The NBA needs Kobe Bryant more than ever.
With a massive new TV deal, as first reported by Richard Sandomir of the New York Times, and a skyrocketing salary cap encroaching on the horizon, the league is careening toward a new and unfamiliar era. Bryant, as familiar a face as there is in the NBA, can serve as a bridge to that new age.
Perhaps that'll be his last act as an active NBA icon. If it is, he appears committed to making it a damn entertaining one.
Because however you feel about Kobe's contract, his attitude or his place in history (arguments about his G.O.A.T.-ness spring up everywhere), you can't deny the NBA is a better, more compelling product when he's a part of it.
Case in point: Bryant turned an utterly meaningless preseason game on Oct. 6 into a must-watch affair.
A New (Old) Brand of Entertainment
Bryant scored 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting in 21 minutes against the Denver Nuggets in his first game action since Dec. 17, 2013. And he looked good—if you take new Los Angeles Lak ...
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Article written by Grant Hughes