So, it’s Kobe’s birthday. He’s 39 years young today and to celebrate the NBA posted this tremendous video of Kobe’s top play against every team he ever faced. What’s a nice touch is that we actually get multiple plays against some franchises who have moved or re-branded. So we get the Charlotte Hornets and the Bobcats, the Vancouver and Memphis Grizzlies, etc.
This thing is 11 minutes of pure fun. Seriously, sit back and enjoy.
For his 39th Birthday, we celebrate with @KobeBryant‘s BEST PLAY vs. each team! #NBABDAY https://t.co/Y4aZVSMaYI
— NBA (@NBA) August 23, 2017
One of the takeaways from the above, for me at least, is that while most of these are obvious, I might have included different ones for some of the teams. Like, I knew Kobe’s game winner against the Suns was going to be included, but I might have chosen one of these, too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5MOi8TMGdQ
or…
Even against the Blazers, his OT game winner to clinch the Pacific Division in Portland was huge and unforgettable. But, I might have chosen “the lob”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLOMEmRQ40U
There’s many other examples like this, but I think you catch my drift.
This also brings me to another point…Kobe really was a highlight king. Of course there was substance behind the flash; you don’t accomplish what Kobe did in his career or win at the levels he did as such a major contributor without having the foundational game as support.
But Kobe seemed to also have an innate ability to turn a mundane moment into a lasting memory. His combination of fundamental skill + flair for executing the spectacular made every night a must watch. You just never knew if he was going to hit an impossible shot, suck the air out of the arena with a majestic dunk, or, yes, offer late game heroics to pull out a win.
On that last point — and this should probably be its own post, but I don’t care — as the way people interpret and understand the game changes; as our collective values shift toward analytics, efficiency, and a re-imagination of the right way to play occurs, Kobe will be judged more harshly. His TS% or EFG% won’t stand out in comparison to guys like, say, Durant or Curry. His PER or other catch-all metrics might not place him as close to the top of all-time lists as some fans or (even) some analysts might like. I even know what the “clutch” numbers say.
For me, though, I saw Kobe’s entire career. And I know what I felt when watching him play; what I felt when a game was close; what I sensed the other team feeling in those same situations. And those things matter too. Or at least they do to me. For a long stretch, there were few players as feared and respected as Kobe Bryant. Coaches schemed him that way and players responded to him that way. No, he didn’t hit every shot. And, in looking back, I really couldn’t care less about that.
Kobe gave me a feeling when I watched him that went well beyond the numbers — some of which were damn great too, I should add. And, for that, I’ll remain forever thankful.
So, Happy Birthday Kobe. You glorious S.O.B. You gave so many fans 20 years of unedited greatness and a bunch teams the business. As the video above attests to.
Moto says
Forgot how explosive he was. The last few years were painful to watch. Really fun video to watch.
ThomasF says
Kobe developed his game before advanced metrics were a thing. When he was a kid his goal was to exceed MJ, and the path he took to do that was to take the most spectacular plays made in history and make them a regular part of his game.
His efficiency of course suffered, but in every other respect he succeeded. He would take and make high difficulty shots, sometimes on almost every possession. His ability to do that is what made him so feared.
If he was coming up now I have little doubt he’d be an advanced metrics superstar, because it would be important to him, and because he’s one of, if not the greatest, talents in NBA history.
Clutch15 says
I hate recontextualizing history through a modern lense which appears to be what the sports world loves doing above everything else. Kobes advanced stats will be down as he grew up in an era of isolation guards and dominant big men. The amazing thing is that he was so good at it that he was able to succeed at it through multiple eras of the league.
He also always had teams with multiple post scorers not spread out offensespacked with shooters like modern teams so his points where much harder to come by
Tom Daniels says
The counting stats show Kobe’s phenomenal ability, the advanced stats his flaws. There is nothing in the advanced stats that represents an unfair re-appraisal. We all watched him try to do too much himself, try to make plays that weren’t there (until he made them be there). He was great – athletically and fundamentally sound in a powerful way. AND he frequently offended the basketball gods. Raise you hand if, in his time, you would have described Kobe as “efficient” just by the eye test.
It was a difference between Kobe and Jordan. Jordan was a wiser player. It is why he was better. Kobe was more fun to watch, he was just as talented and just as driven. And his tunnel vision could be incredibly frustrations, especially when Shaq was down low with some guy who couldn’t handle him at all.
Kobe was great, stupendous. And frustrating.
Adam says
Fair assessment! It’s why I’ve always enjoyed watching Kobe more than his contemporaries, i.e. Lebron, wade, McGrady. His game was more entertaining and enthralling, more artistic!
Kobe was an artist amongst effective house painters.
BDJ says
The one against Houston should have been his dunk on Yao.
Craig W. says
Kobe is my favorite player of the last 25 years. I loved watching Wilt, but that is simply a lost cause – 50 years later.
The player who really tweeked the ‘talking heads’ gods was KAJ. Put him on a team – in his prime – and put Jordan – in his prime – on that same team and let them play each other. Which team would win? My money is on KAJ.
You youngsters simply don’t understand how KAJ was totally unstoppable and how he controlled all of the paint. An agile and really talented center has always been able to control the NBA game. It is GSWs greatest vulnerability – though there isn’t a center talent capable of taking advantage of this. Even great 3pt shooters miss 60% of the time.
Kobe is a bit like KAJ – you have to come to him – and this does not sit well with the ‘talking heads’ so he will not get any credits from the media. It has to be us fans that demand he be included.
TC says
Kareem’s genius was in developing an unblockable shot. With every year that goes by he seems greater by virtue of the failure of any other center to employ that unblockable shot and thus their vulnerability to typical defense. Kareem was also intelligent and reserved. That didn’t play well with scribes who took that reserve as disdain. Kareem was still a major threat at age 40 although James Worthy had probably supplanted him as a greater threat on the Lakers. Still though, that sort of staying power – and his consistency over 21 years really does not get enough credit.
Goofcat says
Kobe’s sense for the moment was second to none, he knew when and how to rip the other team’s heart out, stab it, stomp on it, and kick it to the curb. He had mental ownership of the league. The other teams just knew when Kobe was on, there was nothing they can do but lose!
Tom Daniels says
Kareem is the guy who I always come back to in GOAT discussions. I think too many people remember his last five seasons, the peak of the Showtime Lakers. He was 37-42 years old in those seasons. He was still great, until the last year. But he was a shadow of his younger self. The problem was the Lakers lost West and Baylor and Chamberlain to retirement and then traded the rest of the team for Kareem. It took a long time for him to have a worthy supporting cast. But he was a monster.
davethemailman says
One thing I noticed about Kobe which I didn’t see in any other superstar, is that at least once each game he would take some really horrible stupid shot. At least once. A “heatcheck” or something. Lots of other superstars, Tim Duncan, etc. were mature enough not to take a bad shot the whole game. Of course Kobe was great, but he did have that bad habit.
CraigW. says
The thing you have to remember is that he actually made quite a number of those shots. It is often those shots that people take away from games. The show must go on – the SAS are an example of a team that doesn’t take chances. They do win a lot, but they are not the draw a GSW or Houston is. Kobe always brought the money to every arena he played in.
LT Mitchell says
Klay Thompson’s offense suffered in a big way during the postseason because so much of his energy went into guarding opposing PG’s and being the defensive stopper. This allowed guys like Curry to flourish on offense. Analytics would suggest Klay had an awful postseason. In reality, he had a huge impact in helping his team to the championship.
Kobe was not only the defensive stopper for most of his career, he was also the main playmaker, as well as the main scorer. He basically had triple the responsibilities that Klay had, and still had enough energy to thrive in all three areas. Magic, Bird, Kareem, Michael Jordan……none of these guys had to take on that much responsibilities for their teams to succeed…. And I haven’t even mentioned the injuries Kobe played through that would make mere mortals weep and miss months of playing time.
Analytics are only useful to a certain degree. In my book, amongst non centers, Kobe is right up there with Jordan.
Clay Bertrand says
Danny Ainge is such a smug-ass D-Bag……..I hope Altman and the Cavs can extract more assets from Mr. Chipotle for dealing a dinged up IT. Ainge publicly admitting his injury played a part in the decision to deal him then declaring that he can’t comment on the Celtics moves this Summer saying, “the Summer’s not over yet…” implying he’s got more miraculous moves in the pipe is just Ainge oozing with arrogance.
Trading an injured guy as the centerpiece of a blockbuster and telling the press that his injury is one of the reasons you traded him is sooo Ainge. He can’t help but be a d*ck. His cup of Smuggness overfloweth…….
IT had a hip injury. Everyone knew about it to an extent because he went down in the playoffs. NBA people are fearful of hip ailments and hip surgeries have never proven to be very successful for basketball players. IT at 29 is and has been angling for a huge cash in pay day upon his upcoming free agency (“Back up the Brinks Truck”). Who could blame him?? He’s been perhaps the most underpaid “star” in the league save for Steph Curry the last few seasons.
The problem is that his hip injury would greatly affect IT’s ability to get a mega deal if he has surgery or if word gets out on the severity of his injury and the uncertainty of his return time next season. SO, no surgery and a low profile rehab that have pushed his LIKELY return a couple months into the upcoming season—-IT’s “contract year”.
Ainge should have just shut his damn mouth and let it play out on its own. MAYBE, MAYYYYYBEEEE, Cleveland would have taken the deal as is. But that’s not Danny Ainge. He has to KILL every deal he makes. So he openly admits when asked about it that that the IT injury played a part in his trade. He even speculated on how much time he might miss.
I heard a speech in College at a Sports Business Club seminar and the speaker was an old guy who had worked with Red Auerbach. Now I hate the Celtics…..I mean I hate EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM. But it was interesting to hear how Red liked to negotiate and the tone he carried through negotiations and beyond. The key thing according to this guy was that Red of course ALWAYS wanted to win every trade he ever made—BUT, Red told this guy one time, “It isn’t enough to win a trade deal. You have to win it BUT make the other side think THEY won it.”
Ainge never learned that interesting approach. He wins trades then gloats and rubs other teams faces in it in his own way. I hope this time, it comes back to bite him and he has to cough up another pick like the Laker pick the Celtics own. D-bag Danny deserves it.
BUCK FOSTON AND BUCK INDIANA PANSIES too while we’re at it!!!!!!!!!!!
TC says
Not only did he have a hip injury but he played in the playoffs the day after his sister died. The guy’s heart is astonishing. He deserves more loyalty when he left it out there for them. Ainge really is like a fantasy owner who just loves making deals, just that he really IS an owner and “his” players are real people with real feelings.