On the Court With... Kobe Bryant by Matt Christopher Page A
Authors: Matt Christopher
Tags: Biography
Ads: Link
Kobe didn’t get his first basket until the fifth game of the
season.
With O’Neal at center, everyone expected the Lakers to win immediately, and in fact they did get off to a hot start. That
made it even more difficult for Bryant to get meaningful minutes. Harris was far more concerned with giving his key players
more timeplaying with one another than he was with working Bryant into the lineup.
Bryant tried to be philosophical about it, telling the press, “My father keeps telling me my time will come.” But for a basketball
junkie like Bryant, sitting on the bench was hard to deal with. Some members of the press who had thought it was a mistake
for Bryant to skip college took note of his lack of playing time and began whispering, “I told you so.”
Behind the scenes, Lakers president Jerry West was putting some pressure on Harris to play Bryant more often, but the coach
was resistant. The Lakers were on pace to win more than 50 games, and he didn’t want to risk disrupting his team just to give
Bryant some experience.
When the league broke to celebrate the annual All-Star weekend, the Lakers led the Pacific Division. Due more to his name
than his numbers, Bryant was selected to participate in the Rookie All-Star game; a showcase for younger players played the
day before the All-Star game.
Bryant was pumped up about finally playing. The game would be broadcast nationally, giving many NBA fans their first real
look at Bryant.
In the free-form, 30 minute contest, which moreresembled a pickup game than a regular-season NBA contest, Bryant flourished, outscoring more heralded rookies like Allen
Iverson to lead all scorers with 31 points.
But he saved the best for the slam-dunk contest. Although the contest had once attracted the game’s biggest stars, they had
begun to shy away. As a result, young players like Bryant were invited to participate.
He started slowly and barely made it to the final round of four players. Then Bryant rose to the occasion. As he had done
so many times in his high school career, he saved the best for last.
Starting on the left side, he charged the basket, went into the air, and seemed to hang in defiance of gravity. As he did,
he passed the ball from one hand to the other
between his legs,
then spun to the basket and slammed the ball home! It was a spectacular move.
The crowd jumped to its feet, as did judge Julius Erving, who as a player had been best known for his artistic dunking style.
Jazzed up by the crowd, Bryant bounced to midcourt, stood before the judges, and flexed his slender body like a bodybuilder.
The crowd roared again. To no one’s surprise, Bryant won the contest.
But none of his All-Star weekend success mattered when the regular season resumed. Bryant continued to play only five or ten
minutes a game even as O’Neal was lost for over a month to injury.
But another injury finally gave him a chance to play. began to realize he could provide some instant offense. He ended up
averaging 15 minutes per game Point guard Nick Van Exel went down and shooting guard Derek Fisher took over the point. Harris
had little choice but to pair Bryant in the backcourt with Fisher.
For the first time all year, Laker fans got a glimpse of the future. The team won five of the six games he started. Bryant
proved that he Could score — and the opposition discovered that at times they had to double-team him. Even better, he demonstrated
that he was learning what to do in such situations, as he rarely forced a hot and proved adept at finding the open man.
Although he went back to the bench when Van Exel returned, Bryant’s playing time increased as Harris began to realize he could
provide some instant offense. He ended up averaging 15 minutes per gameover the course of the season. O’Neal returned to the lineup and the Lakers made the playoffs easily, finishing 56-26, just
a game behind Seattle SuperSonics for. second place in the Pacific
season.
With O’Neal at center, everyone expected the Lakers to win immediately, and in fact they did get off to a hot start. That
made it even more difficult for Bryant to get meaningful minutes. Harris was far more concerned with giving his key players
more timeplaying with one another than he was with working Bryant into the lineup.
Bryant tried to be philosophical about it, telling the press, “My father keeps telling me my time will come.” But for a basketball
junkie like Bryant, sitting on the bench was hard to deal with. Some members of the press who had thought it was a mistake
for Bryant to skip college took note of his lack of playing time and began whispering, “I told you so.”
Behind the scenes, Lakers president Jerry West was putting some pressure on Harris to play Bryant more often, but the coach
was resistant. The Lakers were on pace to win more than 50 games, and he didn’t want to risk disrupting his team just to give
Bryant some experience.
When the league broke to celebrate the annual All-Star weekend, the Lakers led the Pacific Division. Due more to his name
than his numbers, Bryant was selected to participate in the Rookie All-Star game; a showcase for younger players played the
day before the All-Star game.
Bryant was pumped up about finally playing. The game would be broadcast nationally, giving many NBA fans their first real
look at Bryant.
In the free-form, 30 minute contest, which moreresembled a pickup game than a regular-season NBA contest, Bryant flourished, outscoring more heralded rookies like Allen
Iverson to lead all scorers with 31 points.
But he saved the best for the slam-dunk contest. Although the contest had once attracted the game’s biggest stars, they had
begun to shy away. As a result, young players like Bryant were invited to participate.
He started slowly and barely made it to the final round of four players. Then Bryant rose to the occasion. As he had done
so many times in his high school career, he saved the best for last.
Starting on the left side, he charged the basket, went into the air, and seemed to hang in defiance of gravity. As he did,
he passed the ball from one hand to the other
between his legs,
then spun to the basket and slammed the ball home! It was a spectacular move.
The crowd jumped to its feet, as did judge Julius Erving, who as a player had been best known for his artistic dunking style.
Jazzed up by the crowd, Bryant bounced to midcourt, stood before the judges, and flexed his slender body like a bodybuilder.
The crowd roared again. To no one’s surprise, Bryant won the contest.
But none of his All-Star weekend success mattered when the regular season resumed. Bryant continued to play only five or ten
minutes a game even as O’Neal was lost for over a month to injury.
But another injury finally gave him a chance to play. began to realize he could provide some instant offense. He ended up
averaging 15 minutes per game Point guard Nick Van Exel went down and shooting guard Derek Fisher took over the point. Harris
had little choice but to pair Bryant in the backcourt with Fisher.
For the first time all year, Laker fans got a glimpse of the future. The team won five of the six games he started. Bryant
proved that he Could score — and the opposition discovered that at times they had to double-team him. Even better, he demonstrated
that he was learning what to do in such situations, as he rarely forced a hot and proved adept at finding the open man.
Although he went back to the bench when Van Exel returned, Bryant’s playing time increased as Harris began to realize he could
provide some instant offense. He ended up averaging 15 minutes per gameover the course of the season. O’Neal returned to the lineup and the Lakers made the playoffs easily, finishing 56-26, just
a game behind Seattle SuperSonics for. second place in the Pacific
Similar Books
