Player of the D.A.Y.
Sorry, Josh Smith. I’m keeping a promise.
This is my way of honoring Kobe’s 65 point game against the Blazers. It happened on Friday night, and today is Tuesday. Those two events have no connection, so this is a way to go above and beyond the call of duty to give him his award.
His lightning rod-ness is truly amazing. Everybody loves him or hates him, and if you say anything about him, everybody instantly either loves you or hates you too. I’m not even talking about myself or Lang or Khalid or any public figure. I mean, you can have this conversation with your friends while innocently watching a game together, and they turn ugly fast. Trust me, I’ve been there.
I was watching Barack Obama on the Larry King show last night, a black man with a legitimate chance to become the President of the United States, and the thought hit me that he is not as controversial as Kobe Bryant. How crazy is that? (Hillary Clinton is more Kobe-like with her polarization, but even that is debateable.)
My take on Kobe the basketball player is simple. I enjoy “playing the right way” team basketball as much as the next guy, but I also enjoy the virtuoso performance. There is room for both. Kobe Bryant just happens to be talented enough to be able to shoot over triple teams and have these amazing nights when he could just as easily reel the defense in and find the wide-open man. It’s not really the ideal we are taught about sports as little kids, how it’s important to share, be respectful, listen to what you are taught, and so on. There is a part of sports where you want to go out and crush your enemy, and Kobe is the best at it.
65 points against the Portland Trailblazers, getting hotter as the game went on in the fourth and into the two overtimes, with his team on a losing streak with no end in sight. Player of the D.A.Y.
39 Responses to “Player of the D.A.Y.”
Mar.20 at 3:19 pm
abelp says:
kb24 for MVP !!!!!!!!!!!!
Mar.20 at 3:39 pm
DEVILb0y says:
kobe is a better scorer than mike..there i said it, now let the hate begin…hahaha
Mar.20 at 3:42 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
Kobe’s definitely more controversial/polarizing than Barack Obama. Then again, he’s also on TV a LOT more. Maybe Obama should sign with Nike.
Mar.20 at 3:44 pm
namik says:
All this Kobe love is overwhelming. I dont think anyone has said so many coplimentary things about Kobe on Slamonline ever. Anyway, I know we cant win chips with Kobe scoring 65. But without performances like these we wont even be in the playoffs. Let it rain.
Mar.20 at 4:05 pm
SteveSmith8fan says:
I am a big Kobe hater but I must admit his 65 and 50 point scoring games this past weekend were amazing.
Mar.20 at 4:19 pm
Tom says:
the thing that killed me in that 65pt game was that even into the 2nd ot, he had no signs of fatigue, at that stage in the game to shoot fade away 3’s over double teams shows how much time he puts into being the best, cause that’s insane.
Mar.20 at 4:36 pm
Simmy Sosa says:
Okay, but you could have at least mentioned how well Josh Smith flirted with a triple double…
Mar.20 at 4:38 pm
Simmy Sosa says:
Excuse my lack of proofreading, but I meant to say how Josh Smith flirted with a triple double.
Mar.20 at 4:55 pm
batman06 says:
You all have broken memories, there was only one OT in the 65 point game. There were two overtimes when Gilbert scored 60, Kobe only needed one (or three quarters). Holla!
Mar.20 at 4:57 pm
Ang says:
but he couldn’t quite get there cause he shot 4 of 14 from the field, and was 1 of 4 from the line.
Mar.20 at 5:42 pm
Sam Rubenstein says:
Very rare that someone misses a triple double because they don’t get 10 points. Josh Smith has been playing great, and I gave him a player of the D.A.Y. in the recent past.
Mar.20 at 6:43 pm
Billy Blanks says:
I agree with u DEVILb0y, kobe IS a better scorer than Mike. I mean the man already has 3 60 point+ games, while Jordan only had two his entire career
Mar.20 at 7:25 pm
Chris says:
Kobe is a great scorer, but if you think he’s better than MJ u are on crack! Jordan dropped 50 @ 40, and he was grounded by then. Dude was amazing even in old age.
Mar.20 at 7:54 pm
Elyse says:
Aren’t people sick of debating who is better? Let’s at least wait for Kobe to finish his career…plus, there have been like two days straight of debate about this already. Let’s just appreciate what we are seeing now, and figure out where it stands in history later.
Mar.20 at 8:24 pm
Rozza says:
When MJ retired (in 98) the bulls went from champs to lottery in 1 year. This year, the heat are showing that to do that you have to suddenly start SUCKING. BAD. we’ll see when kobe retires what effect that has on his team. matter of time.
Mar.20 at 8:51 pm
The Truth says:
MJ scored big numbers against a still strong celtics team, and the piston bad boys, please dont compare Bryants big nights against the trailblazers, and dallas last year as even close to equivalent to MJ, especially with the new rules on the perimiter. MJ could hit 100 i reckon with Dwayne Wade type calls on a poor team now, of course he would shoot 50 odd free throws, but thats how it is nowdays!
Mar.20 at 8:54 pm
Hector A. says:
Kobe is the premier player in the league today. He creates controversy and news because everyone is interested in what he does and what he says. His negative news and positive news make headlines like no other athlete in the world today. Has anyone noticed how much attention he’s getting in the world press? Or how his jersey is #1 in sales even in China now. Love him or hate him, Kobe is the #1 athlete in the world today. And for sure #1 in the NBA. Sorry Lebron, Wade and Gilbert. Wait your turn, because you can’t touch him yet.
Mar.20 at 9:04 pm
Boing Dynasty says:
I dont love or hate kob’, but hes aight, one of the better players the game has seen. Does this make me a social lepper? That i wont get into aa furious rage if someone else feels differently?
Mar.20 at 9:20 pm
Simon says:
Hey Reggie Evans, how many P.O.D’s is that for Kobe now?
Mar.20 at 9:24 pm
David says:
If Obama had Kobe’s allegations and personality we wouldn’t even know who he was. The dude’s not as controversial because there’s (for now) nothing publicly negative to say about him.
Mar.20 at 9:34 pm
Vanilla Thunder says:
Jordan had 4 60+ point games.
Mar.20 at 11:01 pm
Will Lee says:
don’t understand why people mention he joins Elgin Baylor alot. Its all about the Lakers Franchise!!! Jamison did it and Iverson did it too, then they should also be the “FIRST” to do so in the franchise. the points are amazing. But the hype being built on stats is just as lame.
Mar.20 at 11:34 pm
Co Co says:
Yeah last time Josh got Player of the D.A.Y. we got our asses W.H.I.P.P.E.D the next game. We play the Heat tomorrow so we don’t need that kind of Karma! Thanks for not giving it to him, although mentioning he could have won it may be just as bad…….
Mar.21 at 5:11 am
Kadavour says:
“get this, Barack Obama attended a madrassa (school)!” that’s about all the negative press the guy has gotten. To score 80pts in a game u need to be able to hit 3pointers consistently throughout a game. I can’t see MJ doing that in this league. I mean, as a defender u’d decide which area of the court to concede to him, and given his track record, u’d give him the 3pt range. That said, MJ in his prime couldn’t drop 80 on Memphis.
Mar.21 at 7:06 am
paul wall says:
oh no, he di’nt!
Mar.21 at 7:17 am
Eoin says:
Devilboy what the hell???Kobe’s never shot 50 per cent from the field, which Mike did.Kobe’s never averaged 37FREAKINPOINTSAGAME
Mar.21 at 7:19 am
Eoin says:
either.stupid web browser.baaaah.anyway, Kobe might be more willing to chuck at a later stage in his career, but Mike was certainly more efficient.Also, even last yr, when Kob turned into Sir Chucksalot, he couldn’t average 37.So there!
Mar.21 at 9:07 am
jay says:
lang you are the man. as you know i am a die hard kobe fan and as much as i like watching him get his teammates involved when he puts on a jordanesque performance like that as a fan you can just marvel in this excellent ability to hit shot after shot and it is beautiful to watch and enjoy!
Mar.21 at 10:09 am
KG#21 says:
kobe is one of the best ever but you can’t shoot 80 shots with an average efficiency, cause basketball is game with 5 players not only one.
Mar.21 at 10:31 am
seppo says:
No doubt, Kobe is the best player in the league. However he is way to inconsistent. There are many games where he only scores like 25. If he´s able to go for 60, why doesn´t he do it on a regular basis? I have seen him miss quite some shots in the clutch and he is missing too many fade-aways and threes. With his potential and skills he should put up 50 every night. Maybe he doesn´t have the killer instinct or the will to crush his opponents every night.
Mar.21 at 11:47 am
Mike says:
“only” scores 25? You’re being harsh dog.
Mar.21 at 11:48 am
Mike says:
I’m not a Kobe fan at all, but damn that’s a bad man.
Mar.21 at 1:21 pm
Double J says:
Dude… seppo speaks truth, but hey if he did the hate would pour in more than the Kool-Aid guy slippin’ down a slide. Kobe keep doin’ what ur doin’ people seem to like it.
Mar.21 at 3:57 pm
Bobby says:
KG#21 has been practising his “it takes five” speech
Mar.21 at 4:10 pm
Shiz says:
One of the illest things about Kob to me is his ability to stay focused during all the shot-fakes and jab steps. I mean he’s trapped in a corner, pulls a spin move, spins back the other way against the grain and the shot is wetro. dis-gust-ing. And anybody that thinks scoring 25 is mad easy needs to holla at me cuz yall must got that good, good green.
Mar.21 at 4:55 pm
MagicChicken says:
I wanna give “Tom” some love for recognizing Kobe’s amazing athletic ability to push it well into the OT, and remind him and everyone else that he dropped 65 on the 2nd of a back-to-back. The team landed in LA at 7AM due to plane problems! So Kob drives back n’ forth to the OC (hour each way), shows up early for warmups, maybe spends a little time relaxing with the fam (maybe even eating), and does all this in a 12-hour span? The dude’s lucky if he got half a night of sleep. 65 after all that! dayum
Mar.21 at 6:59 pm
princegoro says:
According to a EPSN article, Kobe has the most popular jersey in USA AND China - even beating Yao. No matter how much people dislike him his competitiveness is way above other players’.
Mar.22 at 7:38 am
Mr.Tweaks says:
It’s actually amazing how people manage to compare those two guys and get away with their subjectiveness.
On the inconsistency, i have to say that Kobe has sort of signed a contract with the “devil” THAT HE WILL make his TEAM better. So, with that in mind, averaging (only?) 25 on consecutive loosing nights and then dropin 60+ is just an example of a guy that goes by the book, and when the book is pointless he takes things into his own hands.Bottom line.
The lakers-kobe-strategy is for him to involve the rest of the team—–they loose.However when they loose that much kobe leaves “the book” aside and does it “his way”.
Simple.
Comparing MJ and KB is stupid, it’s like comparing Schumacher to Fangio or Pele to Ronaldinho.PLAIN STUPID.nuff said Mr.Tweaks-Romania
Mar.22 at 10:51 am
haha says:
like i’ve always been told, its hard to compare to people from different eras, mj was the best back then, kobe is the best now, leave it at that