Yes
![markjasond:
Taken from espn.com”The real marvel, as it was for Jordan as he got older or Oscar as he got older or Kareem as he got older or Bird or Magic, is watching Kobe figure out new ways to win. It’s the real test of remaining a champion. If he can’t get to the rim as spectacularly as he once did, then Kobe will pull up short of the young shot blockers and shoot the hell out of that 12-foot jumper.
The NBA — any league, really — is lucky to have a player who cares so much, after so many years and so many successes, that any little thing will drive him back to the practice court or film room. I would argue that Kobe, now more than at any other time in his career, is elevating his sport because every player on that list, above or below him, is looking at a bar, a standard, set exceptionally high.
You don’t feel like playing tonight because something hurts? Kobe, who has more titles than you do, allowed a doctor to shoot up his wrist to play.
You want to sit for a few minutes in the fourth quarter tonight because it’s the second game of a back-to-back and you’re on the road? Kobe, with more mileage on him than a ‘95 Durango, just scored 40 on the road in his second of back-to-backs. But the two teams take the court, nobody else in either uniform is ever going to have the career Kobe Bryant has had. Perhaps nobody on the court will have the season he’s having right now, 16 years in and approaching 34 years old. Probably, nobody will stay as long on the big stage. Probably, nobody will have had the personal dramas, the feuds, and the successes.Someday, he’ll feel too old. Maybe the wrist will hurt too much. Maybe the passion will wane. But not now. He’s too good. This is too much fun, not just the winning, but proving that No. 7 [ranked by ESPN.com] player is insultingly low, too. Hell hath no fury like Kobe scorned. Damn, this is fun to watch. ”
Kobe is a beast](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxt6jkfu0K1qck4qdo1_400.png)
Taken from espn.com
”The real marvel, as it was for Jordan as he got older or Oscar as he got older or Kareem as he got older or Bird or Magic, is watching Kobe figure out new ways to win. It’s the real test of remaining a champion. If he can’t get to the rim as spectacularly as he once did, then Kobe will pull up short of the young shot blockers and shoot the hell out of that 12-foot jumper.The NBA — any league, really — is lucky to have a player who cares so much, after so many years and so many successes, that any little thing will drive him back to the practice court or film room. I would argue that Kobe, now more than at any other time in his career, is elevating his sport because every player on that list, above or below him, is looking at a bar, a standard, set exceptionally high.
You don’t feel like playing tonight because something hurts? Kobe, who has more titles than you do, allowed a doctor to shoot up his wrist to play.
You want to sit for a few minutes in the fourth quarter tonight because it’s the second game of a back-to-back and you’re on the road? Kobe, with more mileage on him than a ‘95 Durango, just scored 40 on the road in his second of back-to-backs.
But the two teams take the court, nobody else in either uniform is ever going to have the career Kobe Bryant has had. Perhaps nobody on the court will have the season he’s having right now, 16 years in and approaching 34 years old. Probably, nobody will stay as long on the big stage. Probably, nobody will have had the personal dramas, the feuds, and the successes.
Someday, he’ll feel too old. Maybe the wrist will hurt too much. Maybe the passion will wane. But not now. He’s too good. This is too much fun, not just the winning, but proving that No. 7 [ranked by ESPN.com] player is insultingly low, too. Hell hath no fury like Kobe scorned. Damn, this is fun to watch. ”
Kobe is a beast
