Welcome to the Kobe Invitational.
The official name might be the NBA Finals, but we know better.
This is Kobe's tournament, his show, his showcase.
Also his chance for the ultimate validation.
Can he win an NBA title without Shaq?
Can he stave off the challenge of Lebron as the biggest dog on the NBA playground?
Can he atone for last year's finals when he was something less than great, and his Lakers were embarrassed by the Celtics in the last game?
Can he win this NBA title?
These are the questions that now swirl around these NBA Finals, the backstory in this series between the Lakers, with their storied history and tradition, and the upstart Magic. Questions that, in the end, all come down to Kobe Bryant.
Not that there aren't a slew of story lines, of course.
Is Dwight Howard a truly great player, or just a kid on the verge of being one? Can the Magic make enough jump shots to ultimately beat the Lakers? Can the Magic, who have been dismissed all year, actually win an NBA title?
But in the end these NBA Finals all come to Kobe.
Will he win, or won't he?
American Idol in expensive sneakers and baggy shorts.
Not only has he become the Lakers, he and LeBron have become the face of the NBA, iconic figures, no last name needed. They both now reside in the ethereal regions of American celebrity, a place few athletes ever reach, regardless of how talented they are. Dwayne Wade has the potential to get there, courtesy of his seemingly endless TV commercials, but he plays on a nowhere team. Dwight Howard might get there some day, but he's in Orlando, and Tim Duncan never got there, even with all his success.
Kobe has been there for years now, courtesy of his three straight NBA titles early in his career. Package that with the great ability, and a certain charisma, and a star was born, ready or not.
By many reports back then, he was not ready. Aloof from his teammates, an ego as seemingly as big as L.A. itself, he seemed to be the center of his own universe then. So his story always was a little complicated, even with the three titles and the great talent. Kobe was Kobe, the embodiment of the new entitled superstar.
He seems different now. Maybe it's due to the highly publicized sexual assault charge in a Colorado hotel in 2003, the kind of scandal that undoubtedly humbled him, even if the case itself was later dropped and ultimately settled out of court.
Maybe it's the sense that he now knows he needs his teammates in ways he never did before, a lesson no doubt painfully learned since Shaq left. Or it's one thing to be Kobe against the world, but that doesn't get you NBA titles. Last year's Finals had to have reinforced that, the Celtics with more talent and toughness were more of a team.
Maybe it's simply maturity, Kobe no longer a young player, 31 in August.
Whatever the reason, we are now seeing a different Kobe, more driven, more focused, if not more committed to winning than he once was, at least more aware of what it takes. There have been stories about his incredible work ethic, that he's been known to be in the gym at 5 a.m., that everything has become geared to winning titles, as if he's come to know that everything is fleeting, even the prime of careers.
He already has won three titles, won scoring titles, been an MVP, and once had 81 in a game, second most ever. He's already a lock for the Hall of Fame.
But this is about his basketball immortality now, whether he wants it to be or not. This is about how he will be remembered long after his career is over.
Is he the best off guard of all time?
Is he better than Jordan was?
Is he better than LeBron is now?
Where is he is on the list of great players?
Where is he going to end up in NBA history after he takes his last jump shot?
These are the questions that now float around Kobe Bryant, whether he wants them to be or not, because this is today's sports culture. We like lists. We like to compare different eras, even if it's next to impossible. We want to know where players fit into the big picture, into basketball history.
We measure true immortality in champions, even if it's usually more complicated than that, given that depends on so many factors. It's all about rings, how many you have. That's become the measuring stick, even if that can be simplistic.
So where would you put Kobe?
Where would you put him if he wins three more titles?
This is all part of the baggage that swirls around Kobe, as he plays for a title and immortality, too.
For he is the story of these NBA Finals, one way or another, win or lose.
He is the centerpiece, regardless of how all this plays itself out.
(Contact Bill Reynolds at breynolds(at)projo.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
columnMust credit The Providence Journal
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