<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> And Kobe Bryant shall lead them. It was the mandate Bryant proclaimed some 10 months ago and it was the role placed on his shoulders by the Lakers management, coaches, his teammates and the media. Was Bryant an effective leader during a tumultuous season in which the Lakers will miss the playoffs for just the fourth time since moving to Los Angeles? The question was presented to his teammates, coaches, scholars, sociologists and Bryant himself. All seem to conclude that Bryant was tested beyond any boundaries he could have imagined. Pat Riley, who won four NBA championships with the Lakers during the 1980s and now is president of the Miami Heat, is paid $60,000 per visit as a motivational speaker. Riley said it takes one quality above all to be an effective leader: trust. "I've always said that in every adversity there is a seed of equivalent benefit," Riley said. "And it's up to the individual to find it. Based on what happened this year, I think he (Bryant) will do some deep soul-searching." Bryant wanted to walk in these shoes -- and he wanted to walk alone. When the Lakers shipped Shaquille O'Neal to Miami and let Phil Jackson go as coach, Bryant became the face of the team. Thus, he quickly was thrust into the leadership role, a role for which he thought his previous eight years in the NBA under many mentors had prepared him. But Bryant found that being the sole leader is a difficult task, even for someone who relishes a challenge. "It tested me a lot, because my competitive instinct is to win every game," Bryant said. "So it took a lot of not focusing on that, but to focus on my teammates and how they're doing, how they're feeling." </div> Source Right now it's still to early. If you are a fan of Kobe, you will say yes of course, if you are a Kobe-hater, you will say no he's not, he's just a selfish ball-hog. Hopefully he shows everyone he is a leader in the next year or two.
I will be honest and throughout this season i have had some doubts about Kobe's leadership. But as the season is about to end, and as the games have past I have started to see Kobe develop somewhat as a leader and I have faith he'll bring the Lakers back to the playoffs next year.
I don't like Kobe, and it's mostly because he isn't a leader. He has all the talent in the world, and he's very intent on getting his, but it seems like he doesn't do the things that need to be done to lead his teammated to success. He obviously is selfish. That's been proven time and time again. I just don't think he's a leader. He's a great player, but he's not a team guy or a leader.
Trust. Trust. Trust. Am I the only one who thinks the fact that Kobe mentioned Shaq's name to the police may make some NBA players not trust him and hurts his ability to lead?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting onechina:</div><div class="quote_post">Trust. Trust. Trust. Am I the only one who thinks the fact that Kobe mentioned Shaq's name to the police may make some NBA players not trust him and hurts his ability to lead?</div> good point
