How Kobe Bryant's ego limited his accomplishments / Public Perception/ Lebron James

[fusuyballer]

In this post, I will explain how Kobe Bryant's ego limited his accomplishments on the court and also help shape public perception of him for the worst. I also have a small part about how that affects the public opinion in the kobe vs lebron debate.


I will first explain how Kobe's ego limited his accomplishments on the court. For all the great things (5 rings, 1 mvp, amazing play) Kobe accomplished, he could have won a lot more if he would have NOT been so ego driven. Kobe's biggest flaw as a player was his inability to integrate his shadow. (Ironically, Kobe talked about the darkside/aka shadow in his Muse video he put out with ESPN...pretty deep stuff for kids huh)

So what does it mean to integrate your shadow? (BTW, this my cliffs notes verision, so dont take this too seriously) The shadow is the part of yourself that most of us cannot face. Sometimes were unaware of our own internal motivations -- the subconscious. That part of us capable of killing another human being or doing things we thought we could never do but we're clearly capable of...that dark side in all of us. The key is to control it .... You want to have access to it when you need it...but you NEVER WANT IT TO HAVE CONTROL OF YOU.

Kobe Bryant is someone who understands how EGO and reaching deep down inside for that part of YOU (thats not nice, that wants to win at all costs, etc) is needed at times to accomplish great things. However, Kobe's mistake was he was destroying relationships, the perception of himself, and actually limiting his potential and accomplishments because he allowed his Ego and Shadow too much control at times. But many athletes and people have this same problem.

Steve Jobs had to be fired from his OWN company at Apple to understand that his singular focus for greatness made him an egotistical nightmare for those around him and he was missing the mark and isolating himself...which ultimately was self-sabotaging. He learned and came back from that experience.

Much like Steve Jobs, I think Kobe learned from his life experiences and on the court experiences and you saw Kobe become a little less ego-driven at the end of his career doing the championship years of Pau and Odom. I.e. mentoring younger guys and buying his teammates gifts and etc..hanging out with them more, etc.

But here's the biggest take away... Kobe Bryant's EGO - affected his behavior and how his teammates and peers related to him. Kobe Bryant's talent is undeniable and if he would have kept his EGO more under control and just acessed the darkness when he needed it on the court - I believe that he would have won more rings and the perception of him as a selfish player would not exist. That perception of him is why a lot of people disregard his talent / and even accomplisments to a great degree -- and always look to discredit him. Kobe Bryant has the perception of Arod but if he controlled his EGO he would've had the perception of a Derek Jeter and I also believe Kobe wouldve had around 6 or 7 rings at the end of his career. Imagine Kobe with 6-7 rings and a media darling like Derek Jeter? Imagine the type of scrutiny Lebron James would get if he had to contend with this Kobe Bryant?

That's how talented Kobe was and that's what he was truly capable of if he wouldve controlled his EGO and found a way to integrate his darkside and game INTO the team concept and soley focused on winning championships and NOT his personal narrative...I should add that at certain points in his career he did that...pre three peat and to some degree his 2 championship years with Pau and Odom.

If Kobe would have done this, he would have slammed the door on any question of him being better than Lebron. Because in my humble opinion, Lebron is a media darling.....for the all the reasons Kobe is NOT. However, Kobe is the more skilled player and imo understands how to access that part of himself that wants to WIN AT ALL COSTS. The ultimate competitor. That's what Lebron lacks that Kobe and Jordan had.

To Lebron's credit, he kept his ego in check for most of his career - and that has contributed to his success. So, Lebron James has a lot of accomplishments early on due to his size, skill, and ego being in check.

However, if you really look at his accomplishments in this era (with the host of stars he has played with on his championship teams) its actually equal to kobe playing with shaq. If you put it all in context...considering the lakers had to play better compeitition in a more physical western conference..and the rules being slightly different..etc.

But like I said, the reason Kobe gets so much hate in the media, is because he left too much unanswered in terms of accomplishments on the court and the perception of him is that of a selfish player who put his EGO over winning..and to a degree that's true... Unfortunately, this gets in the way of the narrative of how talented Kobe Bryant truly was. It gets in the way of how intelligent Kobe Bryant was on the court. It also gets in the way of how accomplished he was on the court. People just dismiss his first 3 rings -- like they mean absolutely nothing. Can you imagine anyone dismissing Lebron's 3 rings because he jumped on a super team to get them? He doesn't get that type of hate.

IMO, other than having the size advantage, I do not think Lebron is as much a competitor nor does he play with the level of cerebralness that Kobe or MJ did. The problem is, Kobe left too much on the table because he let his EGO get in the way.

Even with that being said, Kobe has 5 rings. He won 2 w/o Shaq and argubally (more convincingly) than Lebron did with his 3 headed monster teams, and people still give Lebron all the credit in the world and sh1t on Kobe in the media for all the reasons I mentioned above...but like I said, if you look a little closer, it's not about talent and cerebralness, it's about perception and the fact that Kobe could have closed the door and solidified his true worth if he would have put his ego aside and left nothing on the table.

Lebron had the advantage of watching Kobe and learning from his mistakes and Lebron has been someone always concern with narrative (kobe: it's not about narrative comments to lebron) and trying to keep that perception of him a certain way. Because along his talents, he was smart enough to realize that's part of how people judge you. Lebron uses that to his advantage all the time...I.E...the cast after game 4 and the anger when Charles Barkley criticized him for whining about playing with Irivin and Love in a weak east and league...He's very protective of that perception / narrative and so is ESPN.

Look closely at some of the stuff Kobe is saying to lebron..Kobe knows what he's talking about. Kobe might have allowed his EGO to get in the way but to Kobe's credit - he certainly knows a lot more about accessing that side of himself needed to win. I'm sure Lebron could have teached Kobe a thing or two about putting your ego a side to a degree as well.

In others words, Lebron is yin. Kobe is yang. When Kobe made those comments, Yang was talking and telling lebron you need a little of that Yang in you..reach down deeper and understand how you have coddled JR smith, kevin love, and others -- how you have tried to do everything for them because of your own need to be loved / celebrated-- and that has played a part in you losing in the FINALS so much. You choose being liked and having people around you who like you over winning. That's a direct slap in the face of competition. So you deserve to be criticized for your flaw in leadership / just as much kobe has for his flaw in ego...which both have contributed to losing in one way or the other.

[ringfinger]

Why?

[fusuyballer]

[LakersChamps04]

[fusuyballer]

[AFireInside619]

Kobe's a sociopath. Just like Jordan and Tiger. It's what made them great, but at the same time very crappy to others. It's why fans adored them, and were willing to look past their faults, at least for a long, long while.

People loved Kobe, but it bothered me to no end when he has 4 teammates loaded up on the weak side and he's being double teamed. Instead of looking to pass, he rather jack up and impossible shot, which at many times he could make. Straight definition of Hero Ball.

In his post playing career, he says he wants to start producing shows. Guess what every show is about? Kobe. His cartoon, Kobe. His kid show with puppets, Kobe. His details, Kobe. His tweets and comments about Lebron, Kobe.

Lebron has plenty of faults of his own, but at the same time he does things that are more easily admirable. For instance, he could have scored 70 plus in HS if he wanted to. He chose to get his teammates involved too. Helping them get into college when they other wise probably wouldn't have. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. His interaction with the mentally disabled Boston fan during the game pretty much sums up who Lebron is without having to say a word. Jordan punched Kerr. Kobe punched teammates. I'm pretty sure Lebron never punched Mario Chalmers or anyone else.

[Sentient Meat]

Kobe shot 37% and 36% his last two seasons

Magic shot 47% in his comeback season... decided he wasn't good enough and retired for good.

Did Kobe deserve the money for what he had done for the club?

Absolutely... we should have just paid him the 50 million, and told him to sit.

Those last two seasons were pure unmitigated torture.

[ringfinger]

In

[fusuyballer]

[yuurin98]

[fusuyballer]

[yuurin98]

[fusuyballer]

btw lebron james is getting really egotistical now. u hear the stuff he says? openly saying his teammates suck in game 3 of the finals.... he nearly beat eri spok up when someone tried to coach him and convince him that lebron ball wasnt the answer. he got david blatt out of there when he didnt wanna play bron ball....if kobe would have done the same thing, he would have been called a coach killer????


at what point is steph curry gonna be considered better than lebron?

he has 3 rings... 73 win season... 2 time mvp... he won with klay thompson and d.green as his two best players...to me thats very impressive.. to win 73 games with klay thompson and d.green as ur next best scorers is h3lla impressive...

so people comparing lebron to kobe and jordan but they just skip over steph who's career has been just or more impressive in terms of winning and beating lebron?

if it wasnt for d.green getting suspended steph would probably be 4 for 4 versus lebron in the finals. why dont espn lead with that next time.

[Chronicle]

_________________
Kobe

[M2K]