Cracked me up when I read it. An American sports columnist concocted a wonky fictional telephone conversation between Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy and Jesus. After the Los Angeles Lakers romped away with Game One against the Magic (100-75, with LA going on to win in five games last June), Van Gundy the embattled coach — christened by Shaq as “the Master of Panic” — made a phone call (long distance or intergalactic?) to Jesus asking him to suit up for a couple of games to stop Kobe Bryant. The Lord declined, offering instead to turn Kobe’s Gatorade into wine, but that’s about it. An imaginary exchange stemming obviously from Denver Nuggets coach George Karl’s assertion that not even Jesus could stop some of the shots made by No. 24 in the Lakers’ Game Six win against Carmelo Anthony and company.
Blasphemous, of course, but such is the meatiness of the metaphors in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Remember Larry Bird’s comments about playing against “God” when Michael Jordan scored 63 points against the vaunted Celtic defense? In a playoff game, mind you. In the Garden, of all places. And the Boston Garden in the ’80s was as imposing as the Roman Colosseum with its gladiator-like enforcers in the shaded area. Not to mention its leprechauns, uneven parquet floor, and malfunctioning air-conditioners in the visiting team’s dugout.
Kobe Bryant — like Michael Jordan before him — has ascended the heights of the hyperbolic, with coaches, basketball players, and scribes singing his praises. Kobe and Michael: two guys who could take off from the free-throw line, hang in mid-air, repaint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, pose for a NBA-copyrighted poster, and, just before landing, reinvent the game of basketball. But it’s not just about aerial acrobatics, or else you could add Vince Carter or just about any other one-dimensional leaper into that equation. It’s about being a competitor, about living and dying in the clutch. Kobe and Michael: two shooting guards who live for the moment when the game clock is winding down, the fans are on the edge of their seats, the odds are stacked up against them, and only a miracle or something like it could salvage the entire enterprise.
And it’s the love for the game.
The Lakers superstar, onstage at the Manila Peninsula’s Rigodon Ballroom, smiles and spreads his hands when reminded about Coach Karl’s Jesus comment, as if dismissing the divine dimension of playing D against him, but also saying, “Yeah, it is a bit difficult.”
The 2009 NBA Finals MVP is in Manila as part of his Asian Tour to promote the Nike Dream Season shoes designed specifically for outdoor basketball; give a donation to Gawad Kalinga at Nike Park; conduct a basketball clinic, as well as to showcase his basketball prowess alongside the Nike Elite Campers at the ULTRA (PhilSports Arena in Pasig City). Manila is the first stop. Afterwards Kobe jets off to Singapore, Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Chengdu.
It seems Kobe did a McArthur during his second visit to the Philippines back in 2007, saying he shall return.
He first came to Manila in 1998 as a flamboyant, high-flying punk having joined the NBA in the 1996 draft straight out of high school, fitted the role of a high-scoring sixth man, and was crowned the Slam Dunk king in 1997; that was before he became a part of the Lakers three-peat from 1999 to 2002 (with the cast that included Shaq the bard of the boards and Zen-master Phil Jackson) — ah, the triangle offense, “Showtime” revisited (just like in the olden days of Magic, Kareem and James Worthy), and the high drama of it all.
In the procession of NBA seasons Kobe would create heralds as well as haters. Lots of doubters as to whether Kobe could measure up to Jordan, or get a ring without Shaq (who got traded to Miami and won a championship with Dwyane Wade), without that imposing “Jaws-meets-Bambi” at center. There are those who consider Kobe a ball-hog or, as local hoop geniuses would say, “buwaya,” owing to a lot of air balls and forced shots (much like Allen Iverson who shot a lot of blanks when he was in Philly). He became tabloid fodder in 2003 for the sexual assault allegation in Colorado. Feuds with O’Neal (who did a taunting rap about Kobe, etc.), and with Jackson (who once called Kobe “uncoachable” in his book) got overblown. Lots of trade rumors through the years. At one time we thought Bryant was headed for Chicago or, worse, the Clippers.
Nine years after the first visit, Kobe was a bit older and relatively wiser. He owned three championship rings (co-shared with O’Neal), was a perennial All-Star and All-NBA teams, was about to play a key role in Team USA’s bid to redeem its basketball glory in the Beijing Olympics, and was poised to win his first MVP in the 2007-2008 season. But the doubters remained. Just as the 2008-2009 playoffs were underway, lots of sportswriters predicted boldly that King James would depose the Black Mamba in the NBA Finals. That didn’t happen. LeBron proved to be a bad sport as he refused to shake hands with the team that deposed him in the Eastern Conference Finals, chucking tradition. (That Nike “Most Valuable Puppets” commercial where puppet Kobe taunts puppet LeBron with his three championship rings is a hoot.)
In the NBA Finals, LA demolished Orlando, despite the latter having Dwight Howard as the man of steel, a sweet-shooting Rashard Lewis, and a tongue-sticking Hedo Türkoglu, touted as the “Michael Jordan of Turkey” which is as believable as being the “Elvis Presley of the Philippines.”
Thus, Kobe returns to Manila a champion. A player responsible for cardiac-arresting, game-winning shots, as well as moves for the highlight reels (particularly wicked were his twisting, sideways, falling-down shot against a phalanx of Magic defenders and his pirouetting drop pass to the streaking Spaniard, Pau Gasol, in Game Four). A man who once scored 81 points in an NBA game fielding questions from journalists about Jordan comparisons and imaginarily being guarded by Jesus.
Nothing godly about it, he would say. What Bryant simply wants to do is play both ends of the court really well. All it takes is a great work ethic.
Kobe explains, “(Being able to) play both things extremely well gives me tremendous pride. There are players (who see themselves as) too cool to play hard, too cool to box out, too cool to dive for loose balls. (The important thing) is not to play like the number one guy in the team. Play like the 13th, 14th or 15th guy.”
The reason he has returned to Manila is that he loves being around youngsters who enjoy the game of basketball.
“It takes me back to being a kid, and working so hard (to get to that level). Last time I was here, I saw a lot of kids who were willing to do the work to be the best. I am fortunate to be able to play the game of basketball. (But it’s not about) scoring a lot of points or winning championships, it’s about what you do with that talent, (about) doing things in a positive way.” Helping the less fortunate, sharing one’s skills and knowledge to others — these things resonate more than what a person does on a basketball court.
About the Nike Dream Season performance shoes, he explains they were designed for the outdoor course. While regular basketball shoes get roughed up a little bit more when used in the playground, the new Nikes are “durable and more comfortable.” Mainly because of the shoe’s outsole made of XDR (or “Xtra Durable Rubber”), a rubber compound that can last two to three times longer than conventional rubber.
About Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, Bryant has this to say: “I love him. I enjoy being around people who are competitive (and who have an excellent) work ethic. (Manny) truly loves what he does; he loves the sport. I have tremendous respect for him.”
About Filipino food, he quips, “I grew up in Italy so I’m open to trying anything new. Anybody here who offers Filipino food, I’m all for it.”
About which championship he treasures the most, Kobe says it the most recent one. “Because we just won it (laughs).”
Yes, it was a team effort. Derek Fisher dropped a three-pointer to send Game Four into overtime and sank the go-ahead three with 31 seconds left in OT. Pau Gasol augmented his finesse playing with spurts of power moves (no one called him a softie afterwards, not even Phil Jackson). Swingman Trevor Ariza was a revelation (and the way he stole the ball in the dying seconds of that game against the Nuggets reminded me of how Bird picked off an Isaiah Thomas pass in the Celtic victory over the Pistons in playoffs back in the day). Andrew Bynum wasn’t flat-footed anymore. Sweet-toothed Lamar Odom played like a hyper-energetic kid with a sugar rush. But it was Kobe who spelled the difference in the series.
There is this thing about an old injury in the little pinky of Kobe’s shooting hand that he hasn’t dealt with in a long time. Is it a lucky fracture of sorts? “I’m not touching it. We’ve had a lot of success with it, so leave it alone (laughs). (I say) if it’s broke, don’t fix it,” the Lakers superstar says.
But what about the Lakers championship configuration that has changed in the off-season with the departure of Ariza (who will suit up for the Houston Rockets next season) and Lamar Odom’s limbo-like status? Does the LA team need more tweaking (what with the arrival of enforcer Ron Artest who is billed as Kobe’s Dennis Rodman), and with the arms race in the Eastern division (what with Vince Carter joining the Magic, Rasheed Wallace upgrading the Celtics, and Shaq bolstering the LeBron-led Cavaliers)?
Kobe informs that he talks with the other players all the time in strategizing for the next season. “Fish and I are great friends. I talk a lot to Ron Artest. We are a close-knit group. We lost the chemistry that we had (with the exit of Ariza). The puzzle has changed a little bit. But it’s really not about individual players, it’s about how we work with each other (as a team).”
As for the nagging comparison with Jordan, Kobe concludes, “It is a great honor (to be compared with Michael), but (the area of difference is) in (our own respective games).” Michael was the focal point of the fabled Chicago Bulls team with Scottie Pippen acting as his foil. Like Hamlet and Horatio.
“My role in the team is a bit different. I am more of the facilitator and orchestrator.”
From ball-hog to team leader — Jesus, what a transition.
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