Why Appreciate Kobe Bryant’s Skills When It’s Much Easier To Hate Him?

When Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant finally decides to retire it will likely be as one of the most accomplished and decorated players of our time, and one of the greatest of this generation.

But really, who cares?

Lakers' fans spend too much time praising Bryant when it's much easier, not to mention more fun, poking holes in his questionable legacy.

For instance, Kobe's fan club love to point to his 81 point game against the Toronto Raptors as proof of his greatness, but why waste the time when it's not even a record?

If memory serves me correctly Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point game was 19 more points than Bryant's 81. It doesn't really matter that I can probably count the number of people who actually witnessed Wilt's performance on one hand since it wasn't televised.

We all know it happened because it's in the NBA record books.

And was I the only one who got tired of watching ESPN replay Bryant-the-ballhog's ridiculous shooting night over and over?

All Bryant's performance really proved is that he shoots the ball way to much, as former Dallas Mavericks' player Keith Horne pointed out when he questioned Bryant's number of assists that night.

Besides, scoring 81 points is not that hard. In fact I've done it several times, with multiple players on PlayStation.



The one NBA record Bryant holds is his 12-16 shooting performance from three point range, which is immediately diminished since he shares it with journeyman forward Donyell Marshall.

I mean really, how important can a record like that be if it's shared with a player whose whole career can be summed up by that achievement?

The fact that Bryant has never come close to equaling that number should prove to Kobe's fan-boys that it was just another lucky shooting night in a career that has been defined by luck.

I also love when Lakers' fans point out Bry...