Jeanie Buss to Kobe Haters: You're "Probably a Loser"!

Appearing for an interview on ESPN’s SportsCenter Thursday morning, Los Angeles Lakers President Jeanie Buss fired back at allegations made in an ESPN The Magazine article written by Henry Abbott and published on Monday. Buss frankly stated:

“Any free agent that would be afraid to play with Kobe Bryant is probably a loser, and I’m glad they wouldn’t come to the team.”

Wow–those pebbles that were thrown at the Lakers’ front door on Monday? Buss just returned fire using a rocket launcher.

Oct 21, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) reacts to a call during the third quarter against the Phoenix Suns at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Look, even the most ardent of Kobe Bryant supporters–and in the spirit of full disclosure, I consider myself to be one of them–will admit that Bryant can be ‘difficult’. Is he relentlessly and brutally honest, even if that means rubbing people the wrong way? Yes. Is he extremely demanding of his teammates? Yes. Does he often, and maddeningly so, try to do too much with the ball on his own? Yes. I could go on, but you get the point.

Bryant, to his credit, doesn’t shy away from the criticism–if anything, he embraces it. Back in August, Bryant told Sports Illustrated’s Chris Ballard: “You can’t afford to placate people. You can’t afford to do that. You’re a leader. You’re not here to be a social butterfly. You’re here to get them to the promised land. A lot of people shy away from that because a lot of people want to be liked by everybody. I want to be liked too. But I know that years from now they’ll appreciate how I pushed them to get us to that end result.”

Feb 28, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24), point guard Steve Nash (10), center Dwight Howard (12), point guard Steve Blake (5) and small forward Metta World Peace (15) in the first half of the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Is the Mamba Mentality the only path to winning a championship in the NBA? No, of course not. But ask any NBA champion how ‘easy’ it was to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy and he’ll laugh in your face. Winning isn’t supposed to be ‘easy’. Winning requires years of preparation and hard work. As playful and ‘fun’ as Shaquille O’Neal was, he didn’t win a championship until: 1) he had Phil Jackson as his head coach, 2) he had Kobe Bryant as his side-kick, and 3) he dedicated himself to maximizing his abilities on the basketball court.

In his very one-sided article, Henry Abbott seemed content to lay ALL the blame for ALL of the Lakers’ problems at the feet of Bryant, and Bryant alone. Dwight Howard didn’t re-sign with the Lakers? Kobe’s fault. Paul George made no attempt to leave a championship-caliber team in Indiana to sign with the Lakers? Kobe’s fault. Carmelo Anthony decided to re-sign with the Knicks instead of joining the Lakers? Yep, Kobe’s fault too.

And now, in the twilight of his career, according to Abbott, Bryant is preventing the Lakers from rebuilding for the future by clogging up cap space and causing potential free agents to shy away from donning the purple and gold. Abbott appears to have forgotten that the NBA, in what was a rather unprecedented move, vetoed the trade that would have landed one of Bryant’s best NBA friends, Chris Paul, with the Lakers back in December 2011. A team of Bryant, Paul, and later, Dwight Howard, might have been pretty good, and Howard may have felt differently about staying in Los Angeles with Paul around.

Feb 17, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Western Conference guard Kobe Bryant (24) of the Los Angeles Lakers and guard Chris Paul (3) of the Los Angeles Clippers in the fourth quarter of the 2013 NBA all star game at the Toyota Center. West won 143-138. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Abbott also appears to have forgotten that Steve Nash broke his leg just two games into his Lakers’ career in 2012, and the LAKERS, not Bryant, decided to hire Mike D’Antoni instead of Phil Jackson early in the 2012-13 season. And, I thought that it was pretty universally accepted that it ONLY made sense for LeBron James to return home to Cleveland this off-season–Bryant had nothing to do with keeping James away from the Lakers. ALL of those factors have contributed to the Lakers’ current, rather uninspiring, situation.

At the end of the day, Kobe Bryant is the competitor that we should all strive to be and hope for all professional athletes we root for to emulate: tough as nails, relentless, hard-working, focused…the list goes on. This isn’t just about basketball. This is a way of life. We believe in Kobe Bryant because he cares about winning more than anything else. We believe in Kobe Bryant because he gives everything he has to compete for his team. We believe in Kobe Bryant because he makes us believe that hard work and persistence are the keys to success in any walk of life.

Jeanie Buss to Kobe Haters: You’re “Probably a Loser”!

By Anthony S. Khoury | Oct 23, 2014