Kobe Bryant does not want to take charges; Not willing to sacrifice his body – NBA News
Kobe Bryant is all for taking charges, just not by him. The 33 year old Lakers guard recently said that he would not want to sacrifice his body to draw offensive fouls as a way of forcing turnovers.
He believes that sacrificing one’s body in that way reduces their life in the league and results in injuries at a later stage.
“We got a couple guys that take charges, but for the most part, the one guy that took a charge is now playing in Oklahoma. I don't take charges. Metta [World Peace] don't take charges. Steve [Blake] will take
a charge every now and then, but most everybody else just stands up and plays" said Bryant after practice on Tuesday.
“I learned from my predecessors. [Scottie] Pippen had a [messed] up back taking charges. [Larry] Bird had a [messed] up back taking charges. I said, 'I'm not taking charges.' I figured that out at an early age"
added Bryant.
Although not personally choosing to take that route to draw offensive fouls, Bryant has no problem with the idea and is all for it. He even gave credit to players who do it regularly and do it well, naming Miami
Heat’s Shane Battier and his former teammate Derek Fisher in that regard.
This comes a few days after NBA Commissioner David Stern gave a statement regarding the concept of flopping and said that it is becoming more and more common in the NBA and raised objection to it, calling it
an illegitimate play.
Bryant seemed to agree with Stern, saying that there was a difference between taking charges and flopping, as the latter involved a certain bit of acting and lying.
The whole issue of flopping has been highlighted a lot in recent weeks. Indiana coach Frank Vogel accused the Miami Heat of being the biggest floppers ahead of their series opener. Then David Stern came with
his comments and now Kobe has given his view on the issue as well.
Coach Mike Brown also touched on the issue when asked about it and said it would be very difficult to highlight what is flopping and what is not since the referee does not have time to actually analyze the contact
and needs to make the call then and there.
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