The Silencer: The End of The Darth Kobe Bryant Story

From Darth Kobe circa 2006:

Darth Kobe still gives the standard answers when talking to the media, but everyone
including Kobe knows he is lying. You can see it in his eyes, that "I don't give a f*ck"
look. You have to be a little crazy to score 81 points in an NBA game. You have to be a
little crazy to go through what he has went through and still act like it didn't phase you. The Kobe you see now is choking opponents by just using the force. He is carrying a recreational team to a possible playoff season. The hate still exists, but it only fuels the fire. Do you think Vince Carter is looking forward to meeting up with Bean? They used to say Bean was soft and now he is getting suspended for busting players in the grill. You want to know the scary thing is? Even though it seems Bean has been around forever we sometimes forget he is only 27 and he is just hitting his peak. Don't compare him with Jordan because at 27 there was no comparison 3 rings (even with Shaq) trumps anything Jordan did up to that point. We all know what Jordan did after 27 that is what created the legend. No one knows what the future holds for Kobe, but
one thing we do know he won't come up short for lack of desire.

Quitter The Darth Kobe Story (blowing a 3-1 lead to Suns in 06 Playoffs)

Similar to Barry Bonds and T.O., the majority of this hate lays at the feet of Kobe. Kobe did help run Shaq out of town, Kobe did at times not play team ball, Kobe did cheat onhis wife by dry humping a woman in Colorado, Kobe is arrogant, Kobe is somewhat selfish and Kobe does come across at times as fake and insincere. All of the things are true and all are reasons why I can understand why people would not like him personally, but it has nothing to do with the fact he is the best player in the game of basketball right now. The fact that things off the court are affecting people's opinion of him on the court is what is wrong. Only one thing is going to quiet the critics and that is a championship. It doesn't matter if Kobe gets to Game 7 of the NBA Finals and loses the critics will be there. The only way Kobe ever gets the love he wants is to take a team to a championship.

The worst thing that probably happen to Bean is playing like Magic Johnson in those first 3 games because it gave him a false sense of security. He started to trust the media, trust the fans and most importantly trust his teammates. Kobe didn't let down his teammates his teammates let him down. Kobe was not the reason the Lakers didn't close out the Suns. Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, Luke Walton, Brian Cook and etc were the reasons the Lakers aren't playing the Clippers right now, but that doesn't matter because the only person people focus on is Bean.

So to go back to the original question did Kobe quit? The answer to that is yes, but not in the 2nd half of Game 7. He quit believing that people wouldn't judge him by what happen in Colorado. He quit believing that people wouldn't judge him by what happened with Shaq. He quit believing that people wouldn't criticize him for doing what he believed
they wanted him to do. He quit believing that he had to be Darth Kobe.

If you think this is going to stop Bean you are wrong, you know he is going to come back stronger, faster and even more determined. To him this is just a lesson learned and
the lesson is simple. Once you go to the dark side there is no coming back.

Jack Bauer The Evolution of Darth Kobe Bryant (Jan 07)

One of the basic principles of the article was that Kobe had to embrace the dark side and realize that no matter what he does, there will be many people that will always hate him. Instead of trying to please those people, he should embrace them. The more haters you have the more popular you become. The trick is to balance those who hate with those who love.

At this point, Kobe has achieved what many thought he couldn't. There are a bunch of 10 year-old white boys (and girls for that matter) running around in #24 jerseys. There were many that thought the Lakers could not win even after Phillip came back because of the presence of Bryant on the team, and have been proven wrong. 95% of the work has been done, but the last 5% will be the hardest. For the transformation to be complete, Bean has to and must win a championship.

Right now, people are happy because the Lakers have exceeded expectations as a team, but at some point those expectations will be to bring home a trophy. As quickly as Kobe has methodically rebuilt up his reputation, it can be torn down by the failure to bring at least 1 championship to LA. If he wants to be considered one of the best ever, he absolutely must bring home another ring. And soon.

Neo Bryant (Beginning of 2007 NBA Finals)

Karma Kobe (after Crushing defeat to Boston Celtics in 2007 NBA Finals)

From the day Kobe demanded a trade, this was destined to happen. Karma works in mysterious ways. Most would think the best way to punish someone is to just take everything from a person, but if a person doesn't have much to begin with, how much of a punishment is it? Kobe whined, cried, criticized, moaned and bitched the entire summer. He threw his teammates, coach, GM, and an organization that has coddled him for his entire career under the bus.

I should have seen it. I was right. It was meant to be, but not for Kobe because he doesn't deserve it. You have to reap what you sow, and, in this case, Kobe has to realize, at this time, it wasn't meant to be.

So it is true Karma that in the biggest game of his professional life (Game 6 of the NBA Finals) when he needed his teammates the most they quit on him like he had quit on teammates past and present. It is true Karma that player he quit on the most (Bynum) was the player he needed the most. It is true Karma that in a game where all twelve players needed to play their best Kobe was alone.

One series, one series to become an immortal was the challenge I presented to Kobe Bryant. But what I failed to realize is that, to become an immortal, Kobe has to understand that he is mortal and, that in life, your actions have consequences.
An immortal? Not yet.

The Phenom: Kobe Bryant the Final Chapter (Jan 2009)

The Phenom and his team races through the playoffs. The Phenom is named the MVP. He makes it to the NBA Finals where it appeared everything is in line for that perfect Hollywood ending. The Phenom wins the ring, says he is going to Disney world with his Video vixen wife, kids by his side, proves all his critics wrong and shows the world he can lead a team by himself to the Championship.

But a funny thing happens on his way to glory and immortal status:

He loses.

Production Assistant: Is that the ending? What happens next? Does he ever win a championship? Does he ever prove his critics wrong? Does he ever get the happy Hollywood ending?

RL: Hmmmmmm I guess you will have to wait for the sequel.

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People ask me all the time as the creator of "Darth Kobe", "Jack Bauer", "Neo Bryant" , "Karma Kobe" and "The Phenom" if the day would come that Kobe Bryant wins a NBA title with Shaq what would I title the article? As I thought about that tonight when it because obvious that the Lakers were about to win their 15th NBA Championship and I stared blankly into my laptop and all that was going on:

Silence

Five Minutes went by and then ten minutes more of:

Silence

Nothing was happening I didn't have title. Half hour later nothing but:

Silence

The clock hit all zeros and then it hit me.

Silence is the title.

Because there is nothing else to say. It doesn't matter what Kobe does going forward any other titles he may win is just icing on the cake. He did what his harshest critics said he could never do.

He won the NBA Championship as the unquestioned leader of the team.

Silence never sounded so good.