Why Kobe Bryant Belongs In The All-Star Game
Despite the multitude of complaints, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant will more than likely earn another All-Star nod — and he absolutely deserves it.
Enough already. Los Angeles Lakers fans have had enough of NBA fans and media vehemently protesting Kobe Bryant‘s pending election to the 2016 All-Star Game.
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We get it — there are multiple reasons why many are upset that Bryant is the leading vote-getter for the league’s annual showcase by a landslide with over 1.5 million votes, as reported by the latest vote returns.
Despite a recent improvement in play (18 points per game on 43 percent shooting in January), Bryant is having one of the worst statistical seasons of his career, averaging 17.3 points a night on 34 percent shooting and 25 percent shooting from three. There are obviously more deserving players with more impressive statlines, including Klay Thompson and Kawhi Leonard, just to name a few.
But let’s face it — the fans tune in to All-Star games and the festivities that accompany them for the entertainment value and right now, there are fewer acts more entertaining than the Black Mamba in his last hurrah.
In spite of the fact that the Lakers are the worst team out West, Bryant’s star power is selling out every away game on their schedule. Every night he plays, Bryant holds crowds captive with anticipation over the possibility that the 20-year veteran might turn back the clock and put on a vintage performance against their favorite team. The Mamba has always had a sense of the moment and rarely disappoints, even in a down season like the one he’s having.
Yes, we have seen duds from him, but we’ve also seen good old-fashioned Kobe greatness on many occasions, including two 31-point games and an outing against the Sacramento Kings where he went for 28 points in three quarters.
If he’s doing all that in meaningless regular season games, who’s to say he won’t put on a show in the biggest spectacle the league has to offer outside of the NBA Finals?
His resume in the exhibition contest affirms that notion. Bryant holds the record for career points in the game (280), most All-Star Game MVPs (four) and most selections (17), while also giving us some of the greatest moments in the history of the contest, including his epic defensive showdown with LeBron James in 2013.
Bryant is a showman and that’s exactly what the All-Star Game is: a show.
After all, the fans that complain about the “popularity contest” that is the All-Star voting process are the same ones who continue that exact trend they gripe about. The same ones who voted Magic Johnson into the 1992 game as a starter straight out of retirement on sentimental value surrounding his HIV announcement alone.
I know Bryant isn’t and will never be as universally loved as Magic, but can’t he get one last outpouring of respect and appreciation from his elite peers and adoring fans across the country too?
I speak for all Lakers fans when I say: let our guy get his due.
He’s had a tremendous impact on the league over the last two decades, and the enormous outpouring of support in the form of fan votes and cosigns from fellow stars is more than enough evidence that he deserves a spot in the All-Star game.
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One final All-Star appearance, whether it be a brief run or an all-time performance, is a fitting final bow for one of the greatest in the history of the game itself and the league overall.