Kobe poised to overthrow His Airness, seize throne

Tuesday, February 10, 1998

Kobe poised to overthrow His Airness, seize throne

COLUMN All-Star game is proof that as Jordan retires, Bryant
will rule

By Mark Shapiro

Daily Bruin Staff

When you looked up yesterday and saw a clear blue sky overhead,
there was one person to thank for blowing El Nino away for a few
hours: NBA commissioner David Stern.

I’m not implying that the most powerful commissioner in all of
sports has somehow scaled Mt. Olympus and become a
weather-controlling god. (Although, that may be on his to-do list,
right after "exercise unchallenged control over basketball on a
world-wide scale.")

However, I do think a rational explanation for the sudden change
in our weather patterns has something to do with Sunday’s NBA
All-Star Game, and Stern’s mammoth sigh of relief.

After watching the display that Kobe Bryant put on in an
electrifying 22 minutes, Stern exhaled so hard, he changed the
weather patterns of the western states.

Why? Because the future of the game had just shown up.

Before tip-off, the NBA’s aspirations in the years to come could
barely nose out real estate in downtown Baghdad as "most likely to
get bombed."

Michael Jordan is going to retire, there is an impending lockout
next year and the so-called stars of the NBA were either assaulting
their coaches or getting arrested for drug possession (Chris
Webber) and statutory rape (Anthony Mason).

Into this Sprewellian quagmire stepped an unflappable
19-year-old, who, with a few dunks, three-pointers and toothy
smiles, made everything look just rosy again.

On top of his performance, Bryant did the equivalent of throwing
a pie in the face of Bill Gates, and thus made Stern’s, (and
basketball fans around the world’s) day.

This kid took it upon himself to try to upstage the king, to
take the spotlight away from Jordan’s last All-Star appearance and
make Madison Square Garden his new sandbox.

Not only did he accept the challenge of being the youngest
player to ever start, let alone participate in, an All-Star game,
but he turned what should have been a farewell party into a
coming-out bash.

But he wasn’t just satisfied with his share of the cake, he
started eating Jordan’s piece as well.

There was no sitting back for this 19-year-old, nor any
awe-induced rigor of the musculature. There were, however, jump
shots over Jordan, dribble drives past Jordan, and some aerobatics
that rivaled His Airness. This upstart had the audacity to throw
down the gauntlet with the greatest ever and then go out and put on
a show.

Now, a decision like that would ostensibly seem about as good as
Alexander Hamilton deciding to duel Aaron Burr.

But instead of becoming the punchline of a milk commercial,
Bryant climbed onto the pedestal reserved for the Magics, Jordans
and Chamberlains that have gone before.

Everything that Jordan used to be, Bryant is. All of the
incredible moves that Jordan used to have, Bryant puts into play.
The dunks, drives, smiles and spirit that made Jordan a poster boy
in his twenties, Bryant possesses after just 19 years, and he
showed them all on Sunday.

Let’s put aside that back-bending dunk, that behind the back
move that gave me a hernia when I tried to re-enact it or the
three-pointer from somewhere near Utah, and consider just what a
monster this 19-year-old has become.

After Sunday’s effort, Bryant is going to become the NBA’s
marketing Godzilla as he assumes the mantle of the NBA’s showcase
player.

To be sure, Jordan is certainly a basketball player nonpareil,
and I would not be so bold as to say Bryant could even sniff
Jordan’s sneaker in that regard, but he did show that he possesses
the qualities that made Jordan into the megastar that he is.

Bryant proved himself worthy of the Atlas-esque task of
shouldering the burden of the NBA’s future because, make no
mistake, that’s what’s going to happen.

But Bryant is not going to make like Hercules and talk himself
out of the chore after finding out how heavy it is. This kid acts
like it’s no big deal.

All of the publicity, all of the promotions, and all of the hype
that will be used to propel the NBA into the next century are going
to ride on his shoulders, and his clavicles haven’t even fused
yet.

Every Dream Team, every All-Star team and every highlight reel
is going to show the purple and gold No. 8, and he still lives at
home.

But, as Stern is well-aware, Bryant is just what the NBA needs
now that His Airness is retiring. That engaging personality and
above-the-rim game obviously had a profound effect on him, because
it made the commish vent just like Dennis Rodman had kicked him in
the crotch.

Shapiro is a Daily Bruin staff writer and beat writer for men’s
basketball. E-mail your comments to him at
[email protected]