The Layup Line
A Series of Short Shots
Kobe Bryant, the Next Dirk Nowitzki
If Kobe Bryant is not the next Michael Jordan might he be the next Dirk Nowitzki?
In 2006 Dirk Nowitzki had an MVP caliber season while leading his deep and talented Mavericks past the dreaded Spurs into the NBA Finals. The Mavericks played the Heat that year, and should have won the title. They were the better team. Instead they raced off to a 2-0 series lead before famously squandering a 15 point 3rd quarter lead in Game 3. The Heat won that game and swept the balance of the series. The Mavericks have yet to recover from the psychological effects of the loss.
Much like Nowitzki before him, Kobe Bryant stands at a crossroad. The story arcs are eerily similar. But Kobe is under far greater pressure to climb out of the pit of unexpected collapse, and this for the second time of his storied career.
Dirk Nowitzki never broke up a 3-peat champion because of personality conflicts with his teammates. Neither has Dirk transformed his team into an off season spectacle by publicly demanding to be traded. And Dirk Nowitzki was never so lavishly gifted with an All Star teammate at the trade deadline. Those distinctions belong to Bryant.
If he doesn’t achieve the improbable by beating the Celtics twice at home, Bryant could start to hear voices. Voices who whisper, “Shaq was the heart of the 3-peat” or “the Lakers didn’t fail you, you failed them.” Voices who name Tim Duncan and Shaquille O’Neal as the best players since MJ. Voices who insinuate a little too much at press conferences. Voices who see his past as a poisoned place.
In order to quiet the voices, Kobe Bryant must simply win games 6 and 7 in Boston. Either way, win or lose, Kobe is lacing up for legacy.
