5 Harsh Realities about Kobe Bryant

We are close to six weeks out from the time the Los Angeles Lakers honored Kobe Bryant with a jersey retirement ceremony at Staples Center. The end of this season will mark two years since the 2008 league MVP retired on April 13th, 2016. Despite that, he's been present and celebrated in different ways since his last game.

In December of 2016, he was present on stage when the Lakers were honoring Shaquille O'Neal with his own statue outside the arena. A couple of months later, he was present at the press conference when the franchise was announcing Rob Pelinka, his former agent, as their General Manager. His jersey retirement (#8 and #24) has already been discussed. He was part of the team that designed the team's City Edition jerseys, which were released 10 days later.

He was often been touted as the "greatest Laker to ever play the game". He has been discussed in the Top 10 All-Time list but as great as Bryant is, there are a few very notable chinks in his armor.

#5 Coachability

Bryant with Phil Jackson

Bryant has won five championships - three straight from 2000 to 2002 and back-to-back in 2009 and 2010 but he won all of them under the same head coach - Phil Jackson. Now, winning all of his titles with the same coach is not a shot against Bryant's greatness, even Tim Duncan did but the San Antonio Spurs' legend adjusted his playing style for the team's benefit everytime it was required. The same can't be said for the Black Mamba.

Maybe it was because of the success he tasted with The 'Triangle Offense' that made him reluctant to change to any other system. Having said that, Bryant was always a bucket getter and has rarely taken a step back on that front. He was always of the firm belief that it was better for the team if he took more shots rather than trusting somebody less worthy.

Since Shaq was traded from the team in 2004, Bryant played under three head coaches other from Jackson - Mike Brown (42-29), Mike D'Antoni (67-87) and Byron Scott (38-126). The team didn't do great under either of them, largely in part due to lack of roster talent, which frustrated Bryant even more, whenever he would play that is.

From 2013-16, out of a possible 246 games, Bryant only played in 107 (66 of which were in his final season).

He did bang heads with Jackson as well but it was easier for him to respect him, given the success Jackson had achieved as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls in the 1990's.

#4 Bryant's final contract hurt Lakers' rebuilding process

Kobe Bryant signing his last contract with the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 25th, 2013.

When it came to signing his last contract, Bryant was only going to sign for the maximum money possible. That amount turned out to be $48 million for a two-year contract from 2014 to 2016, signed six months in advance.

He might have looked at it as money well deserved, for all the success that he had bought the franchise but they were paying him quite handsomely even during the last two of his five championships. Over the course of his last contract (2014-16), the Lakers went 38-126, of which Bryant only played 101 games.

If this contract was looked from the eyes of a non-Lakers fan or anybody that looks at things objectively, the contract was wrong and bad for two reasons.

• While Bryant signed this mega contract, other veterans like Tim Duncan ($10.3 million in 2014-15 and $6 million in 2015-16) and Dirk Nowitzki (combined $16.2 million from 2014-16) were taking huge pay cuts to allow their teams to build a contending team around them.
• After the Lakers' failed attempt at a championship with a superteam in 2012-13, the franchise had to clear change plans and rebuild. Bryant's huge contract was a big sum on the team's account books and it held them back from offering any new free agents huge deals.

#3 Loyal?

NBA Finals Game 6: Los Angeles Lakers v Boston Celtics

From recent events like the Blake Griffin and Isaiah Thomas trades, it's clear there is no loyalty in the league. Because he played all of his 20 seasons with the Lakers, many consider Bryant to be loyal but is that really the case?

Sticking with a team that is winning, can't exactly be called loyal. In his time with the franchise, there were only a couple of times his loyalty was tested.

After Shaq's departure, the Lakers had about three seasons of mediocrity. Bryant went berserk during those seasons, unleashing his offensive arsenal on the league but even he had enough. Not being able to compete at a championship level, he asked for a trade request in summer of 2007 on a radio show.

From ESPN News Services:

The story lines that have engulfed the Los Angeles Lakers in the last week hit a crescendo Wednesday when Kobe Bryant said he would welcome a trade.

"I would like to be traded, yeah," Bryant said on 1050 ESPN Radio in New York. "Tough as it is to come to that conclusion there's no other alternative, you know?"

Bryant, interviewed by Stephen A. Smith, was asked if there was anything the Lakers could do to change his mind?

"No," Bryant said. "I just want them to do the right thing."

The franchise didn't budge and he played on in the 2007-08 season. Eventually, the organization traded for Pau Gasol in February of 2008 and Bryant with a new All-Star to depend on took the team to three straight Finals appearances, of which they won two.

The second time the Lakers were not competent in his time with the team (2013-16), he signed a huge contract ensuring that his last payday was his biggest.

#2 Bryant was never the best player in the league any year

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James

At the fag end of last decade, the argument to pick Kobe Bryant over LeBron James was championships, All-Star Games, Finals' losses or lack thereof. While he still holds the edge in these categories, it's a dwindling argument given James' four league MVPs. Anyway, the point isn't about who is better all-time, it's how some player or the other was better than Bryant.

Till he was with Shaq, it was difficult to pip as the best player. Once he came out of the Hall of Famer's shadow, there were other players' that were taking the league by storm and more importantly being more valuable to their team ala Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki. Probably the most difficult thing to swallow from Bryant's decorated resume is that he only has one league MVP award, and that too was debatable given how well Chris Paul had led with the New Orleans Hornets.

He was named MVP in 2008 and although after that won a couple of championships with the Lakers, the James' era had begun. And if a player wanted to win an MVP after 2009, they needed an outstanding season, which was going to difficult given that Bryant was already 31 in 2009.

#1 Bryant is not the "Greatest Laker Ever"

Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant

As the Lakers repeatedly honored or mentioned Bryant through the last couple of seasons, Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, who is currently the President of Basketball Operations for the Lakers, hasn't held back calling Bryant the greatest Laker to ever play.

The Lakers are one of the prestigious and most successful franchises in NBA history. Their tally of 16 championships is second only to the Boston Celtics (17).

Naming Bryant as the outright best player of a franchise that has seen numerous great players - Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. These two greats, that were the pillars of the 1980's Showtime Lakers, are the real players along with Bryant competing for the throne of the "Greatest Laker Ever".

So Magic Johnson didn't play as many seasons as Bryant but his success/year rate is tremendous. If we were to give Bryant the thumbs-up for longevity, which is a weak one anyway, he would lose that to Jabbar, who has six MVPs (three with the Lakers) to his name. Not to mention Jabbar's six titles and various other multiple achievements.