The Lakers finished off their 15th NBA Championship in workmanlike fashion last night, efficiently pounding the Orlando Magic 99-86 to claim the series in five games. The ring is big for the Lakers, considering it’s their first since 2002. But it’s absolutely huge for both Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson, who certainly added to their legacy with this championship. Here’s a quick look at how this title affects both the Black Mamba and The Zen Master.

Kobe Bryant: Throughout his career, there’s always been plenty of hate on Bryant. Some of it has been justified, most of it has not. Bryant’s bouts with selfishness, immaturity and being a ballhog are long past him, so it’s time for the casual NBA fan to recognize his greatness. No matter how absurd it is, Bryant needed this “solo” ring to establish himself as one of the game’s all-time greats. Why is it absurd? Because basketball is a team game. Jordan didn’t have a dominant big man, but he had one of the greatest man-to-man defenders of all time in Scottie Pippen, a Top 50 NBA player in his own right. He also had arguably the greatest rebounder in NBA history playing in his frontcourt for the final three titles. That’d be Dennis Rodman. 

Bryant wasn’t at his best for some of these finals. His poor free throw shooting costed the Lakers game three and his 4th quarter play in game four wasn’t much to write home about either. But he still averaged 32 points a game and played some great, unselfish basketball.  Averaging over seven assists a game in the Finals is a testament to that, and high praise for Bryant’s supporting cast like Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza and the rejuvenated Derek Fisher. 

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When Kobe Bryant fell onto Andrew Bynum’s right knee last Saturday you could see the pain not only on Bynum’s face, but on Bryant’s as well.  With a MRI yesterday, team doctors have ruled that Bynum will be out 8-12 weeks with ligament tear in the knee.

So now what? How do Kobe and the Lakers respond to MRI results that could cost them a championship this June? Bryant walked into Madison Square Garden without missing a beat, nonetheless a seven foot center. With that being said, the 13th year veteran out of Lower Marion High School dropped 61 points, including a 20-20 performance from the charity stripe. In case you didn’t know, those 61 points now stand as a MSG record. As a side note, Pau Gasol had 31 points with 14 boards.

As millions of NBA fans circled around water coolers Monday morning, talks sprung up about the Lakers falling short for a second consecutive season without Andrew Bynum. However the Lakers and Bryant didn’t miss a beat. And it seemed as if they didn’t miss a shot either.

Another key component that arises with the Bynum injury blow is that of Kobe Bryant’s MVP status. Kobe won his first MVP last year with Bynum going down halfway through and now the same situation comes forth again. Scoring 61 points certainly helps Bryant’s stock, but how many nights like this does he have to real in to pass Lebron James’ campaign?

There is only one person I would pay to watch in the NBA and that is Kobe Bryant. Bryant plays with passion, determination, and the eagerness to win every time he steps out onto the court. Get ready for an excellent finish to the Laker season that will bring out the best of every member on the squad, especially Kobe Bryant.

Greek team Olympiakos, fresh off its’ acquisation of Hawks guard Josh Childress, is set to raise the bar in European basketball.  Olympiakos is set to offer Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant a three year deal worth $83 million in tax free money.  In addition to this contract, Bryant will be hooked up with a villa on the Mediterranean, his own boat, and a full service staff available around the clock.  For reference, Kobe a player option after this year that can allow him to opt out of his contract.

To an extent, having players leave the NBA to play globally is good for the NBA brand.  Guys like Josh Childress and Nenad Kristic will assuredly spread the excitement of basketball to reaches of the world that weren’t previously attained.  However, having a guy like Kobe or LeBron depart for Europe would be incredibly damaging to the NBA.  Can you imagine the Cleveland franchise if LeBron took off for Italy or Russia to play?  How the hell would the Cavaliers justify charging upwards of $100 for tickets to see a bunch of guys who, in all likelihood, wouldn’t win 20 games during the season.  Would the Lakers draw the star power and attention that they do now without Kobe Bryant running the floor for them nightly?  Doubtful.

I’m not sure how the NBA would remedy this nor am I going to spend hours of time to figure out a way to save the NBA from the world.  However, the NBA should change their public response to their players going overseas.  Stop being so ecstatic about it and start bunkering down and keeping the factions that make your league great.

The United States Men’s Basketball team, the Redeem Team, went into the gold medal game against Spain last night, and captured the gold medal for the United States once again.  While the team may not have made it look as easy as they did in 1992, they certainly improved on the performances of the U.S. national team over the past few years.

It is hard to say that this team was led by any one player because they all contributed and they are all so good.  But some of the players who stuck out in my mind were Dwyane Wade (rejoice Heat fans, there is hope!) because of his resurgence after an injury plagued year, Chris Bosh who finally got the recognition that he deserves after being trapped in the media black hole of Toronto Raptors basketball, and of course Kobe Bryant and LeBron James simply taking over when it was crunch time.

To me, the most impressive thing about this team was not that they won by 30 or 40 points almost every game, the most impressive thing was how they went about winning.  This team tried their asses off every single game, and when they weren’t playing or practicing they were out watching fellow Americans.  This team was bigger than the individuals on it, it was even bigger than USA basketball, it was all about the USA Olympic Team, and that was refreshing to see.

I have no doubt that people will be saying that the celebration after winning gold was excessive.  People will say that they should have acted in a more reserved manner because they were the clear favorites going into the games.  I disagree on all counts with those critics.  Seeing the team celebrate like that after they won the gold medal made me realize that this team wanted it more than they could ever express in words.  They didn’t expect to win the gold, they expected a hard fight the entire way and while it appeared they were able to coast some of the time they never rubbed it in, they never showboated, and they always kept grinding and the result was an Olympic gold.

Paul Pierce has something to say and we all better stop and listen. Unfortnately, what Pierce told a Spanish reporter this past week can’t be taken seriously. In fact it might be the best lie I have ever heard. Pierce, who was attending a basketball camp overseas, was asked if he thought Kobe Bryant was best player in the world. The interview went a little something like this:

Q: Is Kobe really the best player in the world?

Pierce: I don’t think Kobe is the best player. I’m the best player. There’s a line that separates having confidence and being conceited. I don’t cross that line but I have a lot of confidence in myself.

Q: Who are your top five favorite players in the NBA today?

Pierce: Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins and Paul Pierce.

Unbelievable. Funny thing is, there was a kid watching the interview live and this was his reaction.

Getting back to a more serious note, it blows my mind for Pierce to even cross this line. Kobe and Lebron stand head and shoulders above the Celtic forward and it’s not even close. Pierce isn’t even the best player on his own team. In fact, I can name a group of other players, including the likes of Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Paul to name a few.

I love how Pierce names his teammates as the next four best players in the league, also. Just because Boston took home the ultimate prize doesn’t mean we have to go through them first before analyzing the rest of the league. Pierce needs to check himself. Hard.

Forget about going to Beijing and strictly dominating for a couple of games. I’m here to talk about the real reason Kobe and Lebron are fighting for Olympic gold. It’s not about the bonus money. It’s not about traveling to some faraway land. And it’s certainly not about creating the best highlights (even though we’re about to see the boys throw it down in a weeks). What’s it’s really about is the United States, the country that gives each and everyone of us freedom day in and day out. These players know what’s on the line in Beijing. They known they haven’t a won gold in eight years, but it’s time to put the USA back in the driver’s seat. I haven’t seen a group of players so energized and motivated to play for their country than this group. They want to win so bad, that if they lose and fail to get gold they will hide themselves in shame.

The following clip is from a series on ESPN called “Road to Redemption”. It follows the players and coaches of Team USA all the way up to the Olympic Games. In this segment, the team visits the Statue of Liberty and reflects on what the monument symbolizes. Kobe Bryant said it best when he mentioned the feeling and motivational aspects the team gets from the visit.”You have a dream when you get here in America. To go from the bottom to the top. This is our dream. Here and now. To bring the gold back to this country.”