Lakers’ Kobe Bryant compares himself to Mozart
Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant recently sat down with Chuck Klosterman of GQ and compared himself to Mozart.
Can you picture playing basketball with a young Kobe Bryant? I’m not talking about the Kobe Bryant who sported an afro and wore the No. 8 jersey for the Lakers either.
Think even younger, around the age of eight.
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Think about having Kobe Bryant as a teammate at a young age, and seeing the type of passion, intelligence, and heart for the game a young Bryant would have while playing the game of basketball.
Because Bryant wasn’t always a five-time champion and arguably one of the best basketball players to walk on planet Earth, he had to develop his skills. Growing up, though, since he was always a gifted child when it came to basketball, he was always looked at differently than his peers.
In an interview with Chuck Klosterman of GQ, Bryant said this reflecting on his past:
"“I’ve shot too much from the time I was eight years old. But ‘too much’ is a matter of perspective. Some people thought Mozart had too many notes in his compositions. Let me put it this way: I entertain people who say I shoot too much. I find it very interesting. Going back to Mozart, he responded to critics by saying there were neither too many notes or too few. There were as many as necessary.”"
It’s crazy that what people were saying about Bryant when he was eight years old is still what they are saying now that he is 36-years-old.
Personally, I never minded Bryant shooting the basketball because that’s what he’s best at. Before you start to throw stuff at the computer, show me another person on the planet who scored 81 points in an NBA game. Yeah that’s right, it’s impossible.
During his career Bryant averages 19.6 shots per game, and he’s had six seasons where he shot the basketball less an 20 times per game.
On the other hand, the person who Bryant compares to, Michael Jordan, averaged 22.9 shots per game for his entire career, and only had three seasons where he shot less than 20 times per game.
If people say Kobe’s a hogger, then Jordan is to.
Don’t give Kobe a bad rap because of personal views. There isn’t a single active person today that is more accomplished, or more decorated as a basketball player than him.
If he feels like he’s Mozart, then more power to him.