|| LocK Dis Up ||

Bryant flies to Olajuwon's Katy, Texas, ranch in his private plane. He wants to learn it all: the devastating drop step, the fallaway, the Dream Shake. For four hours, Bryant implements the same moves, over and over again. Drive, stop, pivot, turn, release. Drive, stop, pivot, turn, release.

Take it slow, Olajuwon says. We need to break each move down. Use your quickness and agility to create room in the post.

"At first he was a little awkward because it wasn't his natural movement," Olajuwon says, "but by the time he was done he was so fluid. How quickly he got it -- that was unbelievable." Says Olajuwon, who's worked with Howard, Yao Ming and LeBron, among others: "Kobe was the one who got it the fastest and used it the most." As for Bryant's famous arrogance? "If you are all about ego, you don't come down to my ranch."

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tupac003 said:

View media item 1992874
Outside staples now waiting on this vault event....when I say this is nuts.

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As Bryant's career unfolds, he continues to seek insight from his own personal Mount Rushmore of NBA legends.

First comes Magic Johnson, part-owner of the Lakers and a man whose cellphone mailbox proves perpetually full. For whatever reason, Kobe says, "I had trouble getting to him."

But in the winter of 2009, with the Lakers coming off a crushing Finals loss to the Celtics the previous season, Bryant arrives three hours early at the practice facility and discovers Magic sitting in the breakfast room. The two sit together, alone, for two hours, Kobe chastising Magic for being critical about him in the press, Magic challenging Kobe to use his influence in the community.

"It was a breakthrough moment for us," Magic says. "At the time, Kobe was saying, 'I'm going to do my job, then I'm out.' I told him, 'No, you have to be more than that.' I said, 'What do you want your legacy to look like? It can't just be about winning championships and killing everybody.'"

Kobe listens, then counters. "My personality is more in line with Michael's than yours.'"

"That's fine," Magic says. "Nobody's saying you have to go around smiling, hugging people. That's me, not you. Stay you, but effect change by being you.

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A few years later, in the summer of 2000, after Bryant has won his first title and anticipates an extended run with teammate and occasional foil Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe feasts on Bill Russell's book Second Wind, marking pages that touch upon race, teamwork and coaching philosophies. He mentions the book to Michael Jackson, whom he still speaks with at least once a month, and the pop icon urges him to reach out to the Hall of Fame center, winner of 11 championships in 13 seasons with the Celtics.

"People say 'Bill Russell can't score,'" Russell tells Kobe by phone that August. "Well, I could score plenty, but we had other guys who were better at it, so I let them do it. Sometimes you have to step back to allow others to step forward."

Then Russell drops a gem about Wilt Chamberlain, his rival and longtime friend. There were times, Russell says, when he'd let Wilt score. "Bill didn't want to activate Wilt," Kobe says. "He felt if he defended Wilt too well, then Wilt would take that as a challenge. And if he did, Wilt was going to demolish Bill because he was so physically big and strong. So Bill felt if he could appease Wilt, let him score once in a while, then Wilt would remain satisfied and Bill could keep him at bay."

Bryant tucks it into his memory bank. "I'm thinking, 'That's Art of War s---. I'm going to try that.'"

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Bryant refuses to name players he used the strategy against. But former teammates and coaches have no such compunction, naming Tracy McGrady and, later, a young LeBron James as players Kobe rope-a-doped. When asked to confirm the names, Kobe laughs. "I will neither confirm or deny," he says.

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Th3RealF0lkBlu3s said:

He did Tracy like that? [emoji]129300[/emoji][emoji]129300[/emoji]

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Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

MR J 858 said:

View media item 1992905

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CP1708 said:

Some #'s before his final tally's tonight.

Including regular season AND playoffs, all in a Laker uniform

1,566 total games (including tonight)
57,236 total minutes + whatever tonight
39,223 points + tonight
8,162 rebounds +
7,342 assists + (likely going to stay the same after tonight. )
2,113 3's +
2,253 steals +
515 30 point games
134 40 point games
25 50 point games
4 60 point games
1 81 point game

25/5/5 for two full decades.

Kobe has scored the 3rd most points in NBA history.
He has the 3rd most playoff points in NBA history.
He has the 3rd most points in NBA history wearing the #8
He has the 3rd most points in NBA history wearing the #24
He has the 2nd most points in NBA All Star game history

Broken wrist, broken hand, multiple torn ligaments in wrist and fingers, torn rotator cuff, sprained shoulder, knee surgery, numerous ankle issues, achilles tear, eye laceration, finger laceration, fractured kneecap and played thru pretty much all of it give or take a few games. :x

I suppose I could have added up all the preseason/All Star stats, but not worth the hassle.

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5 Titles, 2 Finals MVP's, 1 MVP, 10 All NBA teams, 9 NBA Defensive teams

7 Finals appearances

Just under 30K points, 6100 rebounds, 5400 assists regular season, playoffs he sits at just under 5600 points, 1100 rebounds, and 1000 assists.

Quite possibly the second worst playoff season of his career. Detroit 04 being the worst mark on resume, being swept this year could be #2. The fact he missed the shot at the buzzer to get game 1 after blowing a 16 point lead will be brought up for years. But overall, his wins will overlook his losses. If he plays out his 3 year contract and enters the "Reggie Miller" portion of his career where he is the face of the franchise, but no longer the elite level he once knew, he will finish in the ball park of 33-34,000 points, 6500 boards, 5500 assists, and playoff numbers that will be tough to beat, possibly reaching 6,000 points to become the all time leader, and 1200 or so boards, with around the same amount of assists. What may shock people is, if he has a couple decent runs, say 2-3 rounds for the next 2-3 years, he could finish 4th all time in assists in the playoffs behind Magic, Stockton, and Kidd. Think about that for a minute. 4th all time in playoff assists, for Kobe the ballhog.

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Bryant comes to crave his talks with Abdul-Jabbar, whose reputation for being unapproachable is hardly a thing to stop Bryant. "So Kareem is aloof," Bryant says. "And Michael is supposed to be an a--hole because he made Steve Kerr cry. Doesn't matter to me. I made people cry too."

Indeed he did. Perhaps you've heard the legendary tale of how Kobe once elbowed teammate Sasha Vujacic in the face during a 2004-2005 practice, causing Vujacic to burst into tears? What you do not know is that following the incident, Kobe calls Jordan, seeking his counsel. Even Kobe wonders: Has he gone to far?

"Sometimes you have to be an a--hole," says Jordan today when asked about that conversation. "Sometimes your teammates are going to hate you, but all the guys I went after -- Luc Longley, Steve Kerr, Jud Buechler -- they won multiple championships, so I'm pretty sure they understand."

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Kal-El-8 said:

Headed to staples now

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Believe it or not, Byron Scott has what one source described as a "major chance" to stay with the Lakers; Jeanie Buss is said to be pushing for Scott behind the scenes. If so, it could clear the way for a top-to-bottom reset for the franchise in 2017, and the possible return of Jackson to run basketball operations with Luke Walton as the coach. There are a lot of dots to be connected to get from here to there, though -- not to mention a lot more games for the Lakers to lose.

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PMatic said:

Believe it or not, Byron Scott has what one source described as a "major chance" to stay with the Lakers; Jeanie Buss is said to be pushing for Scott behind the scenes. If so, it could clear the way for a top-to-bottom reset for the franchise in 2017, and the possible return of Jackson to run basketball operations with Luke Walton as the coach. There are a lot of dots to be connected to get from here to there, though -- not to mention a lot more games for the Lakers to lose.

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http://www.cbssports.com/nba/writer...-at-least-four-coaching-jobs-expected-to-open

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