As much as Wednesday’s game was built up to be about Bryant versus LeBron James for what would be the first of their final three meetings before Bryant retires (Sunday’s All-Star game and another regular season game in March), it really meant maybe even more to Irving. A star entering-and winning-the slam dunk contest during a time when stars still competed.
Advertisement
“When I first played in an All-Star game, imagine an 18-year-old, 19-year-old kid walking into a locker room and here’s John Stockton with his little itty-bitty shorts”.
3-Point Goals-L.A. Lakers 13-28 (L.Williams 4-6, Russell 3-5, Clarkson 3-5, Bryant 3-7, World Peace 0-5), Cleveland 13-31 (Irving 3-6, James 3-6, Smith 3-7, Jefferson 2-3, Love 2-5, Shumpert 0-2, M.Williams 0-2).
If you ask Bryant to pick out a specific memory from his times in Cleveland-which were not many despite a 20-year career-February 8, 2009 jumps out.
Late in the first half against the Lakers, Kevin Love took a pass down low, spun into the paint, and put up a soft shot. I’m basing this thought on Cavs-related tweets, and we all know Twitter lies at the intersection of reason and restraint. Rookie guard Devin Booker added 15 points and a career-best 10 assists.
When he was in high school and on the verge of becoming a household name, James met Bryant before playing against Carmelo Anthony in an All-Star game in Philadelphia. The rest of the team can rest on their laurels and get ready for a stretch run that hopefully concludes in June.
It’s the All-Star break.
Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have competed in two Olympics together. But Bryant didn’t want to go to Chicago if the team was forced to give up Deng.
However, apart from being a fantastic basketball player, Bryant is also a kind and generous human being. “Out-thinking guys becomes more important than out-jumping guys”, says Wade. I just missed that thing completely.
Long removed from the days of being a wiry kid from Lower Marion high school, Bryant looks more scholarly despite being just 37 years of age. The trade to go to Cleveland? Unfortunately, we never got to see the Kobe-LeBron NBA Finals that everyone, including the two future Hall of Famers, wanted to see, despite the fact that they have combined to play in the past nine Finals.
The Cavaliers said goodbye to Kobe Bryant on Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena. I don’t know if people still debate the merits of his off-season payday, but the man earned his keep in this game. “We talk about the game, we talk about different strategies that center around the game”.
“For me, it didn’t feel right averaging 27 and then being a role player averaging 10”, O’Neal said.
Advertisement
Obviously Kobe and LeBron have a complicated history with one another as their greatness in the history of the league will always be compared to one another. Now, James is the established veteran in a league with young stars like Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook. The double-double prowess of Karl Malone will have been replaced by the silky smooth scoring abilities of Kevin Durant. Kobe has already announced that he will not compete in the 2016 Olympics because he felt his time has passed but that may influence other players’ decisions including James’.
