“Did you see that man Kobe Bryant last night? He put the team on his back!” This is what everyone at school was saying during the 2009 NBA finals. At the time I was in the seventh grade and had no idea what was going on, although it interested me since all my friends knew about this event. After school that day, I saw a commercial on ESPN advertising all basketball fans to watch, “Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Orlando Magic tonight at 6 pm.” The commercial informed me with the following information, it was Game 5 of a 7 game series and the Lakers were up 3-1 and the Lakers needed to win one more game to become a 16 time NBA Championship franchise. Kobe Bryant was the team captain who lead his team into the finals and averaged …show more content…
He played his heart out and ended up scoring 30 points in the final game of the season. As the final seconds ticked down and the Lakers were up 99-86, and Bryant knew he was going to become a four-time NBA champion. After the game was over, the chairmen of the NBA announced Kobe Bryant as the 2009 finals most valuable player. He finally got his championship without O’Neal, and he was incredibly emotional. The commercials that explained Bryant’s story that led up to the finals inspired me to become a basketball player. After watching one basketball game, I wanted to be just like Kobe Bryant. I told my mother that I was going to play on my eighth grade school’s basketball team next year, and I would need a pair of basketball …show more content…
The commercials reeled in my attention and did not give any room for other distractions. Watching Kobe Bryant’s story influenced me to become just like him. Basketball has impacted me in a positive way in terms of academics because without it, I would have been an average student just getting by in the class. Before basketball I was nowhere near the smartest student in my classes and after not making my eighth grade basketball team that motivated me to assign my education as the highest priority so that I could play basketball. I ended up playing basketball all four years in high school and averaged a 4.0 academically with perfect attendance. It’s a humbling experience how the conversations at school and the first basketball commercial I watched about the NBA finals lead me to play a sport that I
Kobe admits that the success he has gained has come with many sacrifices. Thousands of hours were spent practicing dribbling, shooting, and playing defense so he could become a great player in the league like his father was. Refusing to play in his father’s shadow, it is without a doubt that we can say Kobe
First, a list of his accomplishments. Kobe was drafted out of highschool at the age of seventeen, broke into the league by winning the Slam Dunk contest in his rookie season, and by age of twenty-five he was a three time world champion. He was the youngest person to be named a NBA All-Star at the age of nineteen. The combination of his talents with the talents of Shaquille O’Neal was the greatest “one-two punch” of all time. That is an objective fact. Shaq himself has even admitted that had the duo stayed together after the 2004 season, they most certainly would have gone on to win additional world championships, but Kobe didn’t need Shaq. When it was all said and done, Kobe ended up with five rings to his name to O’Neals four - all five with the Lakers I might add.
Kobe came into the league in the most ideal scenario; he was picked by a big market, star studded, rich organization, the Los Angeles Lakers. To add to that, Kobe had 0 pressure due to the other superstar in town, Shaquille O’Neal. Kobe would be the robin to Shaq’s Batman, and by doing so, Kobe would have 3 championships in a row. In historical context, on the NBA’s chess board, Kobe was a knight; he was important but they could do without him. Kobe did not become an important piece until in his ninth year, when he was stranded with NBA journeymen. Comparing them to his old teammates was like comparing minute maid orange juice to Dom Perignon champagne. So, Kobe was granted permission to do whatever he wanted with the basketball in his hands, which lead to his average points per game going up, and his shooting efficiency to go down. LeBron however, was not drafted into success with no pressure and a Batman like Kobe was; he was the most anticipated basketball player ever, expected to lift a team, rather a city, whom had not won a sports championship since 1964, out from the ashes and into the limelight,at the age of 18. Unlike Kobe, Lebron had all the pressure to live up to his prophecy from the moment he stepped on the NBA’s basketball court and he did not disappoint. In fact, LeBron put up stats never before seen from a player so young, changing NBA history in the process. At 19, he
Kobe Bryant (born August 23, 1978) is a famous professional NBA basketball player and is one of the game's greatest scorers. Kobe has won five NBA championships with the Lakers and is an 18-time all star champion, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team and 12-time member of the ALL-Defensive team. In the NBA, Kobe Bryant holds the record for the most seasons played for one franchise for an entire career. In 2002 Kobe had a lot of friends such as one member of the team, Shaquille O'Neal, who was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, after losing the 2004 NBA finals. That's when Kobe stepped up and became a new leader, he led the NBA in scoring a career high of 81 points in a single game, against the
Yelling “KOBE” while throwing a crumpled paper ball into the trashcan is something every sports fan in the world have done at one point of their life. After winning five time NBA championships, voted two time NBA Final MVP, two time scoring champion, his accomplishments speaks for his greatness, and that is Kobe Bryant. Bryant is now a retired professional basketball player who played in Los Angeles Lakers for 20 years. Throughout his remarkable career, Bryant developed a heroic figure as he pursued Michael Jordan’s footsteps and overcoming him toward the end of his career. He is considered a hero because he has the trait of being determined, fearless, and inspirational.
How does playing basketball for a school can help a student academically in high school from a structural-functionalist perspective? You notice that playing basketball for a high school can help physically, mentally, socially, and academically. Not only does playing basketball for a school not only build friendships between team members, but could also give them that competitive edge to become better than who they are physically and mentally. For a student to continue playing basketball for a school, he’ll have to stay in shape for the season and be able to keep the grades above average. Academically, at a college level, basketball is a good and bad thing. Majority of universities pay attention to the student skill level at the sport rather than his grades, just to ensure the schools success.
In spite of these players’ efforts, this year was the first time that a player straight out of high school has won the NBA MVP award. Kevin Garnett may have won the MVP award this year, but he has been in the league for nine seasons, which makes him a veteran player. Therefore, instead of spending his first four seasons in the NBA, he could have spent them in college, and then he could have come to the NBA and won the MVP award. By going to college he could have still kept improving as a player, but he could have also gotten the college experience and could have become a more educated person.
As the core player in their team, they are always responsible to take the last chance to score that will determine the results of games, which is called Game-Winning shot. According to a statistic by ESPN, Kobe has made 36 Game-Winning shots in his career while both Lebron and Tim have made 23 Game-Winning shots (Abbott, 2011). It is not difficult to conclude that Kobe has the dominance to determine the result of games, especially during the last few minutes. Therefore, Michael Jordan, who has been called “the god of basketball”, claimed that he loved watching Kobe’s game and Kobe is the only one deserved to be compared with himself (Freeman, 2012). It definitely shows that Kobe is the greatest in 21st century because of the praise from “the god of
However, Spike Lee captures Kobe as completely human, prone to minor mistakes, throughout the film. For example, when talking to his teammates on the bench versus the Spurs he says, "Hey Pau, my fault I thought you had a quick shot right there, that's why I threw it back to you" (34:12). Kobe not only admits to his mistake, but he explains his thought process when he made the wrong pass earlier in the game. Candid interactions like this allows the viewer to relate to Kobe, as his humbleness and composure often makes the viewer think twice about who they're watching; is it one of the greatest basketball players ever or just an ordinary dude? Later on, Kobe explains that post-game inters are particularly tough because he's always "out of breath." Once again, the viewer is surprised with another admittance of mortality, unlike the god-like status that he typically carries. By providing an eye into Kobe's private conversations in the locker room and on the bench that viewers otherwise wouldn't witness, the viewer is able to relate to Kobe.
There are 491 basketball players in the NBA, they all are very different in where they come from, who they are, and the impact that they are leaving behind. One player in particular is leaving his very own trademarked stamp on the NBA: Derrick Rose. He is the youngest MVP in NBA history. Rose played in the NBA for 10 years after attending the University of Memphis. He was a highly sought after recruit in high school with many scholarships mainly for being a once in a lifetime athlete who was known around the country for how explosive he was. He grew up in the rough parts of Chicago, where gang violence and drugs were always present wherever he went. Rose is an influential role model through his athletic success and perseverance, as well
If anybody had inspired Kobe I think it would have been his dad. His dad inspired him because when he saw his dad play it inspired him to work and play basketball too.(Biography)People want to be like him because they looked at his achievements and hard work .He inspires me because the stuff he did in his career was amazing. (biography)Kobe bryant is a scoring leader in NBA history and won tons of championship rings.Kobe was a great plKobe Bryant is a two time scoring leader, two time finals Mvp , and has five championship rings.(Stewart 23)Kobe Bryant was born on August 23rd, 1978, Philadelphia,Pennsylvania (Stewart 14).Kobe Bryant is important because he changed the course of basketball and did tons of great things in his career.
A well known athlete had many fans following him.His name is Kobe Bryant. Kobe was famous for his basketball skills.He was exciting to watch.
He was drafted in 1996 by the Hornets but the Lakers decided to take a shot with the rookie ( Britannica.com). This made him the youngest player to play in the NBA at the time, an impressive feat on its own (CNN.com). Kobe’s athleticism and young legs proved to be a lethal tool on the court, his first season was so good that he caught the attention of many analysts. His early prominence lead to his being elected for the NBA all star game his rookie year (Britannica.com). It was at this time another legend joined the Lakers, Shaquille O’neal. It was at this point the team earned the nickname “Showtime Lakers.” Kobes talent and Shaq’s raw size made their games a complete circus for games to watch. The young point guard would dazzle an opponent with an array of moves then throw the ball through the air to his counterpart who would barely have to jump to slam the ball into the rim over his opponent. Lakers fans became so obsessed with the team, that even celebrities would pay outrageous amounts to sit as far as thirty row away from the bench (ESPN.com) It was the season of 2000 that glory struck of the young Bryant. He took his team to the playoffs, and won. (Britannica.com) Not only did he do that, but he continued his streak all the way to 2003 (CNN.com) This was when he was named Season MVP in 2003, 07, 09, and 11
One of the things that inspired him was how much he loved the sport. Kobe Bryant said, "It's the enjoyment of the game and the love of it. Then it's the low hanging fruit of responding to this challenge. I mean it's right there, it's very easy to get me going" ("Kobe Bryant Best Motivational Speech"). Another factor of what inspired him was his willingness to become the greatest which encouraged him to do better each time. "That's how I would think everyone would go into it. You want to be the man, you know, not the best of the moment, but the best who ever set foot on a basketball court," said Kobe Bryant (Biography Today 54). Kobe brought out the best in people and he wanted to have a positive affect to the people around him and supported him in his life. His goal was to be one of the greatest, but he also wanted to influence people. One of the motivational things that he said was, " We realize the most important thing in life is how your career moves and touches those around you and how it carries forward to the next generation. You realize that's what makes true greatness" ("Kobe Bryant Interview"). These are the things that kept him from giving up through the obstacles that he
Voted Finals MVP, James said, "I came back to bring a championship to our city. I knew what I was capable of doing. I knew what I learned in the last couple years that I was gone, and I knew if I had to—when I came back—I knew I had the right ingredients and the right blueprint to help this franchise