As Fan of Basketball documented all to clearly above, Kobe lost the center, the supporting cast and the coach in one fell swoop, and no one player has ever been able to succeed in those conditions in the NBA, nor would be expected to. Kobe now has all of the elements back in place, so I think the success of this year and the next few years should completely dispel this article as a tirade of a jealous Kobe hater fantasizing about his failure, when in fact this will be the time he proves himself as a near equal to MJ. Sure, the rest of the Lakers are a very good team without him, possibly even advancing deep into the playoffs if Bynum were healthy. But one thing that doesn’t get mentioned often enough about Kobe, is his extraordinary “will to win”; a quality that a Great Player brings to elevate a “very good team” to the level of “Great Team”.

Kobe will go down as one of the Very Greatest to ever play the game, and that’s not just Hype, that’s the Truth!

Kobe now doesn’t have any top 50 player of all time, but he certainly has enough solid players to allow his clear dominance and utter ownage of the game of basketball show. I love Jordan, but I don’t believe I have ever seen a player with so much raw, yet refined, ability and talent. When you watch Kobe, watch him closely. You won’t see many, if any, like him again.

They actually made it back in 2004 but lost to Detroit.

And after Shaq left in 2004, Kobe was left with a very different Lakers team:

- Shaq went to Miami
- Payton was traded to Boston
- Rick Fox was traded to Boston and subsequently retired
- Karl Malone retired
- Derek Fisher went to Golden State
- Phil Jackson didn’t return

The team lost 3 of its starters, a key back up point guard in Derek Fisher, and one of the best coaches of all time. I don’t see how you could argue Kobe was the reason the Lakers didn’t make the playoffs in 2005. The Lakers team at the time was full of scrubs. This was around the time when Kobe stepped up his game and people began calling him the best player in the NBA. The 81-point game performance happened in 2006, along with the 62-points against Dallas through 3 quarters. In 2007, came the multiple games in a row of 50 or more points. And after the two disappointing first round exits, Kobe went from demanding a trade to actually believing this new Lakers team had finally grown and could win a championship. Jordan Farmar developed a three-point shot, Sasha became a deadly shooter and a feisty defender, Andrew Bynum improved as a big man, Lamar Odom finally staved off injuries, and Derek Fisher returned – not to mention the superb trades that led to the acquisition of Trevor Ariza and Pau Gasol.

Now you can make the argument that Shaq was able to win a championship by going to a Heat team that couldn’t even make it out of the first round in 2004, while Bryant complained he needed more help to become a contender. But – if you look at the roster changes of the Miami Heat from the 2004 Playoffs through their 2006 championship season, you can see that Miami’s front office made sure to place quality players around Shaq and Dwyane Wade. Miami acquired Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning, Antoine Walker, James Posey, and Jason Williams to help with the title run. To say that Kobe had a fair shot running around with Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, Luke Walton, an injured Lamar Odom, and a slew of undeveloped players, is really not a fair comparison. Last season when the Lakers finished first in the West, it was a pleasant surprise because those undeveloped players had finally improved. This season, the Lakers are the favorites to win because they finally have a strong supporting cast – much like all championship teams have (including Shaq’s Heat).

The point is, as much as Kobe needed Shaq for the three Lakers titles, Shaq needed Kobe. When Shaq went to Miami, he had Dwyane Wade and other former all-stars help carry the load. Now with the Lakers, Kobe has Pau Gasol and a strong supporting cast to help him contend. Every championship team has a strong supporting cast, and recently, MVPs usually come from teams that have great records, and one of the reason for those great records is having a strong supporting cast. Steve Nash had a strong team, Dirk Nowitzki had a strong team, Kevin Garnett had a strong team, Kobe Bryant had a strong team, and for this season – both LeBron and Kobe have great teams to help them win the MVP. As unfair as it may seem, Dwyane Wade will not win the MVP because of his team record, which is related to him not having a strong supporting cast. So with that, it’s also unfair to say Kobe didn’t deserve the MVP last season because he had such a strong supporting cast. It’s just kind of been a necessity to have strong team records in order to win the MVP, moreso lately than ever.

Have you even looked at the NBA standings this season?
http://www.nba.com/standings/team_record_comparison/conferenceNew_Std_Cnf.html

Kobe has proven that his attitude is just fine with the right team around him. 3 rings and enough life left in his legs for 3 more. Wait and see.