Why philly hates kobe

I think he can be even better because he has so much talent. Offensively, he can do so many things. The Lakers, who lost just 17 times in the regular season, are at not quite at that pace this season, though the only team with a better record through yesterday was the Cavaliers. If the Lakers are slightly complacent after winning their title, it's not because of Bryant, coach Phil Jackson said. His star has played with a broken right index finger, with ongoing back spasms and a painful elbow strain.

That tells people this is a team on a mission, that it's not just a job, it's a job that requires sacrifice.

Bryant broke the finger Dec. He decided to play with it in a splint rather than wait for it to heal. The Lakers scuffled initially and his shooting percentage dipped. But not his reputation. Five nights after breaking the finger, he hit a game-winning shot against Milwaukee.

On New Year's Day, he made another against the Kings. Last week, he became the youngest player ever to score 25, points.

The endorsements, which faded away after the rape accusation, have begun to return. And the president of the United States is apparently an awestruck fan. It was good just to have that time with him.

So if the guy doesn't get any love in his hometown, it's probably no big deal, right? But whether he gets it in Philly or not, it won't affect him.

I'm sure of that. Skip to content Share Icon. Facebook Logo. Link Icon. Full stop. If Kobe Bryant came to Philadelphia for one last game and fans booed him like crazy, it would be hilarious. It would be funnier than the time future mayor Ed Rendell bet a guy to throw a snowball.

It would even be funnier than throwing snowballs at Santa. I can answer this: It would be incredibly funny. So Sixers fans should do it. Okay, Bryant will probably be cheered tonight. But Philadelphia has long had an uneasy relationship with the best basketball player to be born in the city since Wilt Chamberlain.

On the surface it is quite odd, of course. But Bryant is different. The primary catalyst of this is the NBA Finals. The Sixers had a dream season, going and coming back from deficits in the first three rounds of the playoffs to win each one.

By the time they got to the Finals against the Lakers, the Sixers were spent. They stole Game 1, missed a chance to steal Game 2 with missed free throws, and that was it. The Lakers won in 5. One of the most fun seasons in Philly sports history was over, and it ended with a loss to a better team. He was an incoming freshman, and he was mentioned twice. The , year-old freshman and son of Joe Bryant, a former star at La Salle, will not only play on the varsity, he will start.

By his junior season in , Kobe Bryant was considered the best basketball player in Delaware County, where The Inquirer said "his excellence has resulted not only from his physical talents, but also from an all-encompassing love of the game. His junior season, he led the Aces to its first Central League championship in nearly 20 years. The junior scored a career-high 42 points last night and the Aces won, , to capture their first league title in boys' basketball since the season.

The team lost in the second round of the Class AAAA state playoffs, four wins short of a state title. Bryant, whom The Inquirer named its all-area player of the year, gave an emotional speech after the game to his teammates.

The game was over, the tears had subsided, and the Lower Merion players were about to join hands for the last time in a memorable season. But Kobe Bryant had one more thing to say, one more thing to tell his teammates after scoring 33 points and grabbing 15 rebounds in a overtime loss to Hazleton in the second round of the Class AAAA state playoffs on March He hates to lose. He cares for his teammates. He cares very much about his performance.

By his senior season, the No. During his time in high school, Bryant trained with the Philadelphia 76ers. Lucas, though, was fired before the draft and the 76ers chose Allen Iverson.