Kobe Bryant and the hapless Kwame Brown – NBA Update
It is no secret that Los Angeles Lakers ace shooting guard, Kobe Bryant, cut a lone and frustrated figure in the post-Shaq mediocre Los Angeles Lakers era.
After Shaquille O’Neal departed, Bryant was left in a side that did not have any hint of talent, which could have helped him in achieving his lofty goals.
One man with whom, Bryant particularly struggled to play alongside was Kwame Brown, and Kobe recently shared a story about Brown to explain his frustrations.
“But like, the game before we traded for Pau, were playing Detroit and I had like 40 points towards the end of the game. This is back when Detroit had Rasheed [Wallace], Chauncey [Billups] and those guys, so we had no business
being in the game. So down the stretch of the game, they put in a box and one. So I’m surrounded by these players, Detroit players, and Kwame is under the basket, all by himself. Literally, like all by himself. So I pass him the ball, he bobbled it and it
goes out of bounds.”Kobe said, according to Michael Lee at the Washington Post.
The Detroit Pistons of that era were a team to behold. It was a side boasting the likes of Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, TayShaun Prince and Richard Hamilton, all in their prime. They had defeated the mighty Lakers,
even with O’Neal in the side, in the 2004 NBA Finals and with Diesel, containing the bad boys was almost impossible for the Lakers.
Still, Kobe willed his side into contention in said match, only to see the inept Brown cost them the game at the end. Bryant went on to reveal how Kwame actually asked not to be given the ball at the death, and his own protestations
with head coach Phil Jackson to put him out of the game.
Soon after though, Bryant’s pain was eased as Pau Gasol joined him in Los Angeles, laying the foundation of a Lakers side that went to 3 NBA Finals and won 2 NBA World Championships.
Brown meanwhile, continued to be mediocre elsewhere. His is a story of unparalleled failure.
A young star destined for the top when in high school, Brown was named the best player in the United States at that level. He came into NBA, handpicked by the iconic Michael Jordan, who used to play with the Washington Wizards
back then. Wizards chose Brown straight out of high school as the first overall pick in light of his glowing talent.
However, as a result of all the hype, expectations were raised to unrealistic levels and everybody forgot that Brown was just a kid coming into the big time straight from school. He basically wilted under the spotlight in his early
years and whenever he showed glimpses of talent late in his career, injuries put him down again.
Now the player faces an uncertain future as his one year contract with the Charlotte Bobcats will be over when the NBA lockout ends.
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