Kobe Bryant doesn't think he is a ball hog.

Howard Smith - US Presswire

From ESPN:

"I wouldn't say I'm a ball hog. I'm a shooter. I don't necessarily hog the ball, but I put them up though. I definitely much rather shoot it than pass it. That's just how I am."

 This is GOLD.

"I'm a scorer, man. You don't get 30,000 points without knowing how to put yourself in positions to shoot it. The ball just finds scorers and I can always, no matter what system you're in, you can always find a way. Getting up 30 shots ain't easy. A lot of people don't know how to do that. That's what I do. It's like superheroes. Superman can fly. Spider-Man has webs. Steve can pass. I shoot. … I get 'em up! I make no bones about it. That's what I do. That's what I do. Some nights they fall, some nights they don't. But, Rodman was a rebounder, Coop was a defender, I'm a shooter." With that, he added a laugh.

Just a thought, they might fall at a better rate if you don't take shots in double teams.

His teammates obviously don't love it either, Metta World Peace gives us his thoughts:

“When it turns into the Kobe show, it’s hard for everybody to put pressure on. When we put pressure on the other team, all five guys out there, they’ve got to use their legs. Anybody that uses a treadmill, they know you get tired after a while. After an hour, you want to get off that treadmill. Sometimes when we play, Kobe is the only man running on the treadmill and everybody else is relaxing."

Forget defense, the Lakers needs to work on their analogies.

 Via: BYB

Kobe Bryant doesn't like losing to kids. Scarred DeMar MeRozan.

Photo by Michael Peake/Toronto Sun

If you have watched any of  Kobe's youth basketball camps in the summer on youtube, you probably know that there was never a time the Mamba will let a little kid win. It gets even worst if you are older. If you are in your teens, not only will Kobe completely destroy your desire to continue to play basketball, he will trash talk and straight up embarrass you. For those who are still in disbelief of what you are reading, I have found evidence that the 5 time NBA champion do, do such things.

In a recent interview, DeMar DeRozan who grew up in LA, talked about the traumatic experience of playing Kobe at the tender age of 15.

From the National Post:

Was he trash talking a 15-year-old kid?
Was he? A little bit. Every time he got scored on, he really didn’t like that too much. It was cool, though.

Is it really cool DeMar? Then why do you have an average of 34% FG when you played against him in the last 2 seasons, when uou normally hit your shots in the mid 40's range. It's okay to confess, after all what else do bloggers like me have to do in the off season then investigate a story that is probably a fiction.

Man, I am gonna miss Kobe when he retires, we will never have another person who hates to lose with every single fiber of his living body.

Sources: National Post, NBA Advanced Stats, Toronto Sun (Photo)

Kobe is getting old, but never forgets.

Kobe have been contemplating to retire after his contract expires after the 2013 - 2014 season. He wasn't sure he would still have the drive to keep going for another year after the contract expires, taking him to the age of 36.

The Black Mamba have been preying on his opponents in the NBA for 17 years now, and it is finally showing. First, it is an universal fact that Kobe got his knees the first German platelet rich plasma therapy, which he made famous. It is unknown however, if there are actually volkswagen parts in him. This is highly doubted, because there have been no news of Kobe being held in the airport since the procedure, well, at least not yet.

And now, we have the 1997 Slam Dunk Champion straining his shoulder in practice, during a poster session with Antawn Jamison.

From ESPN:

Bryant said he thinks he hurt the shoulder Tuesday during practice when he dunked over teammate Antawn Jamison. He said he didn't feel pain at that point and continued to finish the practice. 

Here is the video of the dunks, not sure which one cost the injury:

Yes, we are now living in a world where Kobe gets hurt in a non-contested dunk. That is the circle of life, people get old and move on. But not the Mamba, coming back this summer with his own super team doesn't let him forget about his worst year in Los Angeles.

From Yahoo's BDL:

"I almost won an MVP with Smush Parker and Kwame Brown on my team," Bryant said before Wednesday's 93-75 exhibition loss to Portland. "I was shooting 45 times a game. What was I supposed to do? Pass it to Chris Mihm or Kwame Brown?"

 Bryant was referring to 2005-06 when the Lakers' roster included Brian Cook, Stanislav Medvedenko, Devean George and Parker, Mihm and Brown.

 Bryant continued, taking aim at his favorite whipping boy, Parker, calling him "the worst. He shouldn't have been in the NBA but we were too cheap to pay for a point guard. So we let him walk on."

Those words are probably the most Kobe Bryant thing ever. Blaming his teammates for everything, and not so humble bragging about his success. Mario Chalmers should be glad he is on the Heat and getting occasionally yelled at by LeBron, can't imagine what Kobe would have done.


Sources: Listed above.

Kobe Bryant can't beat Obama one on one.

Kobe did an interview with Ellen today and talked about his not so friendly competition with Obama.

 Skip to 3:39.

I bet the president's trash talk must be on point, with all the speeches he give that raises hope, imagine what he can do to mentally destroy you.
With that in mind and CIA around the court, how could Kobe focus on his game while, knowing that at any second some dude with sunglasses on will blow his leg off.

The scenario reminds me of space jam, remember the part where they showed Michael Jordan forced to play alien kids one on one, with his leg chained to a ball, so that he loses every game.
Yep, pretty much the same.

Bonus video: Just a cute moment of a kid meeting his favorite player.

Loved how he admitted he had no chance to win without hesitation.

Source: The Ellen Show on Youtube