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Is LeaderNotes just about basketball? It seems like it lately. I’ll admit, the past week has had a round ball influence. But the inspiring stories of “Glory Road” and the 183 win streak of the Brea Ladycats were really about leadership, inspiration and greatness. They just happened to be basketball stories.
Then there is Kobe Bryant. If you haven’t heard, Kobe scored 81 points last night against the Toronto Raptors. This is an amazing feat in an era of unprecendented talent and parity that exists in the NBA today. Then again it was Toronto. Not really a defensive powerhouse unless it is against a power play.
I live in LA. I love basketball. But I can’t get behind Kobe. I won’t deny it was an individual performance that is amazing. He personally outscored Toronto in the third period. But I don’t see a lot of leadership from Mr. Bryant. I don’t see him making his teammates better like Michael Jordan made Scotty Pippen better. I don’t see him playing inspiring defense and tallying triple doubles like Magic or Bird. I do see him brooding, solitary, demanding Shaq be traded and not leading on any level.
From what I read in the blogoshere, despite the performance, I am not alone. The word “rapist” and “ball hog” seem to show up as often as all-star or greatest player. In fairness, read LakersBlog for the “Kobe for MVP” side of the story.
In my view, the ultimate test of a player’s greatness is to win championships and to inspire his team to rise to greatness. Kobe has some championships to his credit but he was not the leader of those teams. Points alone do not a champion or leader make.
While Kobe was setting a record, another phenom was breaking one. Thanks to LebronTalk for revealing that last night against the Utah Jazz, LeBron James became the youngest player to reach 5,000 career points, surpassing Kobe Bryant. In my opinion, LeBron is a much more complete player. One who can and will rebound, pass and will play defense. And not a bad scorer for 21 years old. We will watch to see if he can lead.
