Some might feel that we’re just ridin’ Kobe’s coattails when we say he’s the best player we’ve seen play basketball since Jordan, but, I assure you, we’re not.

This young man has such a flare for the dramatic until it doesn’t even make sense.  With time running out, there is no one else in the game that you want taking that shot more than # 24.  Last night in a desperate attempt to end a 3 game losing streak, the Lakers went to their money horse and Mr. Bryant delivered….

Kobe Bryant, who happens to be the best player in the world right now, has teamed up with Aston Martin to sell some of the most expensive sneakers ever designed.  Peep game folks…

Nike has combined forces with Aston Martin for a very special edition Nike Hyperdunk Kobe Bryant Aston Martin edition. This special shoe is like no other and features premium leathers and the Aston Martin logo on the tongue. This shoe is a must have for anyone that is a collector of Hyperdunks and Kobe Bryant shoe. This shoe is limited to 500 pieces and will not be hitting stores until the spring. Don’t sleep on these.

Mediaoutrage-  How many MO readers will be copping these?

Photo Source

The best finisher in basketball did it again last night in his return game against the Memphis Grizzlies.  Kobe had sat out for 5 straight games from an ankle injury and also missed the All-Star game.  Well, that was more than enough of a respite to propel him back to his heroic ways…

GQ knows whats up in the basketball world.  They tapped Kobe Bryant to cover their latest issue.  He spoke about Shaq in the article…

This is what he had to say about his verbal battle with Shaq:

“The biggest mistake I made was responding to what he was saying about me. Once I responded, now that made it seem like I was part of that whole thing. It’s like, Okay, these two are against each other. As opposed to just staying quiet, which is what I’ve been doing the last few years. Let him say what he needs to say.”

We knew the fans were astute.  Last night, Kobe Bryant, was voted Player of the Decade by millions of fans around the world.  Shaquille O’Neal, Lebron James, Tim Duncan and Steve Nash (Steve Nash?!?!? WTF?!?!) were all in the runnings but there can only be one.

Kobe Bryant took 54% of the votes with Lebron getting 17%.  Who could really deny this man that honor?  We watched last night as Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Chris Webber, Kevin McHale and Charles Barkley all made their cases for who they felt deserved the honor.  Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Chris Webber argued in Shaq’s favor.  All of them need to lay off the SYRUP…

Jay-Z, Diddy and Lebron James posed for pictures Saturday night during the 4th Annual Two Kings Dinner in Dallas.  There were nothing but ballers in the building.  When we say ballers, we’re talking the ones with long money.  Gayle King, Russell Simmons, Jerry Jones, Jamie Foxx, Bernard Hopkins, Kobe and Vanessa, D Wade, Drake and plenty more were enjoying the atmosphere…

Kobe Bryant won’t be throwing on a Western conference All-Stars uniform this year because of a hurt ankle.

B-ball fans can wonder no more whether Kobe Bryant will play in this weekend’s All-Star game.

That’s because Thursday the NBA announced that Bryant would not play because of a sprained left ankle.

The Lakers guard will be replaced by Dallas veteran Jason Kidd.

Bryant has missed the Lakers’ last three games and did not speak with reporters about his All-Star status after sitting out a victory over Utah on Wednesday.

It will be the first All-Star game Bryant has missed since the 1999 lockout and the first time he has not participated in a game that has been played since his rookie season in 1997.

Bryant was co-most valuable player of the game last season with Shaquille O’Neal.

Allen Iverson the Philadelphia 76ers’ guard will also miss Sunday’s All-Star game for personal reasons and will be replaced by the New York Knicks’ David Lee.

Last night Kobe Bryant did exactly what we always knew he would do, which is, become the highest scoring Lakers’ player ever.  He surpassed Jerry West with a dunk in a losing effort against the Memphis Grizzlies.  WTF?!?!  Peep the footage and article when you

Via Lakers:

Kobe Bryant is the greatest scorer in Lakers history.

Ever.

Not Shaq. Not Magic Johnson, James Worthy or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Not Gail Goodrich, Elgin Baylor or even Mr. Clutch himself, Jerry West, whom Bryant passed with a gutsy end-of-road-trip performance in Memphis.

After 13 days on the road, most of the Lakers looked like they simply wanted to hop on Monday night’s charter back to Los Angeles. But with the team down 11 points in the second quarter, Bryant scored the final 13 of the quarter himself to get to 23 points, five shy of West’s 25,182.

Then in the third quarter, Bryant exploded through the paint for consecutive slam dunks, the latter a breakaway two-hander that got him to 29 points on the night and 25,183 for his career, surpassing West by a point.

Earlier this season, we had the opportunity to speak with Jerry West himself. Who better, after all, to talk about Kobe than the man who drafted the skinny 17-year-old out of Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia.

Here’s a portion of the transcript from our interview with West, which took place at his house in late December:

Mike Trudell: On what West saw in Kobe Bryant during his first workout in Santa Monica as a 17-year old.
Jerry West: It really wasn’t that difficult at all to be honest with you. I think when people see him playing, they want to compliment someone for doing something that was easy to do. He was just incredibly skilled. His determination level was frankly off the charts. His desire to compete was incredible. He was raw … when young players come into the league, I think they look at themselves as having to get out and score a bunch of points to impress people, (but) the greatest players are the best all-around players. We throw the word ‘superstar’ around so loosely. There are very few superstars, and he had the ability to be one. But could he take this enormous skill and harness it into being a player that would help a team win, and win on a high level.

MT: On Bryant’s unparalleled will and consistency:
West: He just keeps getting better and better and better. Just watching him play this year, I think this will be his greatest year ever. He will be the most valuable player in the league this year. He will be. His play has been that great. And to watch him do that year after year after year – that’s the thing that the average person does not understand, how difficult it is to prepare yourself to play every night, and knowing that ultimately, you’re going to make a team win. He’s going to make a team win. You take him off that team, they’d still be a good team because they’re talented up front, but they would lose their confidence. He brings confidence to the table through his play and his incredible desire. You don’t have to ask him to compete, and when I watch him play, I say to myself, ‘My God, here’s the second coming of Michael Jordan.’ He’s reached that status as a player.

MT: On how much Kobe’s game has developed:
West: I watch him today, and I just marvel at how good he’s gotten, and also how he’s subtlety changed his game. He’s not the player that would run and dunk over people all the time, he’s learned how to finesse the ball in the basket. He’s got a great low post game now. He’s almost an impossible task (to guard). People say, well, that was an unbelievable shot – other people can’t do those things, OK? But for him, it’s not an unbelievable shot, it’s something that’s become commonplace for him, and you expect it from him. He’s just been one of the most remarkable players – I think in overall talent – and again I don’t know how you judge players other than talent – I think he’s probably been the greatest all-around player that the Lakers have ever had. And when I talk about all-around, I’m talking about defense, and his ability to score the ball, his competitiveness and the fact that his teams win. You watch Magic Johnson play, a completely different player. He was incredible and I love Magic, but I think for pure talent and pure ability to go out and dominate a game the way he can dominate on the offensive end, and then to watch him defend – he’s become a very good defender. He’s become a great teammate. This is a long process from the time he was 17-years-old … there is something that some people were born with, and he was born with ‘it.’ How do you describe ‘it’?

MT: On the similarity between West and Kobe in terms of an ability to play both offense and defense.
West: I really don’t reflect a whole lot back on my career, but it was something that I was taught early on in life. My high school coach talked about the importance of being a defensive player. The one thing that Kobe, because he scores so easily and makes shots late in the game, people tend to forget that that’s one of the things that sets him apart because he is an all-around player. But you have to have drive to compete at a high level. I know it probably makes a lot of people in Los Angeles mad that I don’t mention a Lakers player in Michael Jordan’s breath, but it’s impossible to compare players to different players. And the reason I think Michael Jordan is the greatest player that we’ve ever seen – I didn’t say the greatest winner, I didn’t say the greatest leader, but the greatest player we’ve ever seen – (is because) he was Chicago’s best scorer, the league’s best scorer, he was also the best defensive player in the league. And with all due deference to Scottie Pippen – (who) was a terrific defensive player – he wasn’t I don’t think in Michael Jordan’s caliber. I just have so admired players that play at both ends of the court and compete at that level, and like I say, Kobe Bryant is right there with (Jordan) in terms of the way he competes and the way he approaches the game. He’s not going to lose, and his determination has set him apart from players of all generations.

For all those HATERS that continue to doubt that this man is the best basketball player we’ve seen since Michael Jordan, well, here’s more proof lol lol.  What up DT!  There is no better CLUTCH player in the game. Period, POINT blank.

Not only is he the best player on the planet but rightfully so has the hottest selling jersey in the league for the 2nd consecutive year, a feat that Jordan accomplished many times.  Peep game…

Via Yahoo Sports:

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant has retained the No. 1 spot on the NBA’s most popular jerseys list, a ranking he has held since the start of the ‘08-09 season. The rankings are based on sales at the NBA Store in New York City and NBAStore.com since the start of the ‘09-10 season.

Kobe is on top (don’t say it!), LeBron James’ Cavs’ thread is second, Magic man Dwight Howard is third, and checking in at number four, ahead of superstar Dwyane Wade, is Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose.

The biggest surprise, of course, is Rose, who climbed seven spots from his No. 11 ranking last year.

Here’s a look at the Top 15:

1. Kobe Bryant, Lakers
2. LeBron James, Cavaliers
3. Dwight Howard, Magic
4. Derrick Rose, Bulls
5. Dwyane Wade, Heat
6. Kevin Garnett, Celtics
7. Chris Paul, Hornets
8. Paul Pierce, Celtics
9. Shaquille O’Neal, Cavaliers
10. Pau Gasol, Lakers
11. Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets
12. Steve Nash, Suns
13. David Lee, Knicks
14. Allen Iverson, 76ers
15. Kevin Durant, Thunder

In related NBA cash news, the Lakers once again top the list of most popular NBA team merchandise. The Celtics hold on to the No. 2 spot for the second year in a row and the Cavaliers move up from No. 4 last season to No. 3.