Quitter: The Darth Kobe Story

This is an excellent article I thought you would enjoy by a writer who seems to be in Kobe's corner


Quitter: The Dark Kobe Story
Written By Robert Littal



Are you hearing the whispers? At the water cooler, on the message boards, sports talk radio, in the papers and all over the streets. They are saying Darth quit. Kobe Bean Bryant the Ted Bundy of the NBA pulled a ?Pippen? or a ?Duran? depending on how old you are in Game 7 against the Phoenix Suns. How is this possible? How does the most competitive player in the NBA give up, admits defeat and fails to get off on his stool in the 12th round? How can perception change so much in a couple of days? From comparisons to MJ to comparisons to 50 Cent when real thugs are around. Is it possible that Bean is a studio gangsta? Did this really happen?

To get the answer to this question you have to go back to when Darth dropped 62 in 3 quarters against the Mavericks and the media criticized him for not going for 80, that is where the seed was planted for what happen in Game 7. When Bean dropped the ?T.O.? on the Raptors and was criticized for shooting too much, the seed was sprouting. When Young Kobe played the role of Magic Johnson in games 1-3 in the series against the Suns and was finally given love for being a ?team player?, the flowers starting to grow. When Byrant did his MJ impression in Game 4 and everyone started to compare him to the greatest players in the game, the colors of the petals were in full bloom. But in Game 6 with Kobe (with a little help from Lamar Odom) is the only Laker to show up and single handily keeps them in the game going 20-35 draining 3s from all over the court, he gets criticized once again for shooting too much and not being a ?team player? (Charles Barkley even comments that the 15 misses were the reasons the Suns won which qualifies for the most asisnine comment of the year) the petals start to fall off the flower. Darth finds out that 22 writers leave him off the ballot for MVP. Once again I repeat 22 writers thought that Kobe Byrant was not one of the top 5 players in the NBA this year (by the way their voting privileges should be revoked). At this point the flower had died under the heat of the Sun (pun definitely intended).

Which brings us to Game 7. Game 7 is where legends are made especially if you win on the road. So you are Kobe, you have gone from being hated, to loved and backed to hated within 2 weeks how do you respond? You start off playing like you did in Game 6 torching the Suns (more puns), but unfortunately your teammates are also playing like they did in Game 6. You have your 20+ points in the first half and your team is getting blown out by 15. Not because of you, but because your team hasn?t shown any intensity since Game 3. Phillip has been telling you that there is no way you can win the series unless the Smush Parkers of the world start believing they are John Paxson, Steve Kerr or BJ Armstrong of this generation. You are sitting in your locker down 15 and you have to make a decision to make and for the first time all year Darth Kobe blinked and reverted to Kobe Skywalker.

The whole premise of the Darth Kobe persona is the fact that Bryant had realized that the majority of people, players and media will never like him regardless of what he does and to use that as fuel to destroy everything in his wake. Up to this point it was working, but for the first time I believe Kobe did what he thought ?YOU? wanted him to do instead of what he wanted to do. In the back of his mind he knew that he could probably score 60 points and the Lakers would still lose by 20. He also knew if that happened he would absolutely get crushed the next day by the media, so instead he attempted to get his teammates involved in the 2nd half. Unfortunately without Kobe keeping them close the team showed why Kobe should have been the MVP as they continuously blew opportunity after opportunity and a 15-point lead quickly grew to a 25-point lead for the Suns.

If you read my article ?Darth Kobe? (what are you waiting for click the link) one of the things that Kobe can?t hide are his emotions. Whatever he is saying out loud mean nothing. You can look at his face and clearly know what he is thinking. When Kobe was on the bench in the 4th quarter, you knew the disgust he was feeling for his teammates, but even more telling you could see that he knew he made a huge mistake. Instead of doing what he thought was best, he did what he what ?YOU? thought was best and it had backfired on him.

I must admit I have to laugh when I heard media and fans alike pointing out the fact that Michael Jordan would have never gone out like that. They like to point out specifically the fact that Michael Jordan dropped 63 on the Celtics in a clinching OT loss. Kobe had just dropped 50 in a loss and was roundly slammed. You think the criticism is bad now just imagine if Kobe had dropped 60 and the Lakers lost, do you really think the media would have commended him on going down with no bullets in his gun? If you do then you are simply na?ve or ignorant to the fact that the hate for Bean runs deep.

When 22 writers keep you off their MVP ballots it is personal. Kobe has crossed over into Barry Bonds and Terrell Owens land. It doesn?t matter what he does he is going to get slammed. It has nothing to do with Kobe the basketball player, but Kobe the person. There are several players in the NBA who play a similar game as Kobe?s. None of them play it as well and none of them are hated the way Kobe is.

Similar to Barry Bonds and T.O., the majority of this hate lays at the feet of Kobe. Kobe did help run Shaq out of town, Kobe did at times not play team ball, Kobe did cheat on his wife by dry humping a woman in Colorado, Kobe is arrogant, Kobe is somewhat selfish and Kobe does come across at times as fake and insincere. All of the things are true and all are reasons why I can understand why people would not like him personally, but it has nothing to do with the fact he is the best player in the game of basketball right now. The fact that things off the court are affecting people?s opinion of him on the court is what is wrong. Only one thing is going to quiet the critics and that is a championship. It doesn?t matter if Kobe gets to Game 7 of the NBA Finals and loses the critics will be there. The only way Kobe ever gets the love he wants is to take a team to a championship.

The worst thing that probably happen to Bean is playing like Magic Johnson in those first 3 games because it gave him a false sense of security. He started to trust the media, trust the fans and most importantly trust his teammates. Kobe didn?t let down his teammates his teammates let him down. Kobe was not the reason the Lakers didn?t close out the Suns. Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, Luke Walton, Brian Cook and etc etc were the reasons the Lakers aren?t playing the Clippers right now, but that doesn?t matter because the only person people focus on is Bean.


So to go back to the original question did Kobe quit? The answer to that is yes, but not in the 2nd half of Game 7. He quit believing that people wouldn?t judge him by what happen in Colorado. He quit believing that people wouldn?t judge him by what happened with Shaq. He quit believing that people wouldn?t criticize him for doing what he believed they wanted him to do. He quit believing that he had to be Darth Kobe.

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Pretty good article, but I think he played like he played in game seven to prove a point, the point being that a better team needs to be constructed, and that by playing like he played in game 7, he might make the media realize that every Lakers loss in not neccessarily his fault (of course, he failed on that point).

 

It's annoying to hear people say Kobe "quit" on his team, while in the same breath they criticize his performance in game 6 as him trying to do too much. I read an article by Skip Bayless the other day bashing Kobe, and it was just infuriating. Barkley's comments were also ridiculous. And I'm not even a huge fan of Kobe.

If the Lakers lose, no matter how Kobe plays, people are going to blame him and its stupid. He's either being too passive and "quitting", or he's not trusting his teammates. Kobe seems to be acutely aware of this, and it affects how he plays. He needs to realize that he can never please a lot of these critics. He's going to be hated no matter what he does. He needs to forget them and just listen to Phil Jackson and trust his instincts.

 

kind of funny

It was funny to see Kobe being arrogant with the phoenix fanatics in game 7 and then do nothing to defend his arrogance, wow it was like a Mayorga talking a lot of trash to De La Hoya, to end up receiving the beating of his life, hey that can't be a good feeling.

 

I don't believe we'll ever know why Kobe quit, or, really even IF he quit. It was not, however the SUNS that prevented him from scoring. He had his way with us for the previous 26 quarters. ... I also agree that "Basketball Kobe" and "Kobe the Person" are a curious dichotomy. He has presented an arrogance outside the Laker world that is annoying to most people.

As one of the many not in the thrall, it is very hard to understand KOBE WORSHIP. I have not seen anyone in any venue who would not agree that he is in (minimizing here) the top 10 of all time skill wise. According to experts, though, he is only the fourth most effective in fostering the "interdependence" that creates team play and winning. Along with the curiousity of Kobe worship is the corollary which is: "If you're not a Kobe worshipper, you're a Kobe hater... .."

I believe that Kobe is just a man who has had greatness and huge wealth thrust upon him at an extremely young age. It is surely enough of both to destroy most of us. Nothing could have prepared him for this. He has never had to cope with the notion that he is just a man like everyone else in the league. He has been worshipped, lionized, adored, coddled and protected. It is not a mystery how the guy got where he is. Being told you are "superman" all day everyday could tend to confirm and support and ultimately badly distort an already healthy self esteem.

In a strange way the aldutery/rape pursecution might have been a very good perspective builder for him, in spite of the obvious embarrasment and anquish.

So please don't pigeonhole those of us who try to be objective about the man. We don't hate Kobe. ...we also don't admire him unabashedly, unquestioningly, without limit or reservation. He still has the time and skills to prove he's the greatest of all time. IMVVHO

One other thing...a few years ago another Laker great not only got busted for cheating, but also got AIDS in the process. The fans quickly "forgave him" and embraced him. The league loves him, he is a Laker Exec now and is a regular on TNT.....and he is not caucasian....Magic is a rebuttal and a role model for Darth Kobe..

 

So do you guys think he quit? I didn't see the game?

Honestly- from what I've heard it sounds like they were down 30, his teammates weren't showing up, his last few shots hadn't dropped and he thought why risk the injury and all the criticism of trying to "take over the game"?

I don't see Kobe as a quitter, if thats what he did someone tell me cause I haven't seen it

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">It's annoying to hear people say Kobe "quit" on his team, while in the same breath they criticize his performance in game 6 as him trying to do too much. I read an article by Skip Bayless the other day bashing Kobe, and it was just infuriating. Barkley's comments were also ridiculous. And I'm not even a huge fan of Kobe.

If the Lakers lose, no matter how Kobe plays, people are going to blame him and its stupid. He's either being too passive and "quitting", or he's not trusting his teammates. Kobe seems to be acutely aware of this, and it affects how he plays. He needs to realize that he can never please a lot of these critics. He's going to be hated no matter what he does. He needs to forget them and just listen to Phil Jackson and trust his instincts.</div>

We often disagree, but let it never be said that you don't try your utmost best to be objective.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting ilive4ball:</div><div class="quote_post">So do you guys think he quit? I didn't see the game?

Honestly- from what I've heard it sounds like they were down 30, his teammates weren't showing up, his last few shots hadn't dropped and he thought why risk the injury and all the criticism of trying to "take over the game"?

I don't see Kobe as a quitter, if thats what he did someone tell me cause I haven't seen it</div>

I was at the game, and it was pretty hard to tell. Kobe played "smart" basketball in the second half because the Suns did double him often. You could endlessly argue that he should have taken over the game and we'd still never know. I believe that Kobe in his heart would not think he quit.

I studied him pretty carefully in my binoculars during the second half timeouts. Nobody sat by him..he had that thousand mile stare...he looked worse than sad or disappointed...I'd call it broken hearted. Couldn't speculate to the "why". Maybe the fact that his team had really played well for a few games and then disappeared.

I'm dubious about this, but I'll throw up a speculation for your consideration. There was the worst collective negative energy I've ever seen directed at Kobe. Every time he touched the ball he was booed by the whole crowd. All Game! It was not ordinary booing. It had a real venom behind it. Perhaps he is not as thick skinned as he'd have us believe, or maybe it was the final straw after a very tough and discouraging season. ..Dunno

Smush was in complete meltdown mode, and Shawn Marion finally figured out the Odom situation. If the Lakers want to hang the series loss on an individual player. It'd likely be Smush. That's not fair, though, to expect that much from someone so young and inexperienced imho.

 

Ok so after reading up on some stuff about Kobe in game 7 (thanks shape) I've come to a completely logical conclusion that explains everything, and leaves me wondering why no one else is seeing it...

Here it is plain and simple- if you have questions, I'll explain in later posts:

Kobe dominates- Lakers lose.
Kobe passes and teammates hit shots- Lakers win.
Game 7 kobe dominates first half but predicatably they're down by 15. In the second half He passes but teammates don't hit shots and they Lakers go down by even more- losing in the end.

Pretty simple stuff really, Kobe did what he needed to do to win the game, it was his teammates that didn't. If anything Kobe tried harder because really, we all know how much Kobe loves to shoot, and how much restraint he must've exhibited in not jacking up shots from all over the court

 

Don't you see? Everybody wants it to be dramatic and cosmic. Where's the Zen in that?

 

That pic is wicked.

EDIT: Ok, now that I've had a chance to read the article, I agree with some of the points he brought up there. People are far too inconsistent of their opinions of Kobe. However, I think he's going dangerously close to lumping all of the criticisms of Kobe together. There are legitimate beefs about how Kobe handled his team's slide. While I think the majority of it is needlessly vindictive, I'm hesitant to group it all together and describe it as being in direct opposition of Kobe.