Friday, May 16, 2008
Kobe Bryant receives his first MVP Trophy
Kobe Bryant is the 2007-2008 NBA Most Valuable Player. This is the award ceremony held right before game two of the Lakers Jazz Round 2 series.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Bryant’s 41 helps Lakers spoil O’Neal’s Phoenix debut, 130-124
By BOB BAUM, AP Sports WriterAP - Feb 20, 9:55 pm EST
1 of 10 NBA Gallery PHOENIX (AP)—Kobe Bryant spoiled Shaquille O’Neal’s debut with Phoenix. The Suns believe with the big guy just getting started, there are better days ahead.
Bryant, despite his dislocated right pinkie, scored 41 points to help the Lakers to an intense 130-124 victory over Phoenix on Wednesday night.
Lakers newcomer Pau Gasol added 29, including a breakaway dunk that put Los Angeles up 123-117 with 1:15 to play. Lamar Odom added 22 for the Lakers, who won their sixth in a row to move into a tie with Phoenix atop the Pacific Division.
O’Neal scored nine of his 15 points in the final quarter and grabbed nine rebounds in 29 minutes against his old team in his first game in nearly a month.
“I’m in better shape than I thought I was,” he said, “the adrenaline factor and just being out there with the guys.”
O’Neal came to the Suns a week ago in an unexpected trade that sent Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to Miami. O’Neal played for the Lakers from 1996-2004.
“He did seem to get stronger as the game went on, which is incredible,” Suns coach Mike D’Antoni said. “I did really think he’d run out of steam sometime in the second half, and he really didn’t. Him not being used to anything that we do—124 points—I didn’t think we could put that many up, just starting out.”
Amare Stoudemire had 37 points and 15 rebounds for Phoenix, while Steve Nash added 26 points and eight assists, and Leandro Barbosa and Grant Hill each had 17 points.
“I think everyone was excited for the game and to lose is difficult,” Nash said, “but I think if you take a step back it’s encouraging. I thought Shaquille was great, and I think the possibilities are very exciting.”
The Lakers improved to 3-1 against the Suns, clinching the season series and knocking Phoenix out of a virtual tie with New Orleans for the best record in the West.
“The really important part of this is the season series,” Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson said. “We now have an advantage if this is going to be a tight race as it’s been. That’s all you get out of a game like that: momentum, obviously, and some confidence for our team.”
Bryant moved past David Robinson into 27th on the NBA’s career scoring list.
“It was a familiar energy in the building,” he said. “It felt like a playoff-type of environment. It was fun to be a part of.”
O’Neal’s debut came against the team he led to three NBA titles, and the visitors were in control most of the way.
Los Angeles, which routed Atlanta on Tuesday night at home, led by as many as 13 in the first half and was up 65-57 at the break.
Phoenix finally caught up when O’Neal forced a turnover, then scored on a short hook inside to make it 87-87 with 2:31 left in the period. Gasol’s hook shot at the buzzer gave Los Angeles a 95-91 lead entering the fourth.
After Bryant’s layup made it 105-97, rookie D.J. Strawberry twice passed to Barbosa for breakaway layups, then drew an offensive foul against Bryant. Stoudemire followed with a three-point play and Phoenix led for the first time since the early minutes 107-106 with 7:26 remaining.
The Lakers came back, though, and Gasol’s three-point play with 5:43 left capped a 9-2 spurt to put Los Angeles ahead 115-108 5:43 from the end. But O’Neal scored the next six points, the last two on a goaltending call against Bryant, to cut it to 115-114. O’Neal sprinted to the defensive end of the floor after the two points.
Phoenix Suns' Shaquille O'Neal…
AP - Feb 21, 12:27 am EST
Bryant scored inside to put Los Angeles up 117-114 with 4:04 to play. Moments later, O’Neal slammed teammate Raja Bell in the head with an elbow, forcing the Suns guard out of the game. O’Neal made one of two free throws to cut the lead to 117-115 with 3:40 to go.
Bryant’s 19-footer made it to 119-115 with 2:50 to go, but Nash’s two free throws, on Derrick Fisher’s fifth foul, cut the lead to 119-117 with 1:49 remaining.
Odom got free for a layup, Gasol got his breakaway, and it was over.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Bryant puts offseason criticism of Lakers behind him
By David Leon Moore, USA TODAYEL SEGUNDO, Calif. — There were no flip-flops from Kobe Bryant on Monday, and no hard feelings from the teammates he criticized during the offseason.
At the Los Angeles Lakers' media day, the first time all the players and coaches had gathered since Bryant made offseason headlines about wanting to be traded because the Lakers didn't have enough good players and lacked the willingness in the front office to make improvements to the team, it was all happy talk.
"I want to bring a title back to Los Angeles," Bryant said. "That's priority No. 1."
Bryant declined to show any frustration Monday about the team's inability to pull off a major deal in the offseason. And he said his trade demands are a thing of the past.
"When the season starts, it's not my place to say, 'Here's what we need to do here, here's what we need to do there,' " he said. "That's not my job. My job is to come out on the floor and help us win ballgames."
Bryant said he regretted the way things occurred in the offseason after the Lakers lost 27 of their last 43 games and finished 42-40, then lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Phoenix Suns.
"I was frustrated, so I blew up," he said.
Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he doesn't think Bryant has caused irreparable damage to the team's chemistry. "That (Bryant's criticism) was said back in June," Jackson said. "Now here we are in October."
Jackson, entering the final season of a three-year contract, said he asked some players if they thought Bryant's comments needed to be addressed as a team. They said no.
"They seem perfectly at ease with him," Jackson said.
Center Andrew Bynum, the main player singled out in criticism by Bryant, shrugged off any hurt feelings.
"I didn't think it was that big of a deal," Bynum said.
Jackson and Bryant would have preferred to open camp with an additional veteran star, perhaps Kevin Garnett or Jermaine O'Neal. But they are pleased with the return of veteran guard Derek Fisher, who won three NBA titles playing in a Lakers uniform with Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.
Fisher, who played two seasons in Golden State and one in Utah since leaving the Lakers, hopes to take a leadership role on this team. In that regard, he said, he needs Bryant's input. "I need to know what he thinks about this team, about the personnel, if I'm going to provide some leadership," Fisher said.
The Lakers' second-best player, forward Lamar Odom, said he doesn't think there will be a chemistry problem this season. "Not at all," he said. "Being a Laker, you're on center stage. Everybody knows the importance of giving maximum effort.
"Of course, if there was a problem, I'd lie to you."
Kwame Brown Arrested In Valdosta
WALB: An NBA player was arrested in Valdosta over the weekend. Twenty-five-year-old Kwame Brown, a power forward with the LA Lakers is charged with disorderly conduct and interference of a law enforcement officer.Police say Brown was the passenger in a car driven by 23-year-old Charles Edward Warren, Junior.
They were pulled over at the intersection of East Hill Avenue and North Patterson Street around 2:00 Saturday morning.
Warren was driving the wrong way down a one way street. Investigators say Warren was drunk and driving on a suspended license.
They say Brown was arrested when he got out of control during the investigation. “He would have been interfering with the investigation the officer was trying to conduct at that time,” says Lt. Bobbi McGraw with the Valdosta Police.
Both Brown and Warren are originally from Brunswick. They are out on bond.
A spokesperson for the Lakers say Brown showed up on time for their media day this morning and no punishment has been handed down from team officials.
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