Kobe makes Pops proud
We could spend all day talking about the Lakers taking a 2-0 series lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder after their 95-92 flirtation with disaster inside Staples Center last night. We could ramble on about Phil Jackson being 33-0 when his teams are ahead 2-0 in a playoff series. We could dissect Andrew Bynum’s disappearing act in the second half, lampoon another Lakers second quarter defensive collapse or even praise Pau Gasol for his first All-Star performance of the postseason.
However, as it usually goes when discussing the Purple and Gold, we’re going to dedicate a little more bandwidth to Kobe Bryant.
Although this isn’t about KB24 draining clutch shot after clutch shot, dropping 39 in the box score and willing his team to victory.
Nope, this is about Kobe doing what he normally does this time of year but instead doing so with a very special someone watching courtside. For those who don’t know, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant was in attendance last night. It would mark the first time in 5 years that Kobe hooped in front of his father.
No need to rehash all the family drama, we’ll save that for Kobe’s sit down with Oprah when his playing days are over. Besides, putting another man’s business in the streets just isn’t what we do here at LSL. Unless said business just so happens to be something that would lead to voiding the remaining year on Sasha Vujacic’s contract. In that case we’ll quickly turn into the TMZ of Lakers blogs. But that’s not the point…
The point of this rambling is simply to give Kobe and big pat on the back for his performance last night. Of course he wanted to win more than anything else. But you can’t tell me that he didn’t want to put a big smile on the face of the man who first introduced him to the game he loves.
Hey, we all have family drama in our lives. That’s what makes them family. After it’s all said and done, all we’re really looking for is validation.
Kobe has four rings. He’s got a beautiful family. He’s even got a prized place on the mantle of barbershop talk for the rest of eternity. But you can’t tell me that getting a hug from Pops and hearing a “well done” didn’t mean just as much to him.
Congrats Kobe! We’re happy to have shared such an emotional moment with you and your family.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, it’s time to concentrate on the business at hand. Namely going into the Ford Center and slamming the door shut on professional basketball in the state of Oklahoma for the summer.
As proud of Kobe as Joe Bryant was last night, I’m sure he’d much prefer being there the moment his son earns his fifth championship ring.