Kobe says Gold Medal is more important than NBA Championship

[iowa plowboy]

You really think Olympic competition, in this day and age, is subpar?  This isn't 1992 anymore, and the US hasn't won a major world title since 2000.  Winning another gold medal is officially a Big Deal at this point,   and it's by no means easy.

It may not be subpar but it is fixed....And no big deal anyway.

I am a fan of Kobe but he's full of crap here.  This event is meaningful only to the NBA.  Kobe can spend a lifetime trying to undo what he probably didn't do in the first place and he's going to keep getting trashed by the holier than thou crowd in here...  With his finger injury there's no way he should be participating.  Just more image rehabilitation participating in this dog and pony show.  

Over the last 40 years....Name your olympic sport and you can find at least one event where the outcome was fixed.  Donaghy would be proud to participate but I have no idea why anybody else would.  

[TheReaLPuba]

I wish Kobe would have suited up before for International play.

It would have made his that statement seem more valid.

But I can't blame him....playing for the USA Team is really up to each individual.

I just know Paul Pierce jumped at the chance to represent his country the very first time he was asked and then he got stoned for trying to win games all by himself when his teammates were doing jack $@#!.

[EJPLAYA]

He kind of sounds like the guy who gets turned down by the hot girl in school and ends up dating some plain jane and says "I didn't really want to date her anyway"...

[fairweatherfan]

I wish Kobe would have suited up before for International play.

It would have made his that statement seem more valid.

But I can't blame him....playing for the USA Team is really up to each individual.

I just know Paul Pierce jumped at the chance to represent his country the very first time he was asked and then he got stoned for trying to win games all by himself when his teammates were doing jack $@#!.

Kobe played last summer in the FIBA America championship to qualify for the Olympics.  Pierce was unfortunate to be on a team that comported itself horribly on and off the court.  Right or wrong, he wound up being the face of that disastrous team, but given Paul's temperament at the time, it wouldn't surprise me if he came off as a bit of a surly jackass at times.  I think everybody who's followed this team can agree he's matured dramatically since 2002.

[nickagneta]

I could care less about how sincere Kobe is in his statement since I could really care less what millionaire rapists have to say, but I wonder what Jerry Buss, Mitch Kupchak and Phil Jackson think of that comment.

[Celtics17]

Of course the Gold is more important to him then the NBA Championship is. The Celtics won the title not the Lakers but I bet he wouldnt be saying the same thing if the Lakers ( pronounced Lackers) had won it.

[bbc3341]

Good - I look forward to winning another not as important trophy next year...

[Mr October]

My eyes are welling up with tears. Kobe is such a gosh darn patriot. I was wrong to think that he was a punk and a poser.

[cordobes]

Well, I don't believe he truly believes in what he said, but I can't blame him for saying it.

Yeah, but leading the US back to the top of the mountain, after multiple teams of NBA stars losing out, would also be quite a feather for that egomaniac's hat.

Maybe if he was playing for Italy or Canada, or leading a roster full of college players. As it is, the competition is too subpar to arise that feeling.

You really think Olympic competition, in this day and age, is subpar?  This isn't 1992 anymore, and the US hasn't won a major world title since 2000.  Winning another gold medal is officially a Big Deal at this point,   and it's by no means easy.

Yeah, I do think that. Sure it's not 1992 anymore, let alone previous decades, when even teams fulfilled with college kids were serious contenders.

But the gap in talent and athleticism is still too wide. If they care about team-play, defense and are well-coached, it'll be an easy victory. OTH, if they try to win by playing american playground basketball, focusing in individual matchups, that's a lost cause.

[crownsy]

Of course the Gold is more important to him then the NBA Championship is. The Celtics won the title not the Lakers but I bet he wouldnt be saying the same thing if the Lakers ( pronounced Lackers) had won it.

sure he would. he would just add that winning them both would be a dream come true.

Kobe= employee of the NBA

NBA= very interested in USA basketball returning to relevance to grow business globally.

therefore, (and lebron has already made similar comments, as have several non-usa NBA stars) all employees will say this is the greatest thing in their lives.

think of it this way, today is month ends at the financial center where i work. i spent all day assuring clients that getting them their reports on time was very important to me. it is, but only because its my deadline and my boss will be on me if i don't.

this is much the same thing, no over-analyzing needed.

[Who]

There's two views of the Olympics from a basketball perspective

(1) The basketball section which is good but not better than the NBA
(2) Or the Olympics in general. An incredible competition with a storied history.

I've heard Kobe talking about the Olympics a couple of times .... and talking about why it's special for him. Not one of those times has he mentioned a basketball player, but he always mentions the great athletes like a Jesse Owens and a list of other famous names. He wants to be apart of that, to earn the Gold Medal that all those great athletes won.

[Edgar]

Kobe is a

Who just want to win a couple simpaties

i love nationl pride
But to say this is like demereting what he just couldnt achieve the right way

Like Esopus Fox

Grapes were Green....

[zerophase]

My eyes are welling up with tears. Kobe is such a gosh darn patriot. I was wrong to think that he was a punk and a poser.

hahaha

kobe's still trying to put this finals behind him, but its not working well. you know its eating him alive- how he made it so easily to the nba finals, only to have the tables turned.

however, lets not get too cocky people.. we could be on the receiving end next year, if say we didn't play well (Game 5) and didn't have home court.

[jimmyt]

I really dont think the two should be compared to eachother. Winning the NBA Championship and winning the gold medal are two completely different things.

It would be great to win both of them. Kobe has won three championships so maybe this really is more important to him. I think that if he never won a championship before like Pierce Garnett and Allen, he would have a different opinion.

Also, this is a team full of amazing all-star players. The best players in the league. If Kobe won the NBA Finals, it would have been on his back. If USA wins the gold medal, it's not Kobe who is the reason why.

[cordobes]

There's two views of the Olympics from a basketball perspective

(1) The basketball section which is good but not better than the NBA
(2) Or the Olympics in general. An incredible competition with a storied history.

I've heard Kobe talking about the Olympics a couple of times .... and talking about why it's special for him. Not one of those times has he mentioned a basketball player, but he always mentions the great athletes like a Jesse Owens and a list of other famous names. He wants to be apart of that, to earn the Gold Medal that all those great athletes won.

I agree with your reasoning, but let me say that for a guy that didn't even know what a "polygraph" was a few years ago, Kobe has become a very well informed and perceptive person. Just a cheap shot on him...