[h1]Kobe Bryant is No. 1 in points, but that's all[/h1]
The Lakers are more than a basketball team, they are a social glue,connecting a diverse city with brightly splashed layers ofentertainment and excellence.
The Lakers are not aboutindividual statistics, they are about team championships, the annualpush by parts that are never greater than the whole, the quiet ownerwho never closes his wallet, the humble late announcer who never misseda game.
The Lakers have become Southern California's strongestand most enduring sports fabric not only because they win, but becauseof how they continually sacrifice their egos and agenda in theattainment of that victory.
When the Lakers drop a bedsheet above the floor at Staples Center and adorn it with, "Our team," fans howl because they believe.
Theybelieve it is their team because it is the kind of team they wouldcreate for themselves, built with as much hard work as Hollywoodlights, filled not only with showmen but neighbors.
Which brings us to Kobe Bryant's 25,208 points.
Inthe blink of a wide eye, it seems, the kid made Lakers history Mondaynight, setting the franchise career scoring record against Memphis,passing the great Jerry West in his 14th season, Mr. Clutch outdone by,well, Mr. Clutch.
It was a monumental achievement in anorganization where greatness is an expectation, and there are morechampionship rings than fingers. It was a third-quarter fastbreak dunkthat provided first an exclamation point, then a question.
Does this make Kobe Bryant the greatest Laker ever?
Spoiler alert.
No.
Scoringthe most points doesn't make Bryant the greatest Laker any more thandriving in the most runs makes Steve Garvey the greatest Dodger.
It is about more than that, and Bryant may get there yet, but he's not there now.
Hemay be the best player in the current NBA, and could wind up as thebest player in NBA history, but amid the rich history of his own team,Bryant remains third.
Magic Johnson is first. His fivechampionships are one more than Bryant has won, his revolutionizing ofthe assist changed basketball, and his leadership in community businessdevelopment has changed several inner cities. All this while serving asa worthy pioneer in the battle against the former stigma and shameassociated with HIV.
West is second. He won only onechampionship as a player, but then as club executive helped build eightmore. As a player, he was such a solid presence, the league's logo is adrawing of his silhouette. As a general manager, he's the one whobrought Bryant here in the first place.
Bryant is third, barelyahead of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Elgin Baylor. It's third with abullet. It's third with still no stop in sight.
But the twoRushmore-like figures will be difficult for him to scale. Bryant willnever be completely embraced like Magic, or completely revered likeWest, because what makes him so great is what makes everyone else sounnerved. His killer instinct can be unsettling. His serious demeanorcan be intimidating.
And will his teammates ever stop carping about how he doesn't pass them the ball?
Howtypical that on a night he breaks the record, the Lakers lose and oneof his teammates throws a dart at him for shooting too much.
Ithappened Monday after the 95-93 loss in which Bryant took 28 of theLakers' 73 shots, an unwieldy 38%. At least one buddy couldn't evenhonor him for the record without questioning him for the shots.
"I'm proud of him, I congratulate him," Pau Gasol said. "Now we can focus on winning games again."
Gasol was just getting started.
"Obviously we're not making a conscious effort on pounding the ball inside," Gasol said. "So we settled a little bit too much."
Aday later, with Bryant not available for comment, both Gasol and DerekFisher reiterated the idea that sometimes even the greats can try to betoo great.
Gasol talked about getting more players involved, andFisher even invoked exact statistics from the previous night, sayingthat one player taking 38% of the shots is just too much.
"This is a tough one for me, guys," Fisher said. "But winning is what it comes down to."
We'veheard this before. I've spouted it before. But enough already. Bryant'sball hogging has become four-time championship hogging. For now, histeammates should stop moaning and count their money.
You wantthe ring? You accept Bryant's need for the bling. You want him to havethe energy and attention required to make those last-second shots? Thenyou put up with all the earlier ones.
"From the time I took overthis team till probably the time I leave, that's always been an issue,"Coach Phil Jackson said Tuesday about Bryant's shooting. "One of ourfirst team meetings was about the fact that Kobe wasn't passing theball . . . that whole crew, they wanted to sit down and talk about itas a team."
But Jackson said he has no problems with him now.
"That'sa fine line that he has to balance himself," Jackson said. "We had atalk about three years ago when he went off on that rampage. . . . He'sbeen very good since then."
He was very good Monday night. WhatGasol failed to mention was that, by not pounding the ball inside,Bryant made 57% of his shots and scored 44 points and could have wonthe game if he didn't actually pass up a final shot.
What Gasolalso failed to mention is that despite the loss, the Lakers remain thebest team in basketball and the favorite to defend their championship.
I can think of 25,208 reasons why.
Link:
http://www.latimes.com/sp...b03,0,717519,full.column
Good article. I agree with a lot Plashcke says on that article.
