LOL@Kobe not being a leader... Haters like Jakob make me sick.

[GangstaBoogy]

I think people confuse being a great leader, and being a great player. Two very different things. Obviously Kobe is a great player. But its no wonder that most people outside of the Laker fanbase dont consider him a great leader. Through his own talent he is able to will his team to victory at times, but that alone isnt going to win championships. To be a great leader you HAVE to have the respect of your teammates. It is also very helpful for your teammates to actually like you. You never get the feeling (as you did with MJ, or Magic, or Bird, etc) that Kobe's teammates are willing to go to war with him, or for him. He doesnt bring that out of people. You can post up all the numbers, and quotes to the media you want....it means nothing. Kobe will more then likely always and forever be seen as a great player, who wasnt a great leader. Unless something drastically changes in the next few years. Great players and great leaders dont always have to be the same person. There have been tons of great players who couldnt lead....and likwise, tons of great leaders who werent great players. Very rarely are they combined into one person.

You MIGHT be right, but you have to keep one thing in consideration, everything Kobe does is taken with a few grains of salt. When guys like Nowitzki, Lebron, Bosh, or Nash yell at their teammates - the media says they're stepping into leadership roles. When Kobe yells (or in his case even frowns) at his teammates - they say yelling at your teammates is not a good thing for a leader to do.

Personally, I think Kobe deserves credit for the way he came out last season. He was passive, encouraging, understanding, and really doing all the things you want from a leader. Unfortunately for him, none of his teammates were mature enough to grow into the players they had the potential to be, so Kobe had 2 choices: 1. keep trying to prove he's a leader and miss the playoffs, 2: take the do-it-yourself route and score 50 points a night till we make it to the post season.

Too bad its a lose-lose for him. If he's passing a lot they call him selfish and say as a leader he needs to know to take more shots. Then when he takes more shots then he's selfish and the exact type of player who can never be considered a leader.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

I think people confuse being a great leader, and being a great player. Two very different things. Obviously Kobe is a great player. But its no wonder that most people outside of the Laker fanbase dont consider him a great leader. Through his own talent he is able to will his team to victory at times, but that alone isnt going to win championships. To be a great leader you HAVE to have the respect of your teammates. It is also very helpful for your teammates to actually like you. You never get the feeling (as you did with MJ, or Magic, or Bird, etc) that Kobe's teammates are willing to go to war with him, or for him. He doesnt bring that out of people. You can post up all the numbers, and quotes to the media you want....it means nothing. Kobe will more then likely always and forever be seen as a great player, who wasnt a great leader. Unless something drastically changes in the next few years. Great players and great leaders dont always have to be the same person. There have been tons of great players who couldnt lead....and likwise, tons of great leaders who werent great players. Very rarely are they combined into one person.

If Kobe wasn't a great leader, Lakers wouldn't have made the playoffs these past 2 seasons. Believe that. As with Jordan, Kobe demands perfection from everyone around him. The only reason you see them as not only different, but OPPOSITES (which is ludicrous) is because of the media pictures painted of both images...PeACe

[.:DaYg0sTyLz:.]

I think people confuse being a great leader, and being a great player. Two very different things. Obviously Kobe is a great player. But its no wonder that most people outside of the Laker fanbase dont consider him a great leader. Through his own talent he is able to will his team to victory at times, but that alone isnt going to win championships. To be a great leader you HAVE to have the respect of your teammates. It is also very helpful for your teammates to actually like you. You never get the feeling (as you did with MJ, or Magic, or Bird, etc) that Kobe's teammates are willing to go to war with him, or for him. He doesnt bring that out of people. You can post up all the numbers, and quotes to the media you want....it means nothing. Kobe will more then likely always and forever be seen as a great player, who wasnt a great leader. Unless something drastically changes in the next few years. Great players and great leaders dont always have to be the same person. There have been tons of great players who couldnt lead....and likwise, tons of great leaders who werent great players. Very rarely are they combined into one person.

If Kobe wasn't a great leader, Lakers wouldn't have made the playoffs these past 2 seasons. Believe that. As with Jordan, Kobe demands perfection from everyone around him. The only reason you see them as not only different, but OPPOSITES (which is ludicrous) is because of the media pictures painted of both images...PeACe

A lot of teams made the playoffs the last two seasons, so what. Kobes a great player, thats why they made it. Theres other great players who probably would have taken them to the playoffs aswell. Shit, Iverson brought his team to a finals damn near all by himself. Kobe can DEMAND perfection all he wants, but he does nothing to actually inspire it. Face it, he just isnt that inspirational kinda guy and never will be. Praise him for his attributes and stop trying to pretend that his flaws dont exist.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

I think people confuse being a great leader, and being a great player. Two very different things. Obviously Kobe is a great player. But its no wonder that most people outside of the Laker fanbase dont consider him a great leader. Through his own talent he is able to will his team to victory at times, but that alone isnt going to win championships. To be a great leader you HAVE to have the respect of your teammates. It is also very helpful for your teammates to actually like you. You never get the feeling (as you did with MJ, or Magic, or Bird, etc) that Kobe's teammates are willing to go to war with him, or for him. He doesnt bring that out of people. You can post up all the numbers, and quotes to the media you want....it means nothing. Kobe will more then likely always and forever be seen as a great player, who wasnt a great leader. Unless something drastically changes in the next few years. Great players and great leaders dont always have to be the same person. There have been tons of great players who couldnt lead....and likwise, tons of great leaders who werent great players. Very rarely are they combined into one person.

If Kobe wasn't a great leader, Lakers wouldn't have made the playoffs these past 2 seasons. Believe that. As with Jordan, Kobe demands perfection from everyone around him. The only reason you see them as not only different, but OPPOSITES (which is ludicrous) is because of the media pictures painted of both images...PeACe

A lot of teams made the playoffs the last two seasons, so what. Kobes a great player, thats why they made it. Theres other great players who probably would have taken them to the playoffs aswell. Shit, Iverson brought his team to a finals damn near all by himself. Kobe can DEMAND perfection all he wants, but he does nothing to actually inspire it. Face it, he just isnt that inspirational kinda guy and never will be. Praise him for his attributes and stop trying to pretend that his flaws dont exist.

LMFAO@Jordan being an inspirational guy.

[.:DaYg0sTyLz:.]

I think people confuse being a great leader, and being a great player. Two very different things. Obviously Kobe is a great player. But its no wonder that most people outside of the Laker fanbase dont consider him a great leader. Through his own talent he is able to will his team to victory at times, but that alone isnt going to win championships. To be a great leader you HAVE to have the respect of your teammates. It is also very helpful for your teammates to actually like you. You never get the feeling (as you did with MJ, or Magic, or Bird, etc) that Kobe's teammates are willing to go to war with him, or for him. He doesnt bring that out of people. You can post up all the numbers, and quotes to the media you want....it means nothing. Kobe will more then likely always and forever be seen as a great player, who wasnt a great leader. Unless something drastically changes in the next few years. Great players and great leaders dont always have to be the same person. There have been tons of great players who couldnt lead....and likwise, tons of great leaders who werent great players. Very rarely are they combined into one person.

If Kobe wasn't a great leader, Lakers wouldn't have made the playoffs these past 2 seasons. Believe that. As with Jordan, Kobe demands perfection from everyone around him. The only reason you see them as not only different, but OPPOSITES (which is ludicrous) is because of the media pictures painted of both images...PeACe

A lot of teams made the playoffs the last two seasons, so what. Kobes a great player, thats why they made it. Theres other great players who probably would have taken them to the playoffs aswell. Shit, Iverson brought his team to a finals damn near all by himself. Kobe can DEMAND perfection all he wants, but he does nothing to actually inspire it. Face it, he just isnt that inspirational kinda guy and never will be. Praise him for his attributes and stop trying to pretend that his flaws dont exist.

LMFAO@Jordan being an inspirational guy.

i know, funny how true it is.

Anyways, this argument will go on forever with no real conclusion. So im outtro...peace

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

http://www.dubcnn.com/connect/index.php?topic=146656.0