers' tumultuous 2003–04 season and hurled numerous harsh criticisms of Bryant. Along with other unsavory adjectives, Jackson called Bryant "uncoachable." Then, midway through the season, Rudy Tomjanovich suddenly resigned as Lakers coach, citing the recurrence of health problems and exhaustion (although many speculated that Tomjanovich, a two-time NBA champion coach, had despaired of getting his offense to work with the Lakers' depleted and bickering personnel). Without "Rudy T," stewardship of the remainder of the Lakers' season fell to career assistant coach Frank Hamblen.

Related Topics:
Break-up of the Lakers - Detroit Pistons. - Miami Heat - Los Angeles Clippers - Rudy Tomjanovich

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The feud between Kobe and O'Neal also extended beyond the West Coast. Motivated to win a ring without Kobe, O'Neal slimmed down after his arrival in Miami and proceeded to poke at Kobe's chops by refusing to call his former teammate by name, referring to Bryant only as "him" or "that guy." Shaquille was also visibly upset when transcripts of Kobe's police interrogations became public; Bryant had told investigators that O'Neal had paid large sums of money to numerous women when the former Laker center was faced with similar situations as Bryant's in the past. O'Neal retorted by stating, "I'm not the one buying love," referring to the $4 million dollar ring Kobe bought for his wife as a gift of contrition after the rape charges surfaced. On the court, the two barely acknowledged each other, even in nationally broadcast games. Their feud culminated in marquee regular season match-ups dubbed "Kobe v. Shaq." Both times, the Heat came out on top (helped by the emergence of second-year superstar Dwyane Wade), and was overall the better team in the regular season, owning the best record in the Eastern Conference (59-23) and sweeping playoff opponents before losing in a thrilling seven-game Eastern Conference Finals to the Pistons. The Lakers, on the other hand, stumbled to a 34-48 record, sending themselves out of the playoffs and into the NBA Draft Lottery for only the second time in 11 years. The conflict between O'Neal and Bryant will undoubtedly continue into the future, as followers of basketball wait in anticipation to see whether Kobe can turn Miami-Los Angeles into a genuine rivalry for team success. At this point, the Heat have added new veteran players and seem ready to make another long playoff run.

Related Topics:
Dwyane Wade - NBA Draft Lottery

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