Kobe Bean Bryant is a shooting guard who
has played for the Los Angeles Lakers since 1996, a span in which the team has
won five NBA championships. Over the course of his career, Bryant has won two
NBA scoring titles and has been a first-team All-NBA selection eight times. He
is a 14-time All Star and four-time All-Star MVP. Although known for his
offensive ability, Kobe Bryant has also made a name for himself on the defensive
side of the ball, having been named to the NBA's All Defensive First Team eight
times. Kobe Bryant scored the second-most points in a game in NBA history when
he posted 81 points in a game during the '06-07 season.
Kobe first started learning basketball
from his father at the age of three. He idolized Magic Johnson growing up
because of Magic's ball handling skills for a bigger player, and claimed the Los
Angeles Lakers as his favorite team.
Joe Bryant was traded to the Houston
Rockets when Kobe was still very young, and after only one season in Houston,
the Bryant family packed up and moved to Italy so Joe could continue his
professional basketball career. Joe Bryant signed with a team in the town of
Rieti. The three Bryant children practiced Italian together after school, and
all became fairly fluent within the first year. To this day, Kobe Bryant still
speaks Italian.
Showing posts with label Laker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Laker. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Kobe Bryant and the Lakers face uncertain future after early playoff exit
Bryant will be 34 years old by the start
of next season, but his age and health should rank far down on the Lakers' list
of concerns. The Lakers' talented big men, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum,
frustrated the team with their inconsistency and occasional indifference during
the playoffs. No one will be surprised if the Lakers explore trade offers for
one – or even both – of them. Point guard could again become a position of need.
The Lakers also were limited by their slow adjustment to coach Mike
Brown.
And yet Bryant is willing to gamble considerable stakes against any critic who suggests the Lakers' championship window has closed.
"Put your house on it," Bryant said. "I would put my house on it. They can put their house on it, but I don't think they want to bet that because they're not stupid. They're foolish, but they are not stupid."
The Lakers were eliminated by the Thunder in five games. In two of the losses, the Lakers unraveled in the final minutes. Their lopsided defeat in Game 5 again raised questions about the makeup of the team. Bryant scored 42 points on Monday, but several of his teammates were far less effective.
Gasol had 14 points and 16 rebounds, but Bryant voiced his frustration with him throughout the game. Bynum had just 10 points and four rebounds in a foul-plagued performance. Point guard Ramon Sessions missed five of his six shots and committed six turnovers. The Lakers' bench was outscored 35-5.
"I'm not going to speak on the record about it." Bryant said when asked about his teammates' play.
The Lakers trailed by six when Brown elected to sit Bryant at the start of the fourth quarter. By the time Bryant returned to the court less than two minutes later, the Lakers were down 14. Bryant didn't complain publicly about Brown's decision to rest him.
"Obviously, I was in good rhythm," Bryant said. "But that's what we do."
Bryant, Gasol and Bynum agree on at least one thing: They think it's difficult to accurately judge the Lakers' season after the departure of longtime coach Phil Jackson. With a shortened training camp and a compressed 66-game schedule that afforded little practice time, the players were forced to adjust to Brown and his system on the fly. Bryant said Brown was still adding wrinkles to the Lakers' offense in the playoffs.
“We were still changing what we were executing, so that had a lot to do with it," Bryant said. "Normally, we know exactly what we're going to do. I'm used to the triangle [offense] where we know what we were going to do. This was something where we are still trying to guess through it."
And yet Bryant is willing to gamble considerable stakes against any critic who suggests the Lakers' championship window has closed.
"Put your house on it," Bryant said. "I would put my house on it. They can put their house on it, but I don't think they want to bet that because they're not stupid. They're foolish, but they are not stupid."
The Lakers were eliminated by the Thunder in five games. In two of the losses, the Lakers unraveled in the final minutes. Their lopsided defeat in Game 5 again raised questions about the makeup of the team. Bryant scored 42 points on Monday, but several of his teammates were far less effective.
Gasol had 14 points and 16 rebounds, but Bryant voiced his frustration with him throughout the game. Bynum had just 10 points and four rebounds in a foul-plagued performance. Point guard Ramon Sessions missed five of his six shots and committed six turnovers. The Lakers' bench was outscored 35-5.
"I'm not going to speak on the record about it." Bryant said when asked about his teammates' play.
The Lakers trailed by six when Brown elected to sit Bryant at the start of the fourth quarter. By the time Bryant returned to the court less than two minutes later, the Lakers were down 14. Bryant didn't complain publicly about Brown's decision to rest him.
"Obviously, I was in good rhythm," Bryant said. "But that's what we do."
Bryant, Gasol and Bynum agree on at least one thing: They think it's difficult to accurately judge the Lakers' season after the departure of longtime coach Phil Jackson. With a shortened training camp and a compressed 66-game schedule that afforded little practice time, the players were forced to adjust to Brown and his system on the fly. Bryant said Brown was still adding wrinkles to the Lakers' offense in the playoffs.
“We were still changing what we were executing, so that had a lot to do with it," Bryant said. "Normally, we know exactly what we're going to do. I'm used to the triangle [offense] where we know what we were going to do. This was something where we are still trying to guess through it."
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Kobe Bryant blames Pau Gasol for Lakers' Game 4 collapse against Thunder
The Los Angeles Lakers trudged off the
Staples Center floor late Saturday, a single loss now separating them from
season's end, another fourth-quarter collapse once again causing their undoing.
They didn't show much poise in the locker room, either, with Kobe Bryant and
Andrew Bynum pointing blame at others for allowing the Oklahoma City Thunder to
steal their second victory in three games.
Bryant missed eight of his 10 shots in the final quarter, but shrugged off his struggles by saying his teammates' lack of aggressiveness "forced" him to take tough shots. He also left no question which teammate deserved the most blame for the 103-100 loss in Game 4.
Bryant faulted Gasol for not playing aggressive enough. It was also Gasol's turnover that led to Kevin Durant making the winning 3-pointer with 13.7 seconds left.
"Pau's got to be more assertive," Bryant said. "He's the guy they're leaving [open]. When he's catching the ball, he's looking to pass. He's got to be aggressive. He's got to shoot the ball or drive the ball to the basket. He will be next game."
Bryant has periodically targeted Gasol with his public criticism, hoping to motivate him to lift his performance. But with the Lakers now down 3-1 in the series and facing Game 5 on Monday in Oklahoma City, Bryant's patience has been exhausted. Gasol's inconsistency has been a problem for the Lakers throughout the season, and he never seemed to recover after the team tried to trade him in December to the Houston Rockets in a deal with the New Orleans Hornets for Chris Paul. NBA commissioner David Stern blocked the trade, and Gasol has admitted his tenuous status with the franchise has bothered him.
Gasol totaled just 10 points and five rebounds in Game 4. Most recently, Bryant criticized both Gasol and Andrew Bynum after a listless performance in a Game 6 loss to the Denver Nuggets in the first round. Gasol responded with 23 points and 17 rebounds in the Lakers' clinching Game 7 victory.
Bryant missed eight of his 10 shots in the final quarter, but shrugged off his struggles by saying his teammates' lack of aggressiveness "forced" him to take tough shots. He also left no question which teammate deserved the most blame for the 103-100 loss in Game 4.
Bryant faulted Gasol for not playing aggressive enough. It was also Gasol's turnover that led to Kevin Durant making the winning 3-pointer with 13.7 seconds left.
"Pau's got to be more assertive," Bryant said. "He's the guy they're leaving [open]. When he's catching the ball, he's looking to pass. He's got to be aggressive. He's got to shoot the ball or drive the ball to the basket. He will be next game."
Bryant has periodically targeted Gasol with his public criticism, hoping to motivate him to lift his performance. But with the Lakers now down 3-1 in the series and facing Game 5 on Monday in Oklahoma City, Bryant's patience has been exhausted. Gasol's inconsistency has been a problem for the Lakers throughout the season, and he never seemed to recover after the team tried to trade him in December to the Houston Rockets in a deal with the New Orleans Hornets for Chris Paul. NBA commissioner David Stern blocked the trade, and Gasol has admitted his tenuous status with the franchise has bothered him.
Gasol totaled just 10 points and five rebounds in Game 4. Most recently, Bryant criticized both Gasol and Andrew Bynum after a listless performance in a Game 6 loss to the Denver Nuggets in the first round. Gasol responded with 23 points and 17 rebounds in the Lakers' clinching Game 7 victory.
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