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As the Lakers are struggling against the Spurs without Kobe Bryant, Nike delivers a glimpse of the past, present, and future in this powerful ad.

With the season on the line, Kobe Bryant rose to the occasion in the Rose Garden, soaring past the Portland Trail Blazers in a 113-107 victory. By dropping 47 points on 51.8% shooting, Kobe drove the Lakers to the finish line, keeping the team in the driver’s seat in the playoff race.

As the Trail Blazers came out scorching, Damian Lillard shot his stock into the stratosphere, going head-to-head with Kobe for most of the game…until Kobe created separation like Michael Jordan on fade-away. In short, Kobe completely dominated the game both ends on the floor with smothering defense and red-hot shooting. The final stat line for the Black Mamba? 47 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks, and 3 steals—and oh—he did in 48 minutes of play. Now, that’s doing work.

With Kobe keeping the team above water, Pau Gasol decided to play like the Black Swan, making a splash with 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists. With added support down low, D-Howard was able to play above the rim, dropping 20 and 10 on 9-11 shooting. Collectively, the big three combined for 90 of the team’s 113 points. So much for the claim that balanced scoring is a good thing.

With three games remaining, the Lakers remain in control of their own destiny—and the game’s most dangerous player continues to polish his golden legacy.

Wilt Chamberlain towered over opposing centers, casting a menacing shadow over the NBA landscape. After eclipsing Chamberlain as the league’s fourth leading scorer in history, Kobe Bryant shot his legacy into a higher celestial order, emerging as one of the few NBA superstars who shines brighter than the Big Dipper.

The top nine scorers in NBA history are centers or power forwards—with the exception of two players—Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. What separates Jordan and Bryant from the rest of the pack? To capture it in a phrase, it’s the degree of difficulty. As shooting guards, Jordan and Bryant used better footwork, greater range, and better agility to accumulate their unworldly numbers. In other words, they had to be better than the legendary big men to whom everyone one should still pay tribute.

In fact, no superstar in history—Jordan included—consistently took shot more difficult shots than Bryant. There are many who talk about shooting percentage—and for good reason. It’s a valid criterion (when taken with the proper perspective).  Remember, it’s generally easier to score with greater efficiency when one shoots closer to the basket. That likely explains why DeAndre Jordan and Kosta Koufos shoot with the highest degree of efficiency in the NBA today at 64.4% and 59.8%, respectively. But, are they among the NBA elite?

By looking at the big picture, it’s easier to see why Bryant and MJ stand alone as the two best all around players in history. Throughout his career, Bryant was doubled and triple-teamed, particularly in his best years. In the 2005-06, for example, Bryant averaged 35.4 while playing alongside Smush Parker, Luke Walton, Kwame Brown—and they were starters. Think about that for a moment. There was no point guard to give him the ball in easy places. There was no scoring threat to create good spacing.  Perhaps, it was even more remarkable that he averaged 4.5 assists on the team with the three worst position players in the league. After all, it’s hard to rack up assists when the players to whom you’re dropping the dime lack the ability to put the ball in the basket. But, Kobe has no problem putting the ball in the basket—whether from bail out shots with clock running down or through a triple teams—no one ever made more difficult shots.

As a prolific shooter, Kobe now has Michael Jordan in his —whom he’ll pass easily next year. Despite the recent talk about retirement, there’s a good possibility that Kobe might stick around for a while. By averaging 26 points a game over the next four years in 79 games, he would accumulate 39,650 points, placing him firmly ahead of the pack as the game’s greatest scorer. Then, there’s the opportunity to become the first player to score 40,000 points, which might make it too tantalizing from which to talk away. From King James to the Black Mamba, today’s NBA players are making smart moves about developing strong personal brands—and with 40,000 points beaming on the horizon, it’s possible that Kobe Bryant might want to cast his own shadow permanently over the NBA landscape.

(Courtesy Twitter.com/Lakers)

In a season in which Dwight Howard played more like Clark Kent than Superman, the Laker’s big man broke out the cape and pushed the Chicago Bulls around in a 90-81 victory. With 21 rebounds, D-Howard did more than anchor the defense—he cleaned up the boards like a man cleaning up the neighborhood. That’s right. The Lakers actually played good defense throughout the entire game—and in the process—gave new meaning to “the running of the bulls.”

While the Lakers relied on Kobe Bryant’s heroics during the team’s recent surge (Bryant averaged 35.6 points per game to go along with 6.7 assists on 56% shooting over the last eight games going into the match-up against the Bulls), it was the man in the middle who made the biggest impact on today’s game. From game-altering shots to strong picks, D-Howard hustled, rebounded, and bent the will of the Chicago Bulls.

With the win over the Bulls, the Lakers are now the eighth seed of the playoff race—and are in control of their own destiny. With the final stretch in sight, look for the Lakers to blast past the Houston Rockets for the seventh spot—and make a strong push to soar past the Golden State Warriors and swoop into the sixth spot. While Kobe Bryant played with super-human ability all season long, he is now joined with a super-human side-kick—and when the your side-kick is the man-of-steel—beware of a Laker team that’s ready to flex its muscle and stand strong in the postseason.

As great as Kobe has been during his incredible career, and  as many clutch performances as he’s had, this game against the Toronto Raptors may be his best closing performance of all time.

The Lakers family and entire basketball community is saddened to hear of the passing of Lakers owner Jerry Buss today. RIP Dr. Buss.

Great video tribute for Jerry here.

Derek Fisher’s statement:

Today the world lost a visionary and one of the most successful sports figures of all time. But today I lost a friend and mentor. He forever changed my life. May he rest in peace and my prayers are with his family that he loved so much.

Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s statement:

When someone as celebrated and charismatic as Jerry Buss dies, we are reminded of two things. First, just how much one person with vision and strength of will can accomplish. Second, how fragile each of us is, regardless of how powerful we were. Those two things combine to inspire us to reach for the stars, but also to remain with our feet firmly on the ground among our loved ones. Dr. Buss embodied that compassionate entrepreneurial spirit. He strove to reach greater heights without forgetting his community roots. During his stewardship, the Lakers exemplified his personal standards of excellence and became one of the dominant teams in the NBA and a force of good within the community. The man may be gone, but he has made us all better people for knowing him.

 

In a game where LeBron James tried to be the closer, Kobe Bryant closed the door on the man who sits on a fictitious throne. When the game was on the line, the Black Mamba cast a shadow over LeBron’s desire to rise to the occasion. Yes, it was All-Star game. But, when was the last time anyone was witness to smothering defense that held LeBron James to a single point fourth quarter (to help the West win the game). Kobe didn’t just shut him down, he embarrassed him. Perhaps, Michael Jordan was looking at the bigger picture when he said he would take Kobe over LeBron. With the biggest stars in one place, one player shut down the ESPN’s chosen one. For more, check this article from NBC.

This Lakers season has been as tumultuous as any one to date. The signing of Steve Nash and trade for Dwight Howard in the off season gave Lakers fans hope of moving from a playoff team back to the elite level we’re accustomed to. This new team was packed with four future hall-of-famers with complimentary skill sets, along with elite perimeter defender Ron Artest, a savvy vet scorer off the bench in Antawn Jameson, big man energy from Jordan Hill, and a knock down outside shooter in Jodie Meeks. How could this team not make a run at the title? It’s far too talented and well balanced.

Well, instead what we’ve seen is an 0-8 preseason start, a firing of head coach Mike Brown, a myriad of injuries to key players, Mike D’Antoni’s system handcuffing his talented lineup causing defiance and infighting, and all of this leading to a losing record as they scrap just to try to make the playoffs. How could this happen to this team with a $100 million lineup? And now we’re hearing the great Jerry Buss is on his deathbed with cancer. What else could go wrong? With all the success and good fortune the Lakers have had over the years, how could so much go wrong when it all looked so right?

Somebody must have upset the basketball gods and I keep going back to the preseason Time Warner Sports Net commercial that shows Dwight Howard touching the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship trophy. It always irked me when he touched it. Doesn’t everyone know you’re not supposed to touch those unless you were part of a team that earned one? I assumed it was common knowledge but it doesn’t look like Dwight got the memo. First earn it, then you can hold it, rub it, sleep with it, whatever you want to do…until then you’re not worthy.

Never Touch the Trophy

The Lakers were in Brooklyn to take on the Jay-Z Nets and were shorthanded with Dwight’s injury and Ron Ron’s one game suspension. They also managed to lose Gasol in the 4th quarter to a foot injury which ignited the Black Mamba and the center-less Lakers to a hard fought win and this nasty dunk by Kobe in the 4th. Also, be sure to check out John Legend’s face in the background…classic.

So the Lakers got a win in the icy tundra of Minnesota but I didn’t like it one bit. They’re reverting back to D’Antoni ball where they just jack up threes every time down the floor. What’s the excuse for Gasol skirting around the perimeter and shooting from outside? Dwight’s injured and didn’t play, it’s Pau’s job to be in the post where he wants to be right? So why was he out there? Was this Mike D’s request or was Pau too scared to bang with the Montenegro MMA fighter Nikola Pekovic?

Everyone is so excited about “Magic Bryant” but I don’t think it makes sense for Jameson, Pau, and Earl Clark to all take more shots than the deadliest scorer in the league. Nash was brought in to ease Kobe’s playmaking burden but that’s gone out the window and now the roles are reversed.

I also don’t understand how it took a quarter and a half for the Lakers to figure out how to beat the zone defense of the T’Wolves. Isn’t D’Antoni and “offensive genius?”

If the Lakers weren’t so red hot from the three point line in the first half they would have been blown out in this game. They got lucky and if they continue to play this style of ball it will be one ugly road trip.