When watching Kobe Bryant play basketball, two things immediately become clear to me.
First, he is a supremely talented basketball player.
Second, he is one of the most mythologized players of all time.
Even in basketball — athletic and difficult to intellectualize — there are truths about the game that evade the naked eye.
This is a common thing in sports. Baseball has had its romanticizers of “grit” and its proponents of “the book.” Some people bunt runners even if it costs them chances to score. Football has its coaches who hesitate to go for the first down on fourth and short.
Basketball has people who continue to argue that Bryant is clutch, a winner and the heir to Michael Jordan.
Luckily for the rest of us, there are statistics. They prove that having Bryant on your team at the end of the game actually hurts your chances of winning.
Here’s a stat: Bryant, according to ESPN.com in January, had taken 115 shots in his career in the final 24 seconds of games in which the Lakers trailed by two or fewer points or were tied. He missed 79, and made only 36. In the same situations in playoff games, he air balled almost as many shots as he made. He shoots slightly below NBA average in such situations while taking far more shots than anyone else.
The argument that Bryant is some demigod of “winning,” gifted above mere mortals in the ability to rise above obstacles and carry teams to heights they could never reach without him, would be laughable if it weren’t so commonly and passionately held.
A look at some recent history:
In 2006, Bryant quit in the playoffs. He got tired of carrying a subpar supporting cast. He got tired of being called a “ball hog” and “selfish.” He needed help. After a season spent taking every big shot, Bryant took three shots and scored one point in the second half of a decisive Game 7 loss to the Phoenix Suns. He spent most of the half making no attempt to score and little attempt to set his teammates up for scores.
Over the 2007 offseason, Bryant demanded a trade — from Los Angeles! Basketball’s best market! — and was caught on video badmouthing teammate Andrew Bynum and his team’s management.
These are things that “winners” don’t do, no matter how frustrated they get.
Yes, Bryant’s defenders say, but look at the championships. And these arguments always do seem to come down to championships.
But winning in the playoffs is not a magical skill, possessed by the chosen few. Playoff games are games, and like any games, they depend on a multitude of factors. Luck matters, depth matters, injuries matter — you can’t definitively say that someone is a winner based only on playoff results.
In Bryant’s era, the Lakers have won championships because Shaquille O’Neal was a force of nature. They have won because Phil Jackson is a wonderful strategist and motivator. They have won because their management is willing to spend to win.
And yes, they also win in part because Bryant is a great basketball player.
Sometimes in sports, and in life, what we see deceives us. We make narratives where none should be and ignore the ones that run counter to what is easiest to believe. Bryant is just one example.
Reach Will at wmunsil@asu.edu
