Free Throw of Thought - Part One

My On/Off switch on sports, and many aspects of my life, is as devise as a black and white. I do not waddle in the gray area. Kobe Bryant is my off switch on the Lakers. Quite simply...I do not like him.

I loved the Lakers, from the Spring of 1979 when they drafted Earvin Magic Johnson, until the end of the 2003 season. I never knew the Lakers much before then, but the arrival of Magic, the title the won with him being a rookie, and all of the greatness that followed the Lakers in the 80s, made me a fan.

Kobe represents today's Generation I (as in me). Feed me the ball, I score all the points, I won 4 titles, I can not play with Shaquille O'Neal, etc. Magic's very nature was to distribute the ball and allow his teammates to score. It was not unusual for Magic to record double-digit assists, and he rarely was the leading scorer on the team. When Magic won a title, he did not hold his hand in the air with the number he won, but rather celebrated the team victory. Magic made a highlight reel with a great pass, or his infamous baby-hook shot...not a dunk!

Magic played 12 years in the NBA and went to the finals 9 times (won 5). If it were not for a miracle shot by Ralph Sampson and injuries to key players, that would have been 11 out of 12 years. He lost championships to Dr. Julius Erving, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, and Michael Jordan. He accepted his role as second fiddle in the early 80s to Kareem, and then gracefully took that mantle from him in the late 80s.

The disparity is greater when you look at when they were rookies. Magic ended his rookie year "winning one for the big fella" as he stepped in for Kareem at center and played the greatest game a rookie has ever played enroute to his first NBA Championship. Kobe came in off the bench in a playoff loss to Utah to fire up three straight airballs from the three point line without making a pass.

The sad reality is that Magic set the table for the next great Laker, and Kobe has come up with nothing but "Air".