When you think of Kobe Bryant’s playing days, passing the ball isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Kobe did everything on the basketball court, but he was much more known as a scorer than as someone who made the people around him better. In fairness to the Black Mamba, his selfishness was definitely overblown, as he did average 4.7 assists per game for his career despite not being a point guard. The point remains, however, that Kobe generally felt like the best way for him to help his team win was to get the ball and put it in the basket himself.
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Kobe was featured prominently in Jeff Pearlman’s book Three-Ring Circus, which chronicled the Kobe-Shaq-Phil Jackson years of the Los Angeles Lakers. This was Pearlman’s second book about the purple and gold, and it shed light not only on the on-court dynamics of the most recent Lakers dynasty, it also provided insight into the psyches of these men when the game wasn’t going on.
Pearlman wrote about Kobe’s upbringing in Italy, where his father Joe “Jellybean” Bryant played professionally, and he wrote that even there, Kobe was known for wanting the ball in his hands.
“Peers would scream, ‘Kobe passa la palla!’ (Kobe, pass the ball!) and he would respond simply, ‘No.'” Like a petulant child refusing to pass in pickup, Kobe soon realized he had to change.
That reputation stuck with Kobe into the NBA, though it could be argued that much like his idol Michael Jordan, he eventually sacrificed some individual numbers in order to become a winning player and a champion. Kobe himself has said as much, saying that if he had never played with Shaq, “My numbers would have been ridiculous.”
Kobe Bryant’s sacrifices made him an all-time great
Using the word sacrifice in this context has always been funny to me. It really gets to the heart of asking why anyone plays sports in the first place. Are you giving up something by shooting a little less in order to win? It seems that being a champion is a much better outcome from a personal satisfaction and legacy standpoint, so what are you actually giving up?
Jordan averaged over 30 points per game early in his career, then he figured out how to win and get his teammates involved. Some of his most famous plays involved passing the ball, like his passes to John Paxson or Steve Kerr. Kobe beat the Celtics for a ring later in his career because he passed to Ron Artest, better known as Metta World Peace, in a huge moment.
Without these “sacrifices,” the careers of all-time greats like MJ and Kobe might be closer to Dominique Wilkins or George Gervin, excellent players with stats and accolades but forgotten because of their team’s shortcomings. Winning as much as they did is what put them in the pantheon.
Kobe may not have been known for passing, but the fact that he shared the spotlight with Shaq left his legacy in a much better place than if he had scored 30 a night and never won a title, let alone three straight. He blamed that partnership for the fact that he only won one MVP in his career, but it was a worthwhile sacrifice.
Eventually all that sharing led to Shaq and Kobe splitting up and the Lakers dynasty crumbling, but Kobe was able to reach the mountaintop two more times because he grew wiser and was willing to do things like pass it to teammates in big moments. He’s now thought of as one of the best players of all-time, and deservedly so.
Not bad for a kid that used to piss off his teammates in Italy for not passing the ball.
