I'm dedicating this blog to one of my favorite athletes that I had the pleasure to watch in Kobe Bryant. As you may or may not know after 20 years in the league, he will be retiring at the end of the season. He is one of the most competitive players that I have ever seen in any sport. I think that's what makes him so great. You can have all the talent in the world but if you don't have that drive and hunger to make yourself better, it can have a bigger impact on your success than talent alone. He is one of the reasons I got into basketball. I never got to see Michael Jordan play but people say he is the closest thing to Michael Jordan. Those 81 points he dropped on the Toronto Raptors I don't think will ever be eclipsed, unless the league makes it more impossible to play defense. But he was just so fun to watch. I do think he is retirement ceremony has dragged on for too long because teams are not really trying when they compete against Kobe. It's more like an exhibition.
My favorite team is the Los Angeles Lakers. I feel bad for the organization though because I don't see them going anywhere soon with the management we have now. It's so sad to see one of my favorite players go out like this. The young talent we have now just isn't that good. I don't think they will develop and mature to be all stars and members of a championship team. If you look at Minnesota and Utah, those teams are a bit older but I don't think the personnel we have now will ever be enough to beat those guys. I feel like the front office should go after players who are interested in playing defense. I would love to see Kobe somewhere in upper management because I think he has a keen eye for talent. But it doesn't appear it will be that way.
I've also been a die hard Lakers fan since day one. It's going to be weird watching games in the future, but I do believe that Jordan Clarkson and D'Angelo Russell are solid young talents. They just need to develop the weaker aspects of their games.
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting that who the management is can so affect the players' performance. I feel as the USC has been in a similar circumstance in recent years. It doesn't matter how good the players are if they don't have a strong leader behind them.
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