#los angeles lakers
Kobe Bryant photographed by Jed Jacobsohn while celebrating defeating the New Jersey Nets in Game Four of the 2002 NBA Finals in East Rutherford, NJ - June 12, 2002
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Kobe Bryant photographed by Gregory Bojorquez during a portrait session in Beverly Hills, CA - September 08, 2002
https://www.instagram.com/strappedarchives/
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The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.
Kobe Bryant
illustration by valentini mavrodoglou
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joel embiid (PHI) about lonzo ball (LAL)
lonzo ball, kyle kuzma and jordan clarkson (LAL) this season
lonzo ball, kyle kuzma, and josh hart (LAL)
magic johnson (LAL, president of basketball operations) tampering
brook lopez (LAL)
brook lopez (LAL) to the young laker core
Kylie Jenner at the Los Angeles Lakers game.
Opening Ceremony Bonsai Embroidered Silk Varsity Dress
Hermès Kelly Box Bag
Kurt Geiger Carvela Kurt Geiger
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LA people don’t hate LeBron, because they think he’s a horrible human being. They hate LeBron, because they love Kobe Bryant. I’ll explain. Before The Decision, among LA fans, there was this quiet anxiety that Kobe would soon lose his respected stature as the NBA’s best player.
This was a time where critics and fans began to ask whether LeBron was better than Kobe, and for Kobe fans it felt premature. Kobe fans weren’t ready to crown someone else king, and LeBron posed undoubtedly the biggest threat to Kobe’s stature as the league’s best.
So there was resentment, at first. “It’s hard to congratulate the new guy, whom everyone keeps saying is better than you” sort of thing. LA fans found themselves constantly defending Kobe’s honor, trying to prove why Kobe was still better than LeBron. The anger festered.
At that point, it wasn’t personal. In general, there was no real disdain for LeBron’s personality, just the public’s adoration of him. Then came The Decision. As the criticism poured in, LA fans felt happy that others could be against LeBron with them. It didn’t matter why.
It became easier to make their point that Kobe was still king, because people didn’t want to like LeBron. It became common to hate him. The disdain LA fans had for the public’s adoration of him quickly turned to hatred for who he was, because it was acceptable & they werent alone.
Now, LeBrons undeniably at least as good as Kobe is. So the pro-Kobe arguing points have given way to petty jokes, generally regarding rings. Quietly, Kobe/LA fans feel rings are all they have left to dangle over LeBron. So they milk it, while pointing out things like his hairline. Every LeBron near-failure is a source of pride for LA/Kobe fans, because, at least for the moment, the argument that Kobe is king is still strong.
LA fans convinced themselves they really hate LeBron, and by now, they might. But it isn’t LeBron so much as it is the threat that he poses. It might have something to do with the fact that no matter how great Kobe was, people never gave him the respect and adoration they gave MJ.
It might also have something to do w/ Kobe never winning multiple MVP’s or the criticisms that he could never win a title on his own. LA’s insecure about their hero. They can mask it, by pretending they genuinely hate LeBron as a man, but all it ever has been is insecurity.
