Dime is the premier basketball magazine, covering the NBA, NCAA, High School, Playground and International basketball - as well as sneakers, fashion and music.
Issue link: http://dimemagazine.epubxp.com/i/130678
DIME MID-SEASON REPORT 5 "They can all kiss my ass as I'm sure he feels the same way. If you score 138 points, you kind of have a license to tell people to f— of." They can all kiss my a– as I'm sure he feels the same way. If you score 138 points, you kind of have a license to tell people to f— off. And really, what did we expect? Kobe is all about scoring, as he noted in the quote before, and when a guy goes off like that – no matter the level – he's going to win the admiration of Kobe Bryant. But Kobe has been less effusive with his own teammates, whether former teammates he bizarrely has an axe to grind with, or current teammates he's imploring to give him more. After Jack Taylor dropped 138 points for tiny Grinnell College in a Division III basketball game, both Kevin Ding for The Orange County Register and Dave McMenamin for ESPN Los Angeles reported Bryant's thoughts about Taylor's performance. Kobe gave them what they wanted: a no holds barred paean to Taylor's cold-blooded scoring prowess. Kobe's full reaction to Taylor's achievement was – as is typical this season – entertaining. As is what he thinks the reaction would have been if he had scored 138 points in an NBA game (remember, he scored 81). Emphasis is obviously ours: Reporter: Kobe, a college kid scored 138 points tonight and took over 100 shots … Bryant: Wow … No kidding? Where? Reporter: Grinnell College in Iowa. Bryant: Really? Wow. That's impressive. That's crazy. I don't care what level you're at. Scoring 138 points is pretty insane. How many 3s did he shoot? Reporter: 71. Bryant: Holy shit. How many points did they score as a team? Reporter: 179. Bryant: What? Reporter: No other starter had double fgures. Bryant: That's incredible. Reporter: Dude on the other team scored 71 points and lost. Bryant: That's amazing. He must have been wearing the Mambas, man. Only Mambas have no conscience to shoot the ball like that. Reporter: If you did that, would people be celebrating you? Bryant: Would people be celebrating me if I scored 138 points? You know how it is, some people would, some people wouldn't. 4 This is the advice Kobe gave to Pau Gasol early in December. Pau had been struggling shooting the ball and fnding his place on a roster with a lot of turnover from last season. He wasn't getting the numbers he usually enjoyed as the second or third option, and Kobe was obviously frustrated. There's been a tendency for Kobe and Lakers fans to blame Pau anytime he's not putting up the numbers he showed earlier in his career in Memphis. And because he's Spanish, Pau gets labeled, a tad unfairly, as soft. Gasol was also suffering from Plantar Fasciitis, a painful infammation of the connective tissue on the sole of your foot. It once hobbled Tim Duncan for an entire season. But Kobe just wanted Gasol to put his big-boy pants on. Yes, this is about as condescending as you can be, but that's Kobe for you. He used to do the same thing to Shaq through the media and they both took pot shots at one another in the media during the last few seasons before Shaq headed to Miami. Gasol isn't like Shaq, so he remained mum after Kobe's words, and eventually got back on the court and contributed as best he could. You can be sure this probably isn't the last time we've heard Kobe sound off on the play of Gasol. 52 NIKE "Put your big-boy pants on. Just adjust. Just adjust. You can't whine about it. You can't complain about it."