Love him or hate him, Kobe Bryant is Denver’s NBA villain, and he deserves a proper farewell tour. Kobe Bryant is not only familiar with it; he’s comfortable playing the villain, and that’s the role he’s played virtually his entire career while playing in Denver. After announcing his retirement, not only has he shed the title of villain; he has turned the Lakers into must-watch basketball. Although he was already sort of doing that with his atrocious play — we all slow down to see the car wreck.
Kobe, who has earned the one name title, will make one more trip to Denver barring an injury; so if you did not see him play on Tuesday night at Pepsi Center make sure Wednesday, March 2, you’re at the Pepsi Center for what will be his last stop at Chopper Circle.
It’s very easy to see why the state of Colorado has beef with Kobe (get it, BEEF with KOBE??); after all, he was accused of a very serious crime in our great state. Add that up with the lack of success the Nuggets had against his Laker teams, and you get boos when he touched the ball and chants of “no means no.” I understand, you’re a fan and you bought your ticket which in my opinion gives you the right to boo or cheer as loud as you want.
But I am curious to know who do you dislike more? Kobe Bryant, George Karl, Kenyon Martin or Anthony Carter? Because I would make the argument that Karl, Carter and Martin have more to do with the Lakers ripping the hearts out of Nuggets fans in 2009 than did Kobe Bryant.
Remember it was George Karl who gave Anthony Carter the opportunity to inbound the basketball in Game 1 of that Western Conference Finals, which resulted in a two-point Lakers win. Fast forward to Game 3 in Denver, and it seemed as if Karl had learned his lesson, because in that game Karl needed an inbound play and called on Kenyon Martin to get the ball in play. We know how that ended.
Lets all curse at Trevor Ariza together in three, two, one!
A lot of Nuggets fans will tell you that their team was a couple of bad inbounds plays away from sweeping the almighty Lakers in 2009. The series would eventually end in six games with Kobe scoring 35 points and dishing out 10 assists in the series clincher. For what it’s worth, the Lakers did go on to win the NBA championship, beating the Orlando Magic four games to one. Not sure if that helps or hurts more? Knowing they were the best team in all of basketball hurts because that Nuggets team would of mopped the floor with the Magic that year.
As a huge fan of the game, I have a hard time forgiving and forgetting the inability to draw up an inbounds play or the lack of movement from a staggering Nuggets team that expected Carmelo Anthony to bail them out. As we all know now, asking Melo to bail a team out of a situation is not exactly his strong suit.
I also understand that the crime Kobe was accused of was brutal and one that should not be taken lightly. I am not making an excuse for Kobe Bryant because what he did in my world is inexcusable, but that’s my world. I am a 31-year old man who works in sports media, not a 25 year old (Kobe’s age at the time) with millions of dollars; I know nothing about that world, and if you’re reading this, chances are you don’t either. Again what he was accused of doing was inexcusable and will always be a black mark on his career, as it should be but his greatness on the basketball court cannot be denied.
Kobe’s effect on the game has been obvious and it has even touched current Nugget Will Barton. Barton told Mile High Sports Magazine that he keeps in his bedroom a photo of Kobe blocking his dunk attempt. Barton said “that moment changed my game, I became so much better.” Check out the full article in the December 2015 issue.
Now, here we are in 2015, and as a legend’s career comes to a close, you have to ask yourselves as Nuggets fans, can we forgive and forget? How will you remember Kobe? He has given us some of the most memorable moments in Nuggets history; sure, the team lost a lot when 24 was on the floor, but getting to witness greatness is something that cannot be forgotten.
