- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
You may be wondering why one of the worst teams in the NBA warrants two articles in two weeks. It’s a fair question, but it’s also an easy one to answer. Quite simply, even when the Los Angeles Lakers stink, they somehow remain a news story.
I’m also a Lakers fan, but I’m sure that has nothing to do with it…
After last week demanding that head coach Byron Scott be fired – an opinion that has only been reinforced since that article was posted – this week I’d like to pose the question of whether or not all-time legend Kobe Bryant should retire, effective immediately.
It’s not easy to broach this subject without appearing disrespectful to a certain Hall of Famer.
Despite being a polarising character, The Black Mamba will be remembered as historically great and is often nominated in many experts’ all-time top 10 player lists.
Though his ego, selfishness and stubbornness will always be qualities that accompany any conversation about his career, even his greatest detractors would struggle to suggest he wasn’t a truly elite player.
However, the truth is, all great players need to hang up the sneakers at some point.
There is a saying often used by the US sports media: ‘Father Time is undefeated’. It refers to the inevitability that every great athlete gets old and starts to slip so much in excellence, that the time comes when they should gracefully end their careers.
Based on his start to the 2015-16 NBA season, that time may be now for 37-year-old Bryant.
I won’t mince my words here: Kobe has looked absolutely horrible so far this season. From shooting air balls, being a turnstile in defence, and being mired in a woeful shooting slump, he’s provided plenty of evidence to suggest he may be too old and might be washed-up.
After six games, Kobe is averaging 16.5 points on 32 per cent shooting. As a point of reference, his career averages are 25.3 at 45 per cent.
Meanwhile, his PER thus far this year is 12.7, versus a career mark of 23.2.
I could quote many other statistics – both standard and advanced – that paint just as ugly a picture, but whatever numbers you want to use, they all point towards the same conclusion: Kobe is descending into mediocrity as a player.
What’s most frustrating about this for Laker fans, is Kobe’s reluctance to accept his decline, acting – and more specifically, shooting – like he’s the young, athletic superstar of ten years ago. The former league MVP’s inability to adapt his game is hurting both him and his team.
Parking his individual performances for a minute, given the Lakers’ record is currently 1-5 and they’re no chance of making the playoffs – let alone being a championship threat – there is no real team success that Kobe is playing for either.
So with both Kobe and the team struggling, and a full rebuild of the franchise desperately needed, it wouldn’t be ludicrous to suggest he should just pull the pin now.
If Kobe did, those that love to criticise him would no doubt call him a ‘quitter’ and ‘selfish’.
In all honesty, he would be quitting. But technically, every player has to quit at some point, so it’s a bit of an empty and pointless sledge, as the timing is largely irrelevant if you simply can’t perform at the level required any more.
As for being selfish – something Kobe has long been labelled – any decision to retire immediately would actually be in the best interests of the franchise. It would enable the Lakers to fast-track their rebuild and move on from the Kobe era, meaning a departure for #24 could hardly be positioned as a bad thing.
So, given his struggles, the fact he has little left to prove or achieve, the knowledge that team success (the real reason anyone should play) is highly unlikely, and the reality that the Lakers need to start the next chapter in their history as soon as possible, there is a strong case for Kobe retiring right now.
Conversely, there is a case for Kobe not retiring.
The obvious point to make is that the Lakers’ 2015-16 campaign is just six games old. That’s only seven per cent of the season. Considering his age, and the fact he’s coming back from a serious injury, there is every chance that Kobe is just extremely rusty.
He may therefore be able to work himself back to a level in which he is very productive, and I’m sure that is Kobe’s current thought process. It would enable him to go out on his own terms, and with his head held high in still being a good player in the league in his 20th season.
At the end of the day, it’s Kobe’s decision, because the Lakers won’t be asking him to retire. If the franchise is willing to give him $50 million over the last two years of his career as little more than a thank you and a mark of respect, they certainly won’t be demanding an early retirement ceremony.
Incidentally, that money is another reason Kobe may not want to call time just yet.
The opinions of writers and fans shouldn’t hold any sway either. Talk of Kobe ‘hurting his legacy’ is a popular narrative and sounds incredibly perceptive and poignant. Yet while I’ve been guilty of saying it myself, the truth is, it’s absolute BS.
Michael Jordan didn’t hurt his legacy with his Washington Wizards tenure. Magic Johnson was a vastly different player – and actually came off the bench – when he made his comeback in 1995-96, but no one holds that against him historically.
Hardly anyone remembers Hakeem Olajuwon’s time with the Toronto Raptors, so it does little to diminish his accomplishments or standing in the game. Likewise, pictures of Patrick Ewing in a Seattle Supersonic or Orlando Magic jersey jar with our memories of the big man, rather than actually impact them.
Late-career struggles never damage a player’s overall reputation, and it’s important to be acutely aware that a star’s prime is generally our lasting memory of them, rather than the usual somewhat sad ending.
Hopefully Kobe can pick up his play, but even if he doesn’t, it’s completely his decision if he wants to continue on for the rest of the season. Even if he continues to play at a level that is sub-standard from the rest of his career.
However, something tells me Kobe is far from happy with how he’s playing, and that he does worry about his legacy, so stay tuned.
After all, it’s probably the only interesting thing about the Lakers this season.