Le Basketbawl

Your Old Pal New York Vinnie’s favorite TV commercial of all time is the one where Michael Jordan of the Washington Wizards takes on Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls in a game of one on one. Jordan from the Bulls is the far superior athlete however Michael from the Wizards knows the game far better. There are two lines in that spot that New York Vinnie loves; the first one when the Wizards Jordan says “You Reach I Teach.” The other great exchange is when the Bulls Jordan blows a shot and tells the older Michael “I could have dunked it.” The Wizards Jordan responds “You should have dunked it.”

There comes a time in all pro athletes careers when their athletic skills start going downward. At that point you have one of two choices you learn to compensate or you leave the sport. The smart ones learn the tricks that allow them to be almost as effective as they were at their athletic peak.

The Los Angeles Lakers  are playing “MY BOYS” the New York Knicks on Tuesday night and the “New York Times“  sat down recently with their All-Star guard Kobe Bryant. The “Black Mamba” is now 31 years old and he is most likely at his athletic peak right now; or possibly just starting the downward slope. He certainly will not improve athletically at his age. However like Jordan before him he now knows the game of basketball far better than when he was younger.

The paper asked the 2008 NBA MVP if he feels his game has evolved over the last few seasons? Bryant replied “Oh, without a doubt. A lot of that has to do with the team that I have because they allow me to explore those other areas of my game because they’re better basketball players, so that enables me to sit back and say, ‘OK, I don’t have to score 40 points a game to keep us competitive.’ I can start thinking the game more and thinking how can I use the pieces that I have here as opposed to thinking, ‘Damn, I’ve got to put my head down and go out there and try to beat two or three guys just to keep us in the game.’ So, I think they help me get to another level of understanding the game.”

The reporter then asked Bryant what area of his game is he still trying to improve? He responded “It’s all leadership, how I get the best out of these guys, how I make these guys better. Because them better makes me better. For years, all I hear people say is this player makes these players better. But they’re all great players already. It’s like kind of silly to me to say Kobe has become more unselfish or yada, yada, yada with these guys that I have. Pau Gasol’s a great player in his own right. It’s a lot easier for me to make him better. It’s easier for me to make Lamar better. It’s easier to make Derek Fisher better. They have the commitment, they have the work ethic. They’re already here. They’re just making me look a lot better than I actually am.”

Bryant also told the paper he really has no idea how much longer he will play in the NBA. He told the reporter “I think the reason why I haven’t thought about it is I still feel good. I feel like I’ve still got a lot left in the tank. Even though the light at the end of the tunnel is much brighter than the one at the beginning, I’m not quite there yet to think how many years I want to do this.”

You can be a Kobe fan or a Kobe Hater but one thing for sure; the “Black Mamba” has earned your respect. The man has faced adversity on and off the court and come out the other side a better man. That is also part of evolving not only as a player but as a human being.