This will be Kobe Bryant’s 18th year in the NBA.
Normally when a player last that long in the NBA they are relegated to McGrady status, they are begging for one last opportunity before retiring like Allen Iverson or they have settled into a specific role player status like Ray Allen.
Kobe Bryant in his 17th year in the NBA averaged.
27, 5 & 6
That’s not normal, it defies logic, you would think it would be appreciated, not just for the raw numbers, but for the sustained excellence over such a long period of time, but that isn’t what happens when you bring up Kobe Bryant. Go to Twitter or your barbershop and say the following:
“Kobe averaged 27, 5 and 6 last year what do you think about that?”
I guarantee you will hear something similar to these comments and more.
- “He still not better than Jordan.”
- “He’s a bad teammate.”
- “He wouldn’t have won without Shaq.”
- “He doesn’t pass to anyone.”
- “LeBron is better.”
- “He snitched on Shaq.”
- “He raped that girl in Colorado.”
Doesn’t matter if these comments are true or not. They are opinions, but the point is they have nothing to do with the facts. Regardless of your personal feelings about him, it doesn’t change his sustained excellence in the sport. Maybe he won’t be Jordan, maybe one day LeBron will have a better career, but there are times you just have to appreciate the here and now.
Kobe’s career didn’t start with him being THE MAN, he was the sidekick the B-Side, but through Hard Work and Dedication he became the biggest name in the sport.
Floyd Mayweather won his 1st title in 1998 against a Mexican Genaro Hernández who only had 1 loss at the time. 15 years later Mayweather won another title from Mexican Canelo Alvarez who had zero losses at the time. He was brilliant then and he was brilliant on Saturday.
That’s not normal, it defies logic, you would think it would be appreciated, not just for the raw numbers, but for the sustained excellence over such a long period of time, but that isn’t what happens when you bring up Floyd Mayweather. Go to Twitter or your barbershop and say the following:
“What do you think about Floyd Mayweather taking a young, strong, powerful champion to school?”
I guarantee you will hear something similar to these comments and more.
- “He scared of Pacquiao.”
- “He picks his opponents.”
- “He isn’t better than Sugar Ray Robinson or Leonard”
- “He ducks fighters.”
- “He runs in the ring.”
- “He’s going to go broke.”
- “He beats on women.”
Doesn’t matter if these comments are true or not. They are also opinions, but the point is they have nothing to do with the facts. Regardless of your personal feelings about him, it doesn’t change his sustained excellence in the sport. Maybe he won’t be remembered like Sugar Ray Robinson and maybe he is partly responsible for the Pacquiao fight never happening, but there are times you just have to appreciate the here and now.
Mayweather’s career didn’t start with him being THE MAN, he was the sidekick the B-Side of PPVs, but through Hard Work and Dedication he became the biggest name in the sport.
Sometimes you just have to appreciate greatness when you are seeing it, because when it is gone you will miss it. The NBA is going to miss Kobe Bryant whenever he retires. There will always be other great players, but there will never be another Kobe.
Boxing is going to miss Floyd Mayweather whenever he retires. There will always be other great boxers, but there will never be another Floyd Mayweather.
There are only so many athletes in the world that bring out strong emotions in people. We are witnesses to two who honestly should be on the downside of their career, but keep defying the odds and that is something haters and stans alike should appreciate.