Kobe Bryant: Words That Will Never Be Forgotten..
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He entered the NBA directly from high school, and he has played for the Lakers his entire career, winning five NBA championships. Bryant is an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, and 12-time member of the All-Defensive team. He has led the league in scoring twice, and he ranks third on both the league’s all-time regular season scoring and all-time postseason scoring lists. After beginning his 20th season with the Lakers in 2015–16, which set an NBA record for the most seasons with the same team, Bryant announced that he would retire after the season.
The body has broken down, yes, but Bryant has been building up to this season of his spoken word the previous 19 years of his career.
“If you’re going to like me or not like me, at least like me or not like me for who I actually am,” Bryant said to Bleacher Report. “I’ll be cool with that.”
Bryant paused as he searched in his memory bank for the spin-dribble moment he swiveled to become as bold verbally as was athletically.
Bryant debuted in the Summer Pro League in Long Beach, California, scoring 25 points in front of a standing-room-only crowd. Defenders struggled to get in front of him, and his performance excited West and Lakers coach Del Harris. He scored 36 points in the finale, and finished with averages of 24.5 points and 5.3 rebounds in four game. As a rookie in 1996–97, Bryant mostly came off the bench behind guards Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. At the time he became the youngest player ever to play in an NBA game (18 years, 72 days; a record since broken by Jermaine O’Neal and former teammate Andrew Bynum), and also became the youngest NBA starter ever (18 years, 158 days). Initially, Bryant played limited minutes, but as the season continued, he began to see some more playing time. By the end of the season, he averaged 15.5 minutes a game. During the All-Star weekend, Bryant participated in the Rookie Challenge and won the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest, becoming the youngest dunk champion ever at the age of 18. Bryant’s performance throughout the year earned him a spot on the NBA All Rookie second team with fellow bench teammate Travis Knight. The Lakers advanced to the Western Conference semifinals in the playoffs against the Utah Jazz, when Bryant was pressed into a lead role at the end of Game 5. Byron Scott missed the game with a sprained wrist, Robert Horry was ejected for fighting with the Utah’s Jeff Hornacek, and Shaquille O’Neal fouled out with 1:46 remaining in the fourth quarter. Bryant shot four air balls at the end of the game; the Jazz won 98–93 in overtime to eliminate the Lakers 4–1. He first whiffed a game-winning 2-point jump shot in the fourth quarter, and then misfired three three-point field goals in overtime, including two tying shots in the final minute. O’Neal commented that “[Bryant] was the only guy who had the guts at the time to take shots like that.”
Bryant doesn’t have a favorite quote by a famous person; he doesn’t have a favorite quote from his career, either. He just takes a freestyle, stay-in-the-moment approach, and it results in him coloring outside the lines whenever he feels like it.
“About…2006-2007, I just got rid of the filter,” he said. “Just started saying whatever it is that I feel. It’s a lot easier that way.”
By
Kevin Ding http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2632570-his-body-failing-him-kobe-bryants-words-explain-a-career-we-wont-soon-forget
