Kobe Bryant: The Black Mamba Needs a Perfect Ending

Watching Kobe Bryant‘s 19th season with the Los Angeles Lakers gave me too many somber memories of the TV show, True Detective.  These thoughts were decorated with gloom, followed by the curiosity of when the agony would disappear.

What viewers wanted in the TV series greatly differed from the senseless calamity they were forced to watch in Season 2.  In the same city as Season 2’s plot, Bryant has made his fans deal with the same type of problem.  There’s an overwhelming gap between what fans are hoping for as Bryant retires, and the reality we’ve unfortunately faced.

Season 1 of True Detective was the epitome of glorious television.  Characters were riding the fence of being “badass” in both the momentous dialogue and surprising actions.  The narrative of Season 1 was unmatched, compared to any criminal TV series on the market.  Developed by HBO, True Detective had the budget, resources, and directing team to make an unforgettable impression on people.  Season 1 had the ideal blend of rhetoric, “shady” behavior, and family values that most of the audience could relate to.

Since the concept of True Detective is to change up the plot & characters after every season, writer Nic Pizzolatto must have found some of Walter White’s baby blue meth laying around his house.  Because, well … there was no way any clean and sober person would write the story of Season 2 and believe it would appeal to the audience.

While Season 1 was completely badass (worthy of a 9.3 IMDB rating), Season 2 could’ve been plainly labeled as “bad.”  Or … “ass.”  Either one.  Just not together.

That’s where Kobe’s late career comes into play.  Sadly, it’s following the same trail.

Everyone understands the metamorphosis Kobe has went through since entering the league at 17 years old.

He came in as a spoiled brat that thought he had everything figured out, only to find the perfect rude awakening during his rookie season.  Older players voiced their frustration with this kid’s playing style early on, and it didn’t help to airball four late-game shots in the playoffs with a national audience watching.  Most of them were screaming in disbelief, too.

Bryant slowly converted into a “first option” superstar through the years under Phil Jackson, and that created difficulties with the Lakers already having a 325-pound first option that could do more damage (Shaquille O’Neal). But, the Lakers decided to go with their youth in 2004, sending Shaq to the Miami Heat — ultimately clearing the way for Kobe to develop L.A. into his own team.

Another transformation happened, with Bryant turning into the most lethal scorer since Michael Jordan‘s prime.  Almost immediately after Shaq departed (2005-06), Kobe torched the league for 2,832 points in a single season.  To this day, it’s still the 7th-highest scoring season in history, behind the many occurrences of Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.  Those freaks of nature …

After it took four long seasons to get the Lakers’ roster re-adjusted and back to a flourishing stage within the West Playoffs, Bryant finally made the leap towards something he used to lack:  leadership.  He led the franchise to their 15th and 16th championships in 2009-10, and was considered to be “the greatest player on the planet” during that time.  Yes, we’ve always been handing out that intangible trophy.

As he aged into the mid-30’s and developed the “old bull” or “old-fashioned cowboy that won’t ever pass down the torch” mentality, Kobe became even more interesting.  He was 34 years old, putting up some of the most entertaining seasons a basketball fan could ever watch.  In terms of watching a game and wondering “how in the hell is this old man doing this?” … the 2012-13 season topped the list as my favorite Kobe moments I can remember.

With the Lakers trying to claw out of a massive hole in the standings, Bryant finished his 17th season by averaging 27.3 points, 6 assists, and 5.6 rebounds per game, with a PER of 23.  The amount of players to ever stiff-arm age and accomplish that in their 17th season is very shallow.  In fact, nobody else has ever done it.  Not only did he come extremely close to winning the scoring title at age 34, but he scored 40+ points in 8 games during that season — tied with Carmelo Anthony (the scoring champion).

Seriously, the 2012-13 season was full of invigorating storylines and events.  Mark Cuban openly told the world that, if he were the owner of the Lakers, he would’ve amnestied Kobe before the season started (to save money and re-build quicker). Bryant made Cuban look like a fool when the Lakers traveled to Dallas the very next week.  Then, we had Kobe’s “playoff guarantee”, in which he basically swore on his grave that Los Angeles would reach the postseason despite being a handful of games behind at the time.  He capped it off, finishing his final six games of the season with averages of 30.5 points, 7.5 assists, and 7 boards, while shooting 44.4% from the field.

Nothing was more awe-inspiring (and controversial!) than his playing time during April, though.  Having an insane amount of mileage on his body since age 17, Kobe managed to play 271 minutes in just 11 days.  That was 45.2 minutes per game through that stretch of six crucial matchups, where the Lakers HAD to go at least 5-1 to stay alive for the playoffs.  Kobe didn’t disappoint, marching the Lakers to 5-1 against hefty competition.

The final chapter on Kobe’s 2012-13 season was one that sent an horrific, stinging sensation through the body of anyone who grew up watching him compete.

The Achilles rupture on April 12th, 2013 (against Golden State) is what conclusively turned the tables on his career.  He was sidelined for the final two games of the season, and we didn’t have a chance to see what type of destruction a Kobe-Dwight duo could provide in the playoffs.  Bryant had to lay around the house for an extended period of time, and couldn’t get back on the court for eight long months.

, or even Michael Jordan being superheros.  You may envision these guys as untouchable leviathans that could never be hindered with major injuries.  You may whole-heartedly believe they will always come back 100 percent, with no signs of struggle.

The fan’s perception is sometimes far from reality, though.  You notice that after a while.

Since tearing his Achilles’ tendon, Kobe hasn’t been the same.  There have been numerous flashes of brilliance and a few absurd plays since his return in December 2013 … but nothing that quite mirrors the 2012-13 rampage.  Nothing that gives us that sizzling fire to proclaim he’s still a top five player in today’s game.

Nothing seems automatic anymore while watching the (almost 37-year-old) veteran step on the court.  It’s always a blessing to witness the throwback players mix in with the newly-drafted youth, but you no longer have that feeling of undeniable excellence about to take place. He just seems like a normal, average player, after having ruled as the most lethal superstar on a nightly basis during his prime.

Thus, the similarities to True Detective are completely on point.

The Achilles tear accelerated Kobe’s decline and downfall, sadly.  For True Detective, the departure of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson was like someone taking a knife, sharpening it for an hour, and slashing the Achilles of a phenomenal show.

It’s totally acceptable for the writers to want a different twist with a new plot and for them to try something new, but the critical outcry after Season 2 ended was just laughable.  They had perfect writing, acting, and cinematography in Season 1, and it went down the drain.  Kobe had the perfect “shut your mouth” season in 2012-13, and it all somehow fell down the drain.

Comparisons to a prominent TV figure

As I sit back and re-watch Season 1 of the show I deemed “the greatest I’ve ever seen,” I come across something very captivating.

The comparability between Kobe Bryant and Rust Cohle (McConaughey’s character) is somewhat frightening.  There’s a striking resemblance in both their personalities and mindsets when dealing with situations.  It’s almost like they were cut from the same tree, or one grew up idolizing the other.

Rust Cohle was the quintessential cop for Season 1’s duo, being the most intellectual character of the whole cast.  He snubbed most thoughts about religion, and was the most philosophical human being I’ve seen on any show.  Everything revolved around science or advanced human elements with Rust, and nothing happened “by luck,” or out of faith.  With him, time was a flat circle.  Everything humans grew up doing (good or bad), was destined to repeat over and over.  To him, people never had capability to huge change.

Kobe is similar in this regard.  Out of all NBA players, it’s easy to say Bryant is part of the top percentile of intelligent minds, on and off the court. He’s culturally diverse, getting a healthy dosage of the way people act, think, and speak across the country (remember, grew up overseas).  Then, after coming back to the United States and turning pro, Kobe even furthered his education with multiple language classes at UCLA.  He had the burning desire to learn more about the Italian and Spanish languages, and he developed a deep mind while doing so.

If you ask any NBA reporter who some of the best interviews are, Kobe’s name would be one of the first mentioned (I also know from experience).  It’s because he doesn’t give you the politically correct answers every time, and doesn’t speak to the media like he’s a robot.  He gives you all of his time — even after a huge loss — and will blow your mind with how much he knows about the game.  He uses a wide variety of comparisons when he’s trying to explain something, and that directly reminds you of Rust Cohle.  Nothing will be BS’ed when they speak.  It’s genuine, and they don’t give a bleep about the critical reaction they receive.

Rust was also a very individualistic person, with his personal life and his work.  He had no family, after his wife left him and his daughter passed away. And, despite having Marty as a partner, he didn’t like working with someone else that had a very different perspective about things.  Kobe fits this bill in many ways, although he does have a wife and two children.  Bryant is still considered the most independent, unorthodox, and somewhat “selfish” player in the league.  That reputation has been Kobe’s since the early 2000’s, when he would rarely hang out with the rest of his teammates just so he could do his own thing.  He was always the outlier, because of his age and unique background from Italy.

Bryant and Cohle both adopted their own specific ways of doing business.  During Season 1’s case (set in 1995), there were countless times where Cohle would divert from the orders he was given by the Police Chief.  For God’s sake, he investigated the Louisiana governor after explicitly being told not to by his boss.  He was a loner with most of his deep, controversial searching.  With Kobe, there aren’t many players that were able to take over a game by themselves to the degree of this legend.  As harmful as it may seem to coaches, Bryant had the ability to put his teammates to the side and completely ransack his opponents.  Whether it was 62 points in 3 quarters, 81 points on the Raptors, or four straight 50-point games, this brother would have his own way of getting the job done.

Both Cohle and Bryant eventually developed a heartless attitude in the heat of their work.  To almost a devilish degree.  One time, Rust was interrogating a woman for a drug-related crime, and just flat-out told her that

she should kill herself the next chance she gets.

Another time, he basically told a man (in jail) that it was his fault for his wife getting raped and murdered.  Bryant’s heartless tactics are related to basketball, but it feels like the same concept.  Kobe doesn’t care if you’re a rookie.  He doesn’t care if he’s up by 20, or already embarrassed you on five plays before that. He’s out to kill while hunting the court, and there’s nothing stealthy about it.  He wants to earn what’s his, regardless if that means ripping some player’s heart out along the way.

Kobe and Rust’s prolonged journey to finish a task is what also strikes me.  It’s probably their strongest similarity.  While his partner Marty and the entire police force were ready to give up the hunt for Dora Lange’s actual killer, it was Rust who remained determined and completely hellbent to continue investigating.  Other factors led him to quit the force, so he just rented a private storage unit and used it as his new office. That’s where he compiled evidence, and spent countless nights trying to break the case.  While nobody could ever understand why he cared so much about fulfilling this task (which lasted 15 years), Cohle was the one became obsessed with finding this sadistic killer.  It kept him up at night, and really screwed with his head.

This is right up Kobe’s alley.  He’s kept it no secret about his intentions since entering the league in 1996.  He wanted to be “the greatest player to ever step on a court.”  He wanted to surpass his muse, Michael Jordan.  That has been his primary goal for the last 20 seasons wearing a Lakers jersey — tying or passing Jordan in the ring count.  Kobe adopted many of Jordan’s on-court attacks, and then put his own little twist on them.  His footwork is probably considered better than Jordan’s, and so is his jump-shooting ability from long-range.  Even when the goal of reaching Jordan’s six rings has seemed to fly out the window (after the Achilles tear), he still hasn’t shied away from it.  He’ll still reveal that as his number one goal, and you could tell from his excitement after he passed Jordan in all-time scoring last season.  20 years and counting, he wants to complete his objective.

Other factors go into the perfect comparison between Rust Cohle and Kobe Bryant, such as their innate attention to detail — Rust obviously with his detective searches and Kobe with watching film and breaking down plays.  They are both very misunderstood people by their contemporaries.  Teammates, coaches, and enemies don’t understand how Kobe’s mind operates in games and practices.  Partners don’t understand how Cohle thinks the way he does.

But, in two different worlds of fiction and non-fiction, Kobe and Rust should both be remembered.  Younger folks trying to find their path into either basketball or detective work could learn invaluable qualities from their practices and models of success.

Both characters, however, are on the verge of becoming extinct.

One has already rode off in the sunset, with True Detective using a wrecking ball known as Season 2 to destroy what was golden.  Kobe, entering the final year of his contract, is getting on his last saddle.  He’s about to suit up for his final ride.

After finishing his 19th season with one of the worst “PER to Usage Rating ratios” in league history, Bryant just needs one more electrifying year under his belt.  In NBA history, only one guy has ever played 30+ minutes per game, while recording a usage rating higher than 34%, with their PER being lower than 18.  Unfortunately, it’s Kobe Bryant … and it was last season.

With a younger and fresher roster intact for 2015-16 — with a promising point guard in D’Angelo Russell and an emerging combo guard in Jordan Clarkson — there’s no reason for Kobe to demand a huge piece of the offense anymore.  If he lets the action come to him instead, this could be a glorious season to watch unfold.

Kobe’s career is almost reaching the final page.  The pen is nearly out of ink.  There needs to be a savior, so that he can write it his own way.  Don’t hand the pen to whoever planned True Detective Season 2.