You don’t wake up one day old and slow. Aging is a gradual process but with professional athletes, there are cruel moments that stand out when everyone realizes things are different.
Kobe Bryant had such a moment in the biggest game of his career. It was Game 7 of the NBA Finals last June against the Boston Celtics. He couldn’t blow by defenders, he couldn’t create a clean look at the rim with some nifty jab-step dribble and he couldn’t can a shot from long-distance.
That’s the same Kobe we’re seeing now only on a more regular basis. People need to stop arguing about Kobe vs. LeBron. James is better than Bryant and so are at least six other NBA players.
Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard and Dirk Nowitzki are all better ballers right now than the Black Mamba. That’s not taking anything away from Bryant. He’s had a long run at the top of the basketball world but his athleticism is eroding and so is his edge over the other top players.
It shouldn’t be basketball blasphemy to point out the obvious.
Respect Kobe for his determination and basketball savvy but judge him by what he’s capable of doing as a 32-year-old who’s played 1305 NBA games, not the 27-year-old who scored 81 points against the Raptors. That Kobe is long gone.
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