On the Court With... Kobe Bryant (9 page)

The Lakers jumped ahead early, but turned cold as Utah began to make a move in the fourth quarter. Harris recalled Bryant’s
performance against Portland and he put him in the lineup, looking for some points.

Bryant proved he was becoming an explosive scorer. He scored 17 points in the final period as he kept the pressure on Utah
by driving to the basket again and again. They responded with fouls, and he coolly sank 13 of 14 free throws to secure the
104-84 win.

If L.A. didn’t win game four, their season was over.
Harris decided to go with the hot hand and Bryant played much of the game.

With the Lakers nursing an 87-85 lead with less than a minute remaining, Jazz veteran guard John Stockton went one-on-one
against Bryant. When the rookie went for a fake, Stockton blew past him to score a layup and tie the game with 11 seconds
remaining.

L.A. called time-out. O’Neal had fouled out and the Lakers needed someone to take the final shot. Harris decided that someone
would be Bryant. He told his team to get him the ball and get out of the way. The decision showed a lot of confidence in the
rookie.

L.A. inbounded the ball to Kobe and his teammates scattered, leaving him isolated on one side of the court. He moved toward
the basket, pulled up, and from fourteen feet shot a potentially game-winning jumper. He had made the same shot thousands
of times while playing shadow ball.

But this time, there was a national television audience, thousands of fans in the/ stands, and a hand in his face. The ball
fell short. Air ball! The game entered overtime.

Bryant was uncharacteristically unnerved. In the extra
period he shot three more times, and three more times he missed the basket entirely. The Jazz won going away, and the partisan
Utah crowd hooted Bryant and his teammates off the court.

The press questioned Harris’s decision to put the ball in Bryant’s hands in crunch time, and the coach snapped, “All year
I get criticized for not playing him and now I’m criticized for playing him.”

But no one felt worse than Kobe Bryant did. After returning to Los Angeles, the next morning Bryant went to the gym and began
working on his second season in the NBA. His rookie year was over.

CHAPTER NINE
1997-1998

Bryant knew he had to work harder if he was ever to achieve the level of success he expected from himself in the NBA. In addition
to his time spent in the gym, he added a grueling weight-training regimen to his fitness routine so he could become bigger
and stronger. He also played for the team the Lakers sponsored in the L.A. Summer Pro League, coached by former player Larry
Drew.

Although Bryant’s performance in the playoffs seemed to indicate that he would play a key role on the team in the upcoming
season, as he played in the summer league it became apparent that wasn’t necessarily the case. The Lakers tried to put restrictions
on his game. They didn’t want him to score as much as they wanted him to pass.

Bryant tried to adjust, but he found the transition difficult. He was convinced that his talents were best used as a scorer,
but the Laker offense was increasingly
focused on getting the ball to O’Neal inside. It was a slowdown style that Bryant felt uncomfortable with.

He tried his best to fit in. But in the preseason it became clear that Coach Harris planned to use Bryant off the bench as
a sixth man, either at shooting guard or small forward.

While Bryant was disappointed that he wasn’t in the starting lineup, the role suited him. Since he was no longer playing the
point, he wasn’t expected to distribute the ball. And he often entered the game while either O’Neal or the Lakers other main
scoring option, Eddie Jones, was taking a breather. Bryant’s job was to energize the team and put the ball in the basket.

That was something he was beginning to do in ever more spectacular fashion. He’d grown an inch and become stronger in the
off-season, and his offensive skills began drawing comparisons to Michael Jordan. He looked even taller, as he let his hair
grow out into a distinctive, short Afro.

In one amazing sequence, Bryant showed that he had skills that perhaps even Jordan didn’t have. In a preseason game against
Washington, Bryant got the ball in transition and charged down the court, freeing himself from his defender with a nifty crossover
dribble.

He had two options. He could either shoot the short twelve- to fourteen-foot jump shot or drive to the basket, where Washington’s
six-foot-nine forward Ben Wallace stood blocking his way.

The situation was not unlike that which he had faced at the end of the game against Utah. All summer long he had replayed
the sequence in his head, trying to figure out why he had missed the shot. He finally came to the conclusion that he had shot
an air ball because he had really wanted to drive straight to the basket. He hadn’t because he had worried about committing
a foul or being accused of being too flashy. In short, he had talked himself out of doing what came naturally, out of being
Kobe Bryant. That lack of confidence had probably led to the three air balls he had shot in overtime, as well.

He was determined not to let that happen again. Without hesitation he went right at Wallace.

The big man was in perfect position — in a slight crouch in case he had to jump up to block a shot, with his arms and legs
spread wide to keep Bryant from cutting past him. There was no apparent opening to the basket for Kobe Bryant.

But that didn’t stop him. He took the ball in his hand, took a quick, hard step, and went up…

… and up, and up, and up. Legs spread wide, Bryant went straight at, then over the befuddled defender, who ducked slightly
as Bryant soared over his head and jammed the ball through the hoop!

His teammates, the opposition, and the fans sat stunned in their seats for a moment. Then, as the crowd roared, Bryant’s teammates
looked incredulously at one another. The sheepish Wallace spun and looked around as if wondering where Bryant had gone. But
he was already back down to earth, racing down the court. It was a move that no one, not even Michael Jordan, could have made.

When the regular season started, the Lakers opened with a rush, winning their first eleven games. O’Neal dominated the inside
and Bryant came off the bench to score almost at will, averaging nearly 20 points a game, a remarkable total for a player
who was usually on the court for only half the game. While some observers groused that he was still out of control and still
failed to play within the team concept, the results were undeniable. The Lakers were winning.

The comparisons to Jordan continued when the Lakers and Bulls met for the first time that season in a game the press hyped
as a meeting of the past and future of the NBA. Although Chicago won by 20 and
Jordan poured in 36 points, Bryant held his own against the legendary star, hitting for a career-high 33 points and making
Jordan work for every shot.

Basketball fans throughout the country were beginning to realize what Bryant’s teammates already knew; he was becoming the
most exciting player in the NBA. “He amazes me,” said teammate Nick Van. Exel. “I see him every day and he still amazes me.”

Added Eddie Jones, “Every play, you look at him and you wonder, ‘What’s next?’ I would pay money just to watch Kobe play for
ten seconds.”

The fans confirmed Jones’s estimation of Bryant when they voted for the NBA All-Star team. Kobe Bryant, the sixth man on his
own team, collected more votes than any other player, out-polling even Michael Jordan to earn a starting berth on the Western
Conference squad. It was an unprecedented achievement for a nineteen-year-old player.

Although a few members of the press sniped that Bryant didn’t deserve the honor, the other All-Stars were well aware that
his popularity was good for the league and they welcomed him.

The game was held in New York’s Madison Square Garden, smack in the middle of the world’s media capital, guaranteeing that
every move Bryant made would be scrutinized. Not many nineteen-year-olds could handle that
much pressure, but Bryant tried to remain cool, although even he had to admit at a press conference before the game, “My body’s
numb, my heart’s racing.”

Observers were again touting the game as a matchup between Jordan and Bryant. The two players realized that’s what the fans
wanted to see and tried to play up to the hype.

It helped that in All-Star games teams play little defense. In such a setting, Bryant’s and Jordan’s skills were on full display.
The two players raced up and down the court, matching each other with shot after spectacular shot.

One shot Bryant made in the third quarter still has fans talking. The West had the ball on a fast break, and Kobe led the
charge down the court.

He could have passed to a teammate, and perhaps he should have, but instead he chose to give the crowd their money’s worth.
He decided to take the shot himself.

In full stride he first hid the ball behind his back with his left hand as he looked the opposite way, then took it out and
jumped, out of control and tumbling, At the same timebefore tossing up a crazy, no-look
hook shot over his head, an impossible shot that somehow went in.

But that was the end of the show. Western Conference coach George Karl pulled Bryant from the game in the fourth quarter in
favor of some veteran players. Bryant ended up with 18 points and 6 rebounds in 22 minutes of play against the NBA’s best.
But Jordan, who played most of the game and scored 23 points, earned MVP honors for the victorious East.

Bryant didn’t mind. “I just wanted to sit back, observe the whole thing,” he said, adding, “This is the most fun I’ve ever
had. I’m kind of sad it’s over.”

Those words would prove to be prophetic, for the-first weeks of the second half of the season weren’t much fun for either
Kobe Bryant or the Lakers. Illness and injury sent the Lakers into a slide, and after his All-Star performance, Bryant suddenly
found himself the object of increased attention by opposing defenses. His shooting suffered, and he seemed to be forcing his
game and appeared out of sync. Coach Harris began turning to other options on his bench and Bryant’s playing time dropped.
Instead of being called on to provide instant offense, he was being used primarily for his defense.

The team managed to right itself in the final six weeks of the season, winning twenty-two of their final twenty-five to finish
with a record of 61-21, just a game behindthe Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls for the best record in the league. But while the
Lakers thrived, Bryant withdrew, and the player who appeared on the verge of becoming the best in the game at midseason was
on the verge of disappearing.

People began to openly wonder whether the Lakers were actually a better team without Bryant. In the first round of the playoffs,
against Portland, he played sporadically, getting a handful of minutes in one game, then playing nearly all of the next. The
Lakers won easily to advance to the next round, versus Seattle.

Bryant played even less against Seattle, getting little more than garbage time as the Lakers again swept to victory. It appeared
as if the team might have an appointment with the Bulls in the Finals.

But the Utah Jazz got in the way. They exposed the Lakers on defense, as their highly disciplined offense, keyed by Karl Malone
and John Stockton, ran the Lakers ragged. And on defense the Jazz, unlike most other teams, didn’t just focus on O’Neal. They
pressured everyone, and the Lakers simply couldn’t score.
In limited time, Bryant was no more successful than his teammates.

By the time of their final defeat in the four-game sweep, the Lakers were sniping at one another and atCoach Harris. Bryant
had withdrawn during the second half of the season and hardly knew what to think anymore. As he later admitted, “I’ve been
humbled.”

His future would depend upon how he reacted to that experience.

CHAPTER TEN
1998-1999