ESPN on Kobe's success so far

[LakerMania]

Since I know how y'all love Number 8 on this forum, I thought I'd post this [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Kobe's only getting started




Only 10 shopping days left until Kobe Bryant's 24th birthday.

And we're left wondering what does one give to a kid with fame, fortune, three NBA titles, four All-Star appearances, a fade-away turnaround jumper set in iambic pentameter, mad hops, the NBA dunk trinket while still a teenager, his own shoe, a rap record . . . everything?

Bill Russell was born Feb. 12, 1934. He would go on to win a record 11 NBA titles as the defensive monster of the Celtics. But by the age of 24, he had only two.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was born on April 16, 1946. He would go on to win a record six regular-season MVPs. But he didn't get his first one until age 25.

Michael Jordan was born Feb. 17, 1963. He would go on to win six NBA titles, five MVPs and demigod status. But by the age of 24, he had nothing but a reputation for shooting too much and jumping so high.


Karl Malone was born July 24, 1963. He has scored 34,707 points thus far in his NBA career and, barring injury, will become the league's all-time scorer in a little more than two seasons, passing Jabbar's 38,387 mark. But by the age of 24, he had scored only 2,982.


Kobe already has 8,197.

Malone didn't even hit his stride until age 25 when he strung together six seasons of 27-plus points per game. Jordan started a year earlier, tallying seven straight seasons of 30-plus points per game.

Kobe stands on the threshold, having already averaged 26.7 points per game over the last two seasons as Shaq's sidekick. He's been named to the All-NBA third team, second team and first team as well as the NBA's all defensive team and all interview team. He speaks two languages, doesn't cheat on his wife as far as we know and scored more on his SATs than you and I combined.

Forget walking. He could dribble on water.

In his first six years as a professional basketball player, Bryant has averaged 15 playoff games per season and rising. Malone is averaging 9.8 and sinking. Jordan is at 12.7 and sinking even faster.

Think about this just for a second. We spend countless hours arguing amongst ourselves over this shooter and that scorer long after they sank their last bucket. Or came back out of retirement. Kobe has been under our breath before he ever took his first.

We began judging him before the sixth period bell rang.

Heck, you called him a ballhog before you could buy him a drink. He was a bobblehead before daily shaving.

It's hard to believe that Bryant is about to enter his seventh season, a quarter of his life spent between TV timeouts while men much older and wiser than he already argue about his accomplishments past.

Where were you when the Lakers made him the No. 13 pick of the 1996 NBA draft out of Lower Merdian High School?

Bryant was born Aug. 23, 1978, too young to legally sign his first NBA contract.

Shaquille O'Neal, the best player of the current generation, says he is going to play five more seasons after hyping Bryant as the best player in the league last season. Do the math, find some wrapping paper and don't forget to rip off the price tag.