QFT...Originally Posted by Lizaker4Lizife
People on NT actin like they know this stranger in his personal life
We all only know what he does ON the court and what the media portrays to us.
None of us have hung out with dude or seen him day-to-day in his personal life.
Shame on all of you who act like you know him
NT takes this too seriously
when his wife say it? this dumb @%!$+ ******ed as hell.
CP1708:
I think a big issue that we all over look is the rape case.
That DESTROYED Kobe Bryant's image.
Please remember, Kobe WAS the NBA posterchild for tomorrow. He WAS the future. He was everything Stern could want.
A gifted athlete. Well spoken. No tatoos. A champion. Mega watt smile. Endorser. McDonalds, Addidas, Upper Deck, all of it.
He played like Mike, acted like Mike, wanted to be like Mike. He played in LA for Christ sakes.He was Stern's wet dream.
And then it was gone.
And then Kobe had to figure out what to do. He got tats. He got an edge. He chose his words carefully. Some interviews he tried to play it off, other interviews he talked about how much he was hated. He went this way and that way. He was moody, he was fake. And we'll NEVER know who he truly is.
We've heard stories FOR YEARS about how introverted he is. Wasn't it Brandy who said all he wanted to do was watch tape of himself?
The guy LIVES basketball. He's obviously cocky and spoiled. He had a red carpet in front of him from his junior year on, and then he messed up. Part of him prolly wants to get it back to where he was before the case, part of him prolly wants to be who he is AFTER the case. We have no idea.
On point with the synopsis of how it all crumbled. My only contention would be that before the rape case, I don't remember the league beingKobe's; I remember people talking about whether the league 'belonged' to Iverson, T-Mac, or Kobe, with Duncan and Garnett being outsidepossibilities limited by lack of playoff success (Garnett) and lack of flash (Duncan).
CP1708:
When Bron came on, Stern got that second chance. Great kid, big smile, funny, commercials that are classic due to Nike marketing and Bron's charm just comes out clean on screen. Talented, works on his game, going to be a champ at some point, everything the league could ever hope for. I guarantee you that if Bron screws up with a hotel nanny, Stern is takin the charge for him. Stern gettin charged with rape this time.
Maybe Kobe has issues with that. Maybe he's mad that he doesn't get this treatment anymore.
And to me, that's why it would be truly special to see those two go at in the finals. Kobe the one time future face of the league, vs the current face of the league. Both of them would be locked in. Both of them would not back down. And NBA fans would be given a true gift to witness it all.
I hope it happens. I hope both teams make it and we get to see it.
I don't, because I don't think it will bode well for us. The league is definitely more LeBron's right now than it is anyoneelse's, and most of us readily admit that one of the major problems with the NBA is that things are too obviously 'scripted' (for lack of a betterword) sometimes. Like, if Stern thinks that a Cavs/Lakers Finals would be a ratings wet dream, then... well... things can happen to make sure a Cavs/LakersFinals happens. With that in mind, I think a Cavs (LeBron) championship is what Stern wants... errrr, 'would like'... to see.
Originally Posted by EnEyeKayEe
Originally Posted by Diesel J
LOL @ this "act" from Kobe�
Kobe is more que$r than a 3 dollar bill.
EDIT: Yes, I'll admit he is an all-time great hooper.
Originally Posted by mustbetheshoe58
On point with the synopsis of how it all crumbled. My only contention would be that before the rape case, I don't remember the league being Kobe's; I remember people talking about whether the league 'belonged' to Iverson, T-Mac, or Kobe, with Duncan and Garnett being outside possibilities limited by lack of playoff success (Garnett) and lack of flash (Duncan).Originally Posted by 23ska909red02
CP1708:
I think a big issue that we all over look is the rape case.
That DESTROYED Kobe Bryant's image.
Please remember, Kobe WAS the NBA posterchild for tomorrow. He WAS the future. He was everything Stern could want.
A gifted athlete. Well spoken. No tatoos. A champion. Mega watt smile. Endorser. McDonalds, Addidas, Upper Deck, all of it.
He played like Mike, acted like Mike, wanted to be like Mike. He played in LA for Christ sakes.He was Stern's wet dream.
And then it was gone.
And then Kobe had to figure out what to do. He got tats. He got an edge. He chose his words carefully. Some interviews he tried to play it off, other interviews he talked about how much he was hated. He went this way and that way. He was moody, he was fake. And we'll NEVER know who he truly is.
We've heard stories FOR YEARS about how introverted he is. Wasn't it Brandy who said all he wanted to do was watch tape of himself?
The guy LIVES basketball. He's obviously cocky and spoiled. He had a red carpet in front of him from his junior year on, and then he messed up. Part of him prolly wants to get it back to where he was before the case, part of him prolly wants to be who he is AFTER the case. We have no idea.
CP1708:
23ska909red02:
CP1708:
I think a big issue that we all over look is the rape case.
That DESTROYED Kobe Bryant's image.
Please remember, Kobe WAS the NBA posterchild for tomorrow. He WAS the future. He was everything Stern could want.
A gifted athlete. Well spoken. No tatoos. A champion. Mega watt smile. Endorser. McDonalds, Addidas, Upper Deck, all of it.
He played like Mike, acted like Mike, wanted to be like Mike. He played in LA for Christ sakes.He was Stern's wet dream.
And then it was gone.
And then Kobe had to figure out what to do. He got tats. He got an edge. He chose his words carefully. Some interviews he tried to play it off, other interviews he talked about how much he was hated. He went this way and that way. He was moody, he was fake. And we'll NEVER know who he truly is.
We've heard stories FOR YEARS about how introverted he is. Wasn't it Brandy who said all he wanted to do was watch tape of himself?
The guy LIVES basketball. He's obviously cocky and spoiled. He had a red carpet in front of him from his junior year on, and then he messed up. Part of him prolly wants to get it back to where he was before the case, part of him prolly wants to be who he is AFTER the case. We have no idea.
On point with the synopsis of how it all crumbled. My only contention would be that before the rape case, I don't remember the league being Kobe's; I remember people talking about whether the league 'belonged' to Iverson, T-Mac, or Kobe, with Duncan and Garnett being outside possibilities limited by lack of playoff success (Garnett) and lack of flash (Duncan).
Eh, at the time, Iverson was heart and soul, but he was a problem child and certainly not the guy Stern wanted the face of the league to be. TMac was just barely one or two years in with ORL, and hadn't done jack other then look smooth in the regular season. Duncan had a title and aon his face all the time, league wasn't supportin that. And KG was def up and coming.
What I was tryin to say in a round about way was that they tried with Stackhouse, then Grant Hill to get that Michael clone to carry the league. Flyin thru the air, knockin down clutch shots, drive and dish, all those type plays. Then be solid off the court as well. Stack and Hill had part of all that, but certainly not the whole package. Kobe had it. 2004 comes, he's got 3 rings already, 30 points a game, clutch shots, slam dunk championship, Sprite, McD's, he was on his way. Then poof.
O.K., gotcha. You're saying that... yeah, there was a race to be the face of the league, but there was a serious problem with everyone in therace. Duncan had no flash (making him extremely unmarketable), Iverson was all kinds of talented but definitely too hood for the league to make him 'theone', T-Mac was too inexperienced at the beginning of the decade and certainly didn't have any real accomplishments for the league to be throwing himto the front line of marketability, and the same went for KG (lots of talent and flash, but no real accomplishments). And the league tried to make Stack andHill 'the one' at different times before all of them, but Stack lacked the staying power and success, and Hill got injured 43 different ways. And alongwith that whole crowd was Kobe, who was too introverted to already be 'the one', but around '03 and '04, he was starting to open up, meaning hewould be available to the fans, talented and successful on the court with his individual games and 3 rings... and then before the opportunity to be 'theone' really came to fruition, Colorado happened.
I agree. Had that never happened, he definitely would have fallen right into Stern's graces, and the torch we're talking about being handed to LeBronnow and in the next couple years, we'd be talking about that torch being in Kobe's hands for the last 5 years instead of the last couple years or so.
