Brace yourself, Knicks fans, because here comes Kobe. Just when it looks as if things can’t get worse at MSG, the hottest player in the NBA is preparing to bring his act to Manhattan on Tuesday.
When Kobe Bryant and the Lakers arrive, the Garden figures to be jam-packed with spectators just trying to get a glimpse of the man who dropped 81 points on the Toronto Raptors last week.
That performance put an exclamation point on a string of 15 games in which Bryant averaged 43.4 points per game. With his offensive brilliance, Bryant has stated his case as the game’s premier player.
“He is by far the best player in the NBA right now,” said Steve Kerr, the TNT analyst who played with Michael Jordan and Tim Duncan in his career. “He’s the most gifted offensively. He’s the most driven. He’s got a killer instinct like no one else in the league. It’s incredible to watch him play.”
While some have called him selfish for his 46 shots last week, most basketball experts believe he scored his points within the flow of the game and the Lakers needed every one of his 81 to win that night.
“I talked to Phil [Jackson] and he believes that it was all in the context of the game, which was important to him,” Kerr said. “He believes that’s what Kobe needed to do. That was the beauty of that game.”
One Western Conference general manager, who asked not to be identified, echoed Jackson’s sentiment.
“You see someone get 81 points and you say, ‘Well, he must have been a gunner,’ but the thing about it was they were out of the game and he brought them all the way back in a span of four minutes,” the GM said. “They don’t win the game without him. He had to do that. It’s hard to believe, but true.”
Bryant’s amazing run began on Dec. 20 when he scored 62 in three quarters against the Mavericks. That made people start wondering if he ever could reach Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points. Including that night he’s scored 30 points 13 times, 40 points eight times, 60 points twice and 80 once.
Bryant has always been viewed as one of the top players in the game, but recently he has shown a more aggressive side and the ability to carry his team. He is on the opposite career arc of Michael Jordan, who dominated games early in his career before getting a supporting cast that helped him win championships. Bryant was the co-star with Shaquille O’Neal during the Lakers’ title run earlier this decade. Now he’s on his own.
“He just didn’t set out to destroy people [in the past] the way he did this year,” said ESPN analyst Paul Silas. “He would give it up more. Now it seems like he’s taking it upon himself to lead them to the playoffs. He’s saying, ‘Jump on. I’ll carry you.'”
The only people not enjoying watching this run are those who have to play Bryant, especially those who have to guard him. Sacramento Kings guard Kevin Martin drew that assignment two weeks ago. Bryant scored 51 in an overtime loss.
“You just play as hard as you can but you have to realize he’s going to make shots,” Martin said. “You contest his shots and it has no effect. He doesn’t even see the hand in his face.”
Silas expects teams will begin throwing special defenses at him, similar to the “Jordan Rules” the Detroit Pistons concocted to stop Jordan in the late 1980s.
“You haven’t heard the ‘Kobe rules’ yet, but I would assume that coaches would start looking at it,” Silas said.
All of this success on the court has begun to rehab Bryant’s marketability. Once considered the heir to Jordan in that department, too, endorsers dropped Bryant after he was accused of raping a desk clerk in a Colorado hotel in 2003. Since scoring 81, though, his jersey sales have risen and endorsements are sure to follow. His reemergence as a brand will begin on Feb. 11 when Nike introduces the Zoom Kobe I, and the advertising campaign with it.
Sports marketing expert Dean Bonham said there are countless incidents of the American sports fans forgiving their fallen athletes, and Bryant is no exception.
“When you have an extraordinary athlete like Kobe Bryant, who just scored 81 points, it’s even more likely that fans will forget what happened in the past,” Bonham said. “I think he’s on the verge of emerging as not just a popular athlete but as a legendary popular athlete.”
If the scoring binge he is on continues, Bonham thinks Madison Avenue will be calling. Many have wondered in recent days if he can score 100 points or more. If he does reach the century mark, Bonham believes his phone will not stop ringing.
“My guess is he’d have to hire a phone bank of agents to handle the offers,” he said. “His only problem would be sorting through which are the most lucrative offers.”
The debate about whether he can match Wilt rages on, but Kerr said that fact in itself is amazing.
“I think 81 is the most he will ever score, that’s the most anyone will ever score,” Kerr said. “But just that we ask that question with a straight face shows what an accomplishment 81 is. He’s raised the bar.”
Raising the roof
Kobe Bryant could be added to this list Tuesday night, but here’s a look at the current Top 10 single-game scoring performances in NBA games at the old and new Madison Square Garden:
NAME TEAM DATE POINTS
1. Wilt Chamberlain S.F. Warriors Nov. 16, 1962 73
2. Elgin Baylor L.A. Lakers Nov. 15, 1960 71
3. Wilt Chamberlain S.F. Warriors Jan. 29, 1963 62
4. Bernard King Knicks Dec. 25, 1984 60
5. Wilt Chamberlain Phil. Warriors Dec. 25, 1961 59
6. Wilt Chamberlain Phil. Warriors Feb. 21, 1960 58
Wilt Chamberlain Phil. Warriors March 4, 1962 58
Wilt Chamberlain Phil. 76ers Dec. 15, 1964 58
9. Richie Guerin Knicks Dec. 11, 1959 57
Rick Barry S.F. Warriors Dec. 14, 1965 57
Note: King vs. N.J. Nets; Guerin vs. Syracuse Nats; all visitors vs. Knicks
Source: New York Knicks