On the Court With ... Kobe Bryant by Matt Christopher

Author:Matt Christopher [Christopher, Matt]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Juvenile Nonfiction, Basketball, Sports & Recreation, Biography & Autobiography, Cultural Heritage, Biography
ISBN: 9780316137324
Google: 9yrcuFPKvd8C
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2001-10-01T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

1997-1998

One Step at a Time

Bryant knew he had to work harder if he was ever to achieve the level of success he expected from himself in the NBA. In addition to his time spent in the gym, he added a grueling weight-training regimen to his fitness routine so he could become bigger and stronger. He also played for the team the Lakers sponsored in the L.A. Summer Pro League, coached by former player Larry Drew.

Although Bryant’s performance in the playoffs seemed to indicate that he would play a key role on the team in the upcoming season, as he played in the summer league it became apparent that wasn’t necessarily the case. The Lakers tried to put restrictions on his game. They didn’t want him to score as much as they wanted him to pass.

Bryant tried to adjust, but he found the transition difficult. He was convinced that his talents were best used as a scorer, but the Laker offense was increasingly focused on getting the ball to O’Neal inside. It was a slowdown style that Bryant felt uncomfortable with.

He tried his best to fit in. But in the preseason it became clear that Coach Harris planned to use Bryant off the bench as a sixth man, either at shooting guard or small forward.

While Bryant was disappointed that he wasn’t in the starting lineup, the role suited him. Since he was no longer playing the point, he wasn’t expected to distribute the ball. And he often entered the game while either O’Neal or the Lakers other main scoring option, Eddie Jones, was taking a breather. Bryant’s job was to energize the team and put the ball in the basket.

That was something he was beginning to do in ever more spectacular fashion. He’d grown an inch and become stronger in the off-season, and his offensive skills began drawing comparisons to Michael Jordan. He looked even taller, as he let his hair grow out into a distinctive, short Afro.

In one amazing sequence, Bryant showed that he had skills that perhaps even Jordan didn’t have. In a preseason game against Washington, Bryant got the ball in transition and charged down the court, freeing himself from his defender with a nifty crossover dribble.

He had two options. He could either shoot the short twelve- to fourteen-foot jump shot or drive to the basket, where Washington’s six-foot-nine forward Ben Wallace stood blocking his way.

The situation was not unlike that which he had faced at the end of the game against Utah. All summer long he had replayed the sequence in his head, trying to figure out why he had missed the shot. He finally came to the conclusion that he had shot an air ball because he had really wanted to drive straight to the basket. He hadn’t because he had worried about committing a foul or being accused of being too flashy. In short, he had talked himself out of doing what came naturally, out of being Kobe Bryant. That lack of confidence had probably led to the three air balls he had shot in overtime, as well.

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