Basketball from a fans perspective

20 years?
I’m writing this the day of Kobe’s last game; I was an adult when Kobe arrived in the NBA so I didn‘t view his game as an impressionable youngster.  As for the 20 years I have no idea where they went except I must stop and realize he’s played for the Lakers that length of time.  In addition my life has evolved as well.  I remember the entire talk pre social network what was to occur.  The Lakers were clearly not in a position to draft the 17-year old but Laker General Manager Jerry West loved the kid.  West would pull all stops to acquire Kobe which included trading his starting center Vlade Divac.

A number of you might remember Divac from his years as the Kings center; he was drafted by the Lakers with the 26th pick in the first round of the 1989 draft.  As for Kobe the coach at the time Del Harris kept Kobe’s butt stapled to the bench which we believed was degrading to him.  I remember later in the playoffs against the Jazz he shot two air-balls in a game.  The shots affected the game but not the series it proved to us Kobe was unafraid of the challenge of taking a crucial shot at crunch time.  Over the course of his 20-year career he would take many buzzer beating shots as he became an assassin.

I would be painting an untrue picture if I failed to cover the most traumatic period of his life the rape charge.  In Colorado he had sexual relations with a hotel worker who would later claimed he raped her.  Kobe was charged and the preliminary portion of the trial began.  In a charter he was flying back and forth between Colorado to Los Angeles in order to play for the Lakers.  In today’s climate he would have been suspended almost immediately.  Cut to the chase an out of court settlement was reached Kobe paid a large undisclosed sum of money to the plaintiff and it was over.  Kobe never duplicated MJ in championships but did manage to win a total of five, he was NBA MVP, 2X NBA Finals MVP, an 18X NBA All Star just a few of the accolades bestowed upon Kobe Bean Bryant.

Defense, defense
From high school to college into the NBA fans often yell the chant defense.  Although we love offense defense wins just as many games.  We acknowledge defensive players but a Steph Curry will create more headlines than Hassan Whiteside.  If you are asking the question who’s Whiteside you better check.  I thought it silly at the time ESPN stated Khawi Leonard should be considered for co-MVP it certainly was not intended to degrade the Spurs forward.  I checked his numbers at San Diego State and Leonard might be one who's NBA game might actually be superior to his collegiate game.  His coach and San Diego State fans might disagree with this assessment but that's the appearance I've concluded.    

Leonard was announced as NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row.
Although Leonard’s defense is the emphasis the guy can score.  The 6-7 small forward shot .506 from the floor for a 21.2 ppg average in addition he grabbed nearly seven rebounds a game.  The media focus for the Spurs has been on Tim Duncan because he’s been there for so many years. It’s my belief the “true” leader of the team is Khawi Leonard.  Even more interesting he’s one athlete who might never acquire an inflated ego.  He’s still driving his 1997 Chevy Tahoe from high school.  Before you jump to any conclusions the vehicle is not “tricked-out” it’s in the original state.

Can you say strange?
I’ve written about the curious and odd musical chairs involving Dave Rice, Tubby Smith, Chris Beard and now Marvin Menzies.  Keep in mind the moves occurred over a period of time.  Follow the bouncing ball…..coaching moves please.  Rice is fired at UNLV in January so the Las Vegas school hires Beard as his replacement.  Smith leaves Texas Tech for Memphis; Beard on the job at UNLV for two weeks departs for Texas Tech where he once served as an assistant.

We can imagine how UNLV must have felt believing they had a coach who departed in less than two weeks.  Pending approval by UNLV Regents Marvin Menzies would be hired to replace Beard. Now New Mexico State is left in the cold and must locate a replacement for Menzies.  I’m unsure if I can remember events of this type ever occurring in the coaching ranks.  Did you follow all the moves successfully?

"No one is bigger than the team.  If you can't do things our way, you're not getting time here and we don't care who you are" - Gregg Popovich