Kobe Bryant denies retirement rumors
Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant said he was planning a major announcement on his Facebook page this weekend, but it was not about retirement as many thought it might be. Bryant wrote Saturday on his Facebook page that, “You won’t want to miss the
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Kobe Bryant Talks Retirement on Twitter, Black Mamba Not Ready Yet
Kobe Bryant is going to retire soon, but not yet.
Still recovering from a ruptured Achilles, the Black Mamba’s future has never been more in doubt. Not only are we unsure if he’ll be able to return to form, but we’re unsure of just how long he’ll be able to play.
This latest injury humanized Bryant in ways he never has been before. Is it possible that it has provided him with some perspective, the kind that would give him an exact idea of when he’s going to hang it up?
Apparently not, and he took to Twitter to make that clear.
Going on 35, Bryant wants it understood that he isn’t done. He seems surprised that the notion of his retirement being imminent is even being entertained.
To be fair, it’s shocking that Bryant is so shocked about that. He hasn’t exactly been candid about what he plans to do in the future. Depending on his mood, he’s either retiring after next season or not until he’s 40. He himself doesn’t appear to know when he’ll walk away.
In this case, that’s a good thing.
Normally, Bryant’s ambivalent talk of retirement triggers anxiety. That he admits it’s coming “soon” would usually send the Los Angeles Lakers faithful into a frenzy—but not now.
With him rehabilitating from such a serious injury, the NBA sphere should be grateful he’s prepared to stay the course. Nearly two decades into his career, it would be easy for him to admit he won’t play beyond next season.
Though he doesn’t make any guarantees that he’ll play past next year, one must assume that’s the plan. If “Vino still has work to do,” he cannot seriously believe he’ll get all of it done next season.
Los Angeles’ roster isn’t yet set in stone, nor will it be for quite some time. Even if Dwight Howard re-signs, the Lakers continue to have one eye on 2014 and all the free-agency splurging they’ll be able to do.
To call next season a transition year would be a bit harsh, but knowing what their plans are and that Bryant will only just be returning from his latest bout with mortality, it’s unlikely next year serves as his swan song.
Of course, I could be wrong, or Bryant could be lying. He could retire after next season. If the Lakers managed to procure a sixth ring for the Mamba, that has the potential to change things.
As is always the case with Bryant, we just don’t know. Seventeen years into his professional tenure and he’s still impossible to figure out; he’s a walking paradox. For now, we”ll accept that. Embrace it, even.
We’re just thrilled he’s prepared to play on, at all.
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Kobe Bryant debunks retirement rumors on Twitter
“Vino still has work to do.”
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Kobe responds to Phil’s Jordan comparison
Phil Jackson thinks Michael Jordan was better at many things than Kobe Bryant.
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Kobe responds to Phil’s comparison
As we’ve been reporting, Phil Jackson has a new memoir coming out, and in it, he gets in-depth with his Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant comparison. Jordan was also more naturally inclined to let the game come to him and not overplay his hand, whereas Kobe tends to force the action, especially when the game isn’t going his way. When his shot is off, Kobe will pound away relentlessly until his luck turns. Michael, on the other hand, would shift his attention to defense or passing or setting screens to help the team win the game.” “Michael was more charismatic and gregarious than Kobe. He loved hanging out with his teammates and security guards, playing cards, smoking cigars, and joking around,” Jackson said in the book, which was obtained in advance by The Times. “Kobe is different. He was reserved as a teenager, in part because he was younger than the other players and hadn’t developed strong social skills in college. When Kobe first joined the Lakers, he avoided fraternizing with his teammates.
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Phil Jackson Proves It’s All About the Money in Kobe vs. Jordan Debate
Since when did selling out for a few book sales become a practice of Zen?
One thing became clear after Phil Jackson’s declaration of Michael Jordan’s superiority to Kobe Bryant in his new book, Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success, Jackson is more than just a basketball genius.
While Jackson has never been shy to take shots at Bryant, one thing always remained unsaid. It was something that the majority of us knew, but would find ultimate closure if it came from the mouth of Phil himself.
After all, who better to speak on the two but the man who benefited from eleven rings between the two elite stars?
Well, that closure has finally come.
Speaking on a number of things, ranging from their leadership abilities to their offensive and defensive prowess, Jackson proclaimed Jordan superior in every facet of not just the game of basketball, but as men and leaders as well (via ESPN.com):
“One of the biggest differences between the two stars from my perspective was Michael’s superior skills as a leader,” wrote Jackson. “Though at times he could be hard on his teammates, Michael was masterful at controlling the emotional climate of the team with the power of his presence. Kobe had a long way to go before he could make that claim. He talked a good game, but he’d yet to experience the cold truth of leadership in his bones, as Michael had in his bones.”
In terms of their offensive prowess, it was Jordan’s sense of the moment that propelled him past Bryant:
“Jordan was also more naturally inclined to let the game come to him and not overplay his hand, whereas Kobe tends to force the action, especially when the game isn’t going his way. When his shot is off, Kobe will pound away relentlessly until his luck turns. Michael, on the other hand, would shift his attention to defense or passing or setting screens to help the team win the game.”
While I’m not going to argue with someone as accomplished as Jackson, I do recall witnessing plenty of Jordan forcing the action.
It’s not as if I disagree with Jackson’s assessment of the two players. For my money, Jordan is without a doubt the greatest guard in the history of basketball and a top-3 player of all time, behind only the great Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (again, just my opinion, but check the ring count and stats).
It’s the timing that has me irked.
The fame, fortune and jewelry were not enough, apparently, to satisfy Jackson. It would appear that the two have still not done enough for the smuggest of “Zen Masters.” Jackson is now using the same star power that drove him to eleven championships to drive himself to higher book sales.
These are two legends of the game and deserve better than to be used as cash-grabs. More importantly, Bryant deserved better.
It’s not easy to try to emulate greatness. Yet he tried anyway and came as close as anyone ever could. That in itself is a feat that should be celebrated. Instead, Jackson chose to twist that greatness and thereby diminished it.
Jackson has placed Jordan on such a high pedestal that it has marred what he had in Bryant. Bryant should be remembered as Jordan’s closest peer. Instead, Jackson’s book made him out to be far from it.
The worst part of it all was that he did it for his own selfish reasons. Everyone knows that money, perhaps even as much as the rings, drives Jackson. There was a good chance he would have been the coach of the Lakers this season if it wasn’t so important to him.
Money was what propelled him to throw one of the greatest stars of my lifetime under the bus. Money tarnished the legacy of Kobe Bryant. Money was all Phil Jackson was after.
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What Kobe Bryant Wishes He Could Have Tweeted During LA Lakers’ 1st-Round Exit
Sidelined with a torn Achilles and unable to travel with the team, Kobe Bryant took to Twitter to share his thoughts on Game 1 of the first-round matchup between his Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs.
Bryant’s insights delighted the Twitterverse, and ABC’s broadcast often displayed and discussed his tweets at length.
Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni was even asked about Bryant’s online commentary after the game. That’s when Bryant decided to hold his tongue (and his thumbs) until the series came to its final, grisly conclusion.
To tweet or not to tweet.. I CHOOSE not 2. Focus should be on the team not my insight. @georgelopez voice “Can’t DO nothin!”#vinospeare
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 22, 2013
What if he never muzzled himself though, and kept delivering candid nuggets throughout the series?
Here are five tweets Bryant wished he could have sent out.
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Kobe responds to Phil Jackon’s critique in book
In his upcoming book, “Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success”, legendary coach Phil Jackson compared the careers of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
“Michael was more charismatic and gregarious than Kobe,” Jackson writes. “He loved hanging out with his teammates and security guards, playing cards, smoking cigars, and joking around.
“Kobe is different. He was reserved as a teenager, in part because he was younger than the other players and hadn’t developed strong social skills in college. When Kobe first joined the Lakers, he avoided fraternizing with his teammates. But his inclination to keep to himself shifted as he grew older. Increasingly, Kobe put more energy into getting to know the other players, especially when the team was on the road.”
On Friday, Bryant took to Twitter to respond to Jackon’s writings.The comparisons are apples2oranges Wonder what the perception would be if M played wit @shaq instead differentroles differentcareerpaths Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant
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Kobe Bryant literally dove into an ocean full of sharks
Through the years Kobe Bryant has claimed to be the ultimate competitor.
The Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard has built his entire myth around it.
Each and every one of his nicknames/handles point to this. ” The Assassin,” ” The Black Mamba” and other aliases serve to point to his psyche as much as they point to his basketball skills.
Heidi Burgett over at Nike has just added another chapter in the legend of Kobe.
Please click here to read/watch this article.
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Phil Jackson compares MJ, Kobe
Whoa…
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