Kobe Bryant: “I Have No Rivals…I’m Competing Against The Legacies Of Magic Johnson And Michael Jordan Left”
Posted by Media Outrage on March 5th, 2012
Kobe Bryant has never been one that lacked confidence or an understanding of where he ranks in history as far as the NBA is concerned. Let Kobe tell it he has absolutely no rivals at this point and really never did throughout his 16-year-career.
Peep game
Via ESPN
Lakers guard Kobe Bryant has always been lauded for his self-motivation and drive to be the best. It’s a good thing he has that internal ambition, because according to Bryant, he’s gone through his 16-year career without a true rival on the exterior to push him to succeed.
“I didn’t have one,” Bryant said after scoring 38 points in the Lakers’ 115-107 win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday.
The Lakers play host to the Miami Heat on Sunday. Bryant called it a “measuring stick” game against Miami, which has the third-best record in the league at 28-8 and is 3-0 against Bryant and the Lakers since “The Decision.”
Despite Bryant’s acknowledging that it’s not just another game, he wouldn’t characterize his relationship with LeBron James as a rivalry.
“Not for me,” Bryant said. “I get up for everybody just the same, to be honest. It’s hard for me to turn my meter up any higher than it normally is.”
OK, Bryant was asked, how about Dwyane Wade? After all, Wade plays shooting guard just as Bryant does, Wade has one Finals MVP trophy to Bryant’s two, and Wade has to be close to as competitive as Bryant or else he wouldn’t have given Bryant that hard foul across the face in the All-Star Game.
“He’s too young,” Bryant said. “He’s too young. When I came into the league, he was in elementary school.”
Bryant is three years older than Wade, but was already a seven-year veteran when Wade was drafted in 2003.
Bryant said it is “a little late in the game” for him to develop a rivalry with any current NBA player, so instead he is chasing names in the record books rather than in box scores from the 2011-12 season.
“At this point my rivals, in terms of what I have left to accomplish in my career, (left the game) when Magic (Johnson) and Michael (Jordan) retired in ’98,” Bryant said, referring to the second of Jordan’s three retirements that came after he won his sixth and final championship with the Chicago Bulls. “That’s it. In terms of what I’m looking to accomplish, that’s about it.”
Bryant has five championships, tied with Johnson — who won all of his with the Lakers — and is one ring behind Jordan. Earlier in the season, Bryant said he was “obsessed” with adding another championship to his collection.
“What I have left to accomplish, those players retired a long time ago,” Bryant said.
The San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan won four championships to Bryant’s five throughout their shared careers, but Bryant said while the Spurs might have qualified as a team rival to his Lakers, Duncan’s individual rivalry came against Shaquille O’Neal as a fellow big man.
“He was never in my position,” Bryant said. “He was more Shaq’s rival than mine. As a team, the Spurs were always a team that we had to go through. So from that standpoint, yes, but in terms of personally, no. I’ve outgrown them all, from A.I. (Allen Iverson) when I first came in to (Tracy) McGrady to Vince Carter and so forth and so on.”
Bryant said that he developed the desire to win multiple championships from an early age.
“It’s always what I want to accomplish,” Bryant said. “That’s what you set your goals at. Growing up, watching them, they’ve always won multiple championships and that was always something that I felt like must be done. So, my goal originally when I was a kid and so forth, and when I was a teenager, always started from gauging them.”
Mediaoutrage- LOL! Kobe is letting some of that arrogance leak out…. What say you about his perception on things???
March 5th, 2012 at 10:26 am
Something’s are better left unsaid Kobe. Like telling the police Shaq pay his women off to avoid trouble! That was some real sucka shit son! I probably need to let that one go though.
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Media Outrage Reply:
March 5th, 2012 at 10:49 am
LOL LOL LOL
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March 5th, 2012 at 12:04 pm
I’m with Chynaman. But his arrogance will be his downfall. yeah, he’s a DOPE basketball player, and one of the top 10 ever, but when he retires he will be a distant memory.
He will NOT be as marketable as Magic or Jordan. Maybe he doesn’t want to be, but once his playing days are done he’ll be history.
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March 5th, 2012 at 2:24 pm
It seems like thats what you are hoping for…wtf??? Also I don’t think he is being arrogant more so than honest. He really hasn’t had the one player like Magic/Bird, Russell/Wilt. Everyone that he was compared to in his era he outgrew or they themselves faded. Tim Duncan WAS NOT his rival Tmmy was Shaq’s rival seeing as though the played the same position most of time. If you dumbasses read the actual artical and see the video of the actual interview on BSPN then you would see ol boy wasn’t being arrogant at all.
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March 5th, 2012 at 2:51 pm
MJ didnt have anything close to a rival YET he didnt have to tell anybody. Kobe’s a great baller BUT he’s a arrogant cocksucker and the only people that dont think so are arrogant cocksuckers…
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Lady Blogga Reply:
March 6th, 2012 at 2:14 am
Lmao! Chynaman u be so on point! I read ur comments everyday and get laughs.
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crystal Reply:
July 13th, 2012 at 3:44 pm
Lmfao @ Chynaman
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March 6th, 2012 at 12:39 am
taht ‘s my boy right there
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March 6th, 2012 at 7:59 am
i know hes not trying to but everything about kobe is arrogant. certain things u jus doint say…let another persoin’s lips praise you. the most important thibg is that he will NEVER EVER EVER be better or greater than Jordan and the world will never embrace his bitch ass like they embraced Michael Jordan.
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March 6th, 2012 at 8:03 am
There will be no 6th championship for Kobe with that terrible team he has. I doubt that the addition of Dwight Howard would guarantee a ring. So he is retiring with 5 because they have zero chances of beating okc in a 7 gm series.
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March 29th, 2012 at 11:47 am
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March 30th, 2012 at 8:53 am
barring incoming calls for htc magic a6161 android g2…
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