All Hail the Purple and Gold

Despite the fact I was born and raised in California, there is only one team in the state that I actually like — The Los Angeles Lakers. I have a love-hate relationship with basketball. It's never been my favorite sport, and there have been times where I've gotten tired of watching, but no matter what the Lakers always pull me back in.

I was still a young kid when Magic Johnson and the Showtime Lakers reigned supreme. I was in elementary, middle, and the first years of high school when Michael Jordan was in the midst of his six titles. So my memories of those eras, of those teams, and of those players is colored by youth.

But it was around the end of the Jordan era that I really started to follow the Lakers seriously. Some of my favorite players from those teams were Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones, and Vlade Divac. Of course we suffered through the Glen Rice "experiment" and a variety of other moves that were supposed to make the Lakers competitive.

Really, the competitive days during that run didn't arrive until the Lakers acquired Shaq from the Orlando Magic. Shaq quickly became my favorite player, and the Lakers started surrounding their centerpiece with the other things necessary to become champions. There was a scrappy point guard named Derek Fisher, a scrappy forward named Rick Fox, one of my favorite non-Lakers, the streak shooter Robert Horry, Jordan's Hall of Fame coach, Phil Jackson, and, of course, an upstart guard drafted straight out of high school named Kobe Bryant.

By the time the Lakers began their 3-peat, Kobe and Shaq were a dynamic duo. Of course, there were times when Kobe was hard to watch. You could see he wanted to be Batman, even though he was more like Robin in those days, and sometimes he took ill-advised shots at ill-advised times. Other times, he made miraculous plays that salted the game away for the Lakers.

But even during the glory days, it was clear Shaq and Kobe were a good team on the court and oil and vinegar off the court. So, it wasn't all that surprising when, following an epic collapse in the finals, that management decided to break up the team. Phil Jackson left town and Shaq was traded, both moves seemingly made to placate the Lakers burgeoning star. For me, it seemed like a dark day that would cripple my team for years to come.

When Shaq and Dwayne Wade won a title for the Miami Heat while the Lakers limped along like an also-ran in the West, it confirmed my worst fears. Kobe was a selfish player who reached too far and crippled a dynasty.

But then things began to change.

After realizing he couldn't do it on his own, Kobe happily welcomed back the coach — Phil Jackson — who had lampooned him in print after being run out of town. The Lakers brought Fisher back, made a few moves to bolster the front line and, miraculously, Kobe started to realize he had to play as a team to win.

Watching that transformation has been one of the most shocking parts about following the Lakers during my lifetime. When I was watching Kobe nail clutch shot after clutch shot with his team last week in the Western Conference Finals, I could hardly believe it was the same player. But with his third straight NBA Finals berth, having led the U.S. Team to victory in Bejing in 2008, and having surpassed some of the greatest records for one of the greatest franchises in professional basketball, it's hard to argue against the greatness of Kobe Bryant.

For years, pundits have tried to compare Bryant to Jordan, or Magic Johnson or other of the game's brightest stars of the past. But I think what sets him apart — what makes him great — is that he is his own man. Flawed, yes. Selfish, at times. Tough to play with, certainly has been in the past. But he's also clutch. He's driven. And, he's a winner.

I haven't always liked Kobe Bryant, but I've come to respect him as a player. In the clutch last Saturday night as the Lakers strove to make it back to the finals, there were only two people I felt comfortable with shooting the ball — Bryant and Fisher. And that faith was rewarded time and again with yeoman-like work from the Lakers steadiest player, Fisher, and some of the most incredibly clutch shots I've ever seen thrown in from Bryant to salt the game away.

And now, tomorrow night, the team will renew its greatest rivalry as they battle the Boston Celtics. The Celtics have won 17 of the league's 63 titles. The Lakers have won 15. No one else is even close. When the teams battled in 2008, the Lakers faded away, falling by more than 30 points as the Celtics nabbed the trophy. Something tells me that won't be the case this year.

Either way, I can't wait to see what Bryant will do once the curtain drops on Thursday night.