Kobe Bryant hates to lose. So it has been a little bit weird seeing Kobe sitting on the bench during some of the Lakers’ losses this season smiling. Yes, smiling. Kobe never would have done that ten, five, or even two years ago. So why is he smiling so much now?
Part of the reason for it is that this is Kobe’s last season, so he’s not letting the losing get to him. It will be over soon enough and, when it is, it will mean that his career is over. So why not smile on the way out? And the other part of it is that Kobe seems to realize that there’s really no point in him getting upset about all the losing. It’s simply where the Lakers are at as a franchise right now.
“Listen, you have to be realistic about what we’re facing and where we are right now as a team and as an organization,” he told ESPN Los Angeles after the Lakers lost to the Thunder 120-85 last night. “You can train a cat all you want to bark. The damn cat is not going to bark. There’s no sense in yelling at it. Simple as that.”
Hmmm…Weird analogy, but somehow, it makes perfect sense. Keep on smiling, Kobe.
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[via ESPN Los Angeles]
