Simply Amazing: Kobe Bryant's Journey to Greatness

By John Christensen Sports Central Columnist

Kobe Bryant is in his fifth season in the NBA playing for the glorious world champion L.A. Lakers. He is living his dream and enjoying being one of the brightest stars in the NBA in recent years.

The Charlotte Hornets drafted him with the thirteenth pick in the 1996 NBA draft out of Lower Merion H.S. Twelve other teams could have selected him, but instead made a huge mistake, and decided to pass. The Hornets didn't hold on to him for long though, they sent him to the Los Angeles Lakers for veteran center Vlade Divac.

If you're a Hornets fan, that's got to hurt, but just don't think about it. What if he was a Hornet right now? Kobe Bryant leading the Hornets in the bleak Eastern Conference, he would probably be averaging close to 40 a night, and he could possibly have the Hornets cruising in the East. But don't think about what could have been, Charlotte fans. What really hurts is that the Golden State Warriors passed up on Kobe Bryant with the eleventh pick to draft Todd Fuller? That hurts even more you would think. But, that's all history and all that matters now is Kobe Bryant.

Kobe did become a Laker, nonetheless, as you all know, and Jerry Bus is just plain grateful he had Jerry West making the moves back then.

What has Kobe done so far this year, you ask? We are about six weeks into the new NBA season and I have noticed several things about this young phenom, Kobe Bryant. The first thing would have to be his scoring. His shot attempts are way up and he is currently second in the league in that category, but he is also first in scoring at better than 29 points a game. He is putting up outstanding numbers for L.A., and is looking like a MVP candidate. He shoots close to 50% from the field, and just about 88% from the line, he also pulls down 5 boards a night and dishes out 5 assists a game. He takes and makes so many difficult shots it makes me truly believe that Kobe Bryant is amazing and that he is extremely confident and skilled. He is a big time clutch player and a class act to boot.

If you have not seen him play this year, you are missing a treat. He is so fluent and so gifted it makes me wonder, how great this Kobe Bryant guy will be?

What makes Kobe different from, say a Vince Carter? The answer is a lot of things. Kobe is clearly a better defender than Carter, and is also much more better at attacking the basket. Vince Carter's biggest problem right now is that he is very reluctant at times to drive to the basket. When Vince starts taking the ball to the basket more, he will either one, draw a foul, or two, create something for his teammates. Right now, he much too often settles for the jumper or the tough fade-a-way.

The main thing that distinguishes Kobe Bryant from Vince Carter would have to be the fact that Kobe seems to be much more focused and determined. He seems to know exactly what he wants to do and what he has to accomplish. He is a very mature, smart basketball player and knows the game better than Vince. Not to take anything away from Vince, he is an amazing player, but Kobe is a more complete player right now. Kobe wants and believes he will win many championships, and win many awards, and go down as one of the greatest of all time. Kobe is focused all the way.

Kobe is so good at such a young age it makes you wonder about the future. He uses the summer to get his mind straight, improve his game, and add new weapons to his arsenal. He has a great work ethic and also a great level of natural talent. When you get a guy with this much talent and he works hard, too, the sky is the limit to how great he can be. He has the tools, he has the determination, and he has the heart. Kobe knows he will improve year in and year out, he knows that the more work he puts in, the more output he will get. Kobe has it all, not to mention a championship already, and he's only 22.

Article courtesy of Sports Central