Tag Archives: michael jordan

Kobe Says Realistically He’ll Only Play One More Year

kobe bryant plans to play one more year

For most great players it’s hard for them to admit when the end is near. However, for Kobe Bryant he seems to have come to grips that he’s on borrowed time and that father time is slowly approaching his door step.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Kobe said he knows he’s probably going to play one more year and then hang it up.

“Realistically I have only one year left, so I’m trying to enjoy myself.”

Kobe is playing at an incredibly high level at this stage in his career, averaging 27 points, 5 assist and 5 rebounds and shooting 46% from the field, something he’s only done 6 times in his 17 years in the league. Kobe has been more efficient and become a willing passer in hopes of keeping the Lakers in a position to make the playoffs.

I’ll believe Kobe will retire when basketball season comes around and he’s not suiting up. He says he doesn’t want to be the guy that is hanging on too long, playing as his skills diminish, but what should make us believe that his competitiveness is going to allow him to retire knowing he can still put up 20 points a game?

Kobe will retire some day, I just don’t believe that day is one year from now.

 

Kobe Bryant Adds More History to his Resume

kobe bryant

Kobe Bryant is in his 17th year in the NBA and 34 years of age and still producing at an elite level. There aren’t too many players that have been able to play this late into their career and still put up the numbers that he’s been able to so far.

He’s currently averaging 30 points a game leading the league in that category above Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, James Harden and LeBron James.

Where Kobe is still creating history, he tallied his 116th 40 point game and while tallying his 10 straight games with scoring 30 points. The Record for most games with 40 points remains with Wilt Chamberlain who has scored 40 points 271 times. He also holds the record of most consecutive games with 30 points with 65 in a row.

To give what Kobe is doing some perspective, Wilt scored achieved his 30 points consecutive streak in his 3rd season and age the age of 25. Kobe is 9 years older with 14 more years of experience. Factor in that Kobe has played under 4 different coaches in the span of 2 years and his minutes, points, and field goal percentage averages all improving between the 2011 season to now. Add in the fact that he’s been dealing with a knee injury, it would be easy for him to sit back rest on the fact that he has 5 championships 1 MVP award and that he’s the second greatest shooting guard in the history of the NBA and shut it down.

No matter what you deem Kobe to be, selfish, a ball hog, you can’t deny that he’s prolonging the end of his prime better than any other superstar than we’ve ever seen.

New Orleans Hornets Win the NBA Lottery, Conspiracy Theorist Rejoice

The New Orleans have won the NBA lottery and now will more than likely select University of Kentucky’s Anthony Davis with the number 1 pick in the draft.  That pick will come as no surprise. However, the Hornets winning the lottery have made conspiracy theorist raise an eyebrow.

Fans and media alike are saying they doubt the lottery wasn’t rigged for the Hornets considering the league still technically owns the team, even though they’ve come to an agreement to sell the team to New Orleans Saints Owner Tom Benson. Factor in they just lost All-Star point guard Chris Paul, many are suggesting that’s why they now have the opportunity to draft what many think is a franchise player with the number pick.

The only flaw I find in this argument is, there is no team that had a legit shot to win the lottery that people wouldn’t had said the lottery was fixed for.

If the Charlotte Bobcats had won it, the narrative would’ve been the league was looking out for Michael Jordan. If the Cavs would’ve won it for a second year in a row you would’ve screamed the fix is in. The league is only helping them because they lost LeBron and are pandering to Dan Gilbert. Outside of your favorite team winning there would’ve been some theory concocted on the lottery being fixed.

Now I’ll be the first one to admit there are a lot of coincidences that have occurred home town kids LeBron and Derrick Rose being selected by the Cavs and Bulls, the Spurs selecting Tim Duncan with the number one pick to play him alongside David Robinson at the end of his career. Yes all these scenarios look fishy, buy no one ever screams fixed, or conspiracy when the number one pick becomes a bust or not the superstar you expect from that selection.

Case and point, Greg Oden, Michael Olowokandi, Kwame Brown, Joe Smith did you scream conspiracy when the team that selected them won the lottery, I doubt it.

And you know how many people would have to keep a secret in order for the NBA to pull off such a feat? Too many, and don’t forget, it’s against the law to rig the lottery, so include that nugget of knowledge and be comfortable knowing that nobody from the league wants to go to jail or pay a hefty federal fine that they’re not going to fix the lottery. Include the fact that accounting firm Ernst and Young are down with the process and they have a reputation to uphold that it would make no sense for them to allow anything fisher to going on. I’m pretty sure there’s no amount of money that the NBA could pay them that would make the risk being worth the reward.

So with all this, can we ease up on the conspiracy talk, no more the lottery is fixed, Suge Knight had 2Pac killed and the second shooter in the grassy knoll? No? Ok, one conspiracy theory at a time.

NBA 2K12 Covers

The NBA 2K series is usually dead on with ideas. They essentially killed the NBA Live series which previously had a strangle hold on the basketball video game market. But NBA 2K has released the covers for the new NBA 2k12 and I think they are horrible. My issue with it is, the melting away and mixture graphics. You’re using 3 all-time greats no need for effects. Now I don’t expect this to deter me or the millions of people that play the game from buying this year’s edition, but if we’re comparing covers from last year to this, hands down 2K11 is just like the box says.