The ultimate Kobe Bryant meme. Consisting of his knack to hog the ball and his more annoying tendencies on the court, his flair for injuries over the last three seasons and the 81 points his fans love reminding everyone about.
No one can take away what Bryant has done in basketball. The scoring, the NBA titles, the MVP (and MVPs in the finals). One of the greatest players in the history of the game. So what if he’s not as good as Michael Jordan? Everyone else isn’t as good as him either, and that doesn’t take away from what players like Magic Johnson, Bill Russell and others have achieved.
But Bryant is ruining it for himself (and the Lakers) over the last few years. The contract he signed that killed their ability to maneuver under the salary cap. His inability to cope with his breaking down body, resulting in some embarrassing shooting performances and the overall attitude of someone who is more worried about getting respect from teammates, media and fans than actually doing what’s good for him and the team.
Bryant is entering his 20th NBA season, having played just 41 games over the last two seasons and not appearing in the playoffs himself since 2012. He’s not going to make it this year too, but it’s probably going to be better for everyone if he doesn’t try to steal the show once again, jacking up 20.4 shots per game and hitting only 37.3% of them like he did last season.