NBA Playoffs Thread

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As for Kobe, I honestly only remember all of his criticism coming directly from his relationship with Shaq, and based upon Shaq's lack of work ethic, I find it hard to blame Kobe for that. I don't remember anything with Malone, so perhaps you could enlighten me there. Certainly I don't remember any criticism when they were winning, and thats what it all comes down to.

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Here is an article from the 2002-03 season where his coaches criticizes him for his selfish play. Here are some excerpts:

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Kobe's me-first attitude in training camp (this was also the case in preseason games) destroyed the value of too many intrasquad scrimmages. Instead of concentrating on reorienting themselves to the triangle's basic geometries, the players' attention was focused on man-to-man competition, bickering over real and imagined fouls, looking to short-cut their way to victory, and ignoring the increasingly caustic scolding of the coaches.

In one preseason game, Kobe missed 20 shots. In another, he committed nine turnovers. Forcing bad shots, hogging the ball, and generally running amok, Kobe unilaterally devolved the Lakers' multidimensional offense into a straight line.

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"Kobe looked to go one-on-one every time he touched the ball," was the post-mortem that Jackson delivered to the media. "His rare pass surprised his teammates. I can only promise that, even before Shaq returns, things will get better."

Longtime assistant coach Tex Winter, the gadfly of the coaching staff, was a lot more direct when he confronted Kobe in the locker room after the game. "You played stupidly," he said, bluntly.


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So I think we can agree he was accused of being selfish before they got rid of Shaq. I am sure there are many more articles like this one if you want to go searching for them. I remember it being a common opinion, and even recall a parody Craig Kilborn did on his show where he acted like he was Kobe and would not pass the ball ("Pass the ball Kobe" "I can't" "Please,just pass the ball" "No!" or something to that effect).

I am surprised you don't remember the crap between Kobe and Malone over Karl supposedly flirting with Kobe's wife. I'm tired right now, but I am sure you can find references to it if you care to look it up.