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Gaining Separation
Basketball's best player is reaching new heights
I've sat through thousands and thousands of concerts, readings, screenings, exhibits, and shows of all kinds. An especially sublime performance leaps out at you. It's something you can feel in the air even before the terrific perf becomes tangible. And it has, for me, gotten to the point where I can suss a landmark Kobe Bryant performance 20 yards away from the television.
He's 29, and 29th on the all-time scoring list. When the suburban Philadelphia product is done, he may well own all of the scoring records and could also share the mark for championship team memberships. Shielded by Shaq through the first portion of his career, he's now on track to win his own championships. (Most successful coach, Phil Jackson, aside.) And he is, right up there with MJ, the best basketball player that I've ever seen.
Just 18 months ago that pronouncement would have been laughable. But anyone who watched Bryant play on the U.S. team knows that if the guard merely concentrates on defense, he's a game-changing presence. What's more, Bryant has refined his shooting to such a degree that the likelihood of success is perceptible even before he makes the shot. That's not something that was regularly around during the rarefied days of threatening the single-game scoring mark.
Truth is, Bryant is a much better player now. Take Wednesday's perf into account. As I said, from the bar's far end, I could see that he had that killer stroke. By the end of the first period the Lakers star had 20 points, and he might have gone for 70. Instead, Bryant transformed himself into the team's main facilitator, spending much of the middle sessions passing the ball so that key sidekicks could remain in the game's flow. Bryant ended up with 49 points — 19 in the final quarter — and 10 assists.
He's 29, and 29th on the all-time scoring list. When the suburban Philadelphia product is done, he may well own all of the scoring records and could also share the mark for championship team memberships. Shielded by Shaq through the first portion of his career, he's now on track to win his own championships. (Most successful coach, Phil Jackson, aside.) And he is, right up there with MJ, the best basketball player that I've ever seen.
Just 18 months ago that pronouncement would have been laughable. But anyone who watched Bryant play on the U.S. team knows that if the guard merely concentrates on defense, he's a game-changing presence. What's more, Bryant has refined his shooting to such a degree that the likelihood of success is perceptible even before he makes the shot. That's not something that was regularly around during the rarefied days of threatening the single-game scoring mark.
Truth is, Bryant is a much better player now. Take Wednesday's perf into account. As I said, from the bar's far end, I could see that he had that killer stroke. By the end of the first period the Lakers star had 20 points, and he might have gone for 70. Instead, Bryant transformed himself into the team's main facilitator, spending much of the middle sessions passing the ball so that key sidekicks could remain in the game's flow. Bryant ended up with 49 points — 19 in the final quarter — and 10 assists.
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