Give me a break. Kobe is not better than Jordon, who incidentally was not better than the best play of all time...Magic Johnson.

That's right, the greatest player ever to play the game has the initials MJ, but its not Michael Jordon, and it for sure ain't Kobe Bryant.

And it sure isn't Malone, Stockton, Dantley, Williams, Boozer either. haha This is a lame argument because the best player in history is completely subjective and depends on position.

I mean who's better? Dominant centers like Kareem, Chamberlain and Kareem? PF like Duncan, Malone? or SG like Jordan, Kobe, LeBron or PG like Stockton, Magic, West etc?

Lame argument.

Of course he wont' be happy - this isn't a Kobe thing. Was Malone happy when the Jazz didn't win?

Let the media create the idea that this is PAO GASOL's team. Dote over how Kobe only won the MVP because Gasol came to the team. Surround Gasol with the media. Talk about how HIS presence makes the Lakers a real title contender...

And watch Kobe turn fifteen shades of GREEN with envy. Before you know it, he'll be pulling stunts like not shooting in the 4th quarter. Or ball-hogging to try and drop 50 points - all the while nuking his team's chances.

So true! I would love to see this happen. Make it happen Utah Media!

The Jazz have had their fair share of complaining players that have wanted to leave. Malone did it every year, AK did it this year before the season. You act Like Kobe is the first guy to ever complain about his team in the NBA. Kobe is getting more press in Utah than Jazz players. Like I've always said the difference between the Jazz and the Lakers is the Lakers are obsessed with winning world championships and the Jazz are obsessed with the Lakers. As long as that remains the jazz will never win a world championship.

I don't see how this can possibly pass as a well researched article. The organization didn't cater to his every whim. They traded his best friend on the team, Caron Butler. They didn't trade Bynum when Kobe called for it. And most importantly, they didn't trade Kobe when he asked out.

It's pretty obvious the author missed out on Kobe's acceptance of the trophy, or he would have noticed how much gratitude he expressed towards Kupchak for building the team that they have.

Also, why is it never brought up that Jordan was just as critical of his team, if not more so, while having a huge problem with gambling and philandering? He gets a free pass?

What is the point here? This looks like sour grapes to me.

Jordon complained about his "supportig cast". AK47 Cried last year because he was unhappy. Magic got Westphal fired. Malone whined about losing. Shaq asked to be traded out of Orlando, Los Angeles and Miami.

Get over the Kobe-hating, and Lakers-hating.

We Lakers fans applaud Utah for being a solid upstanding franchise that always hustles and tries it's best, because we are good sports.

Why don't you try that.

Do you really think Kobe doesn't realize that Gasol's presence makes LA a title contender? Do you really think he doesn't realize that Gasol's presence helped him get the MVP? NOBODY GETS AN MVP OR A TITLE ON THEIR OWN!! Kobe's basketball IQ is as high as anyone's.

You don't get anywhere in this league with Smush Parkers AND Kwame Browns both on your starting 5. People saying Kobe is only where he's at(title contenders) because Gasol is here are exactly right! They just don't realize how stupid they sound.

His team did need a change, they did have to get a player like Gasol, now they are contenders, thanks Kobe for not settling thanks for forcing the Lakers to make changes.

Hate all you want, at the end of the day, Lakers is taking out the broom in Utah on game 4. Sweep, sweep, sweep.. yeah baby!

Your article was right on point!! and I've been a Laker fan for 35 years,

I think Doug does not like Kobe.

Shaq wanted an extension on his contract. He wanted the max. His contract terms were "grandfathered" and a max contract for him would have been seven years averaging almost 30 million a year.

I think not even Kobe getting on his knees (along with the other half of the Laker faithful )and begging Dr. Buss to pay Shaq what he cried for would have changed his mind.

Shaq's feelings got hurt and he took less elsewhere. Take out the emotion, look at the numbers Shaq was demanding, and you will see it was a no brainer to let Shaq go. Look at how Shaq left Orlando, and look how he just left the Heat, and you tell me he is innocent in all of this.

Give Kobe some credit for demanding more of his employer. Kwame Brown? Smush Parker? Luke Walton? starting for the Lakers? Kupchak screwed up big time. He deserved to be ripped by true Laker fans. I give Jerry West just as much credit for Pau as anyone.

You don't have to follow the NBA extremely closely to realize just how true this article is. No matter what anyone says, you are right on the money. Anyone who tears this down has Laker glasses on and is totally blind to reality.

Ok let us assume you are right. He is a selfish so and so, and is only happy because he got his way but why do you care? He does not play for the Jazz; in fact you should be praying that he tears the Lakers apart, to make life easier for the Jazz. The only reason you wrote this is belly ache of a “thing" is because you can't stand that he is getting this award, which would mean that you have a problem that needs fixing. When someone else's achievement does inspire anything positive in you, that can be described as bitter.

If you agree with this article and then call yourself a Laker fan, we don't want you!.

I agree with hypocritical stop being so obsessed with the Lakers and build a title contender yourself. You're worried about the fans booing Kobe on opening night and loving him now! Whatever! We've seen how you Utah fans work. D-fish saves the day, you love him! He leaves you hate him. He comes back you boo him, then he comes back again now you respect him, but don't like him because he's a laker.

I don't think I ever heard anyone heard any booing Karl Malone when he left or when he came back! So really I don't care what they think in Utah!

Someone disagreeing with the premise that Kobe is selfish is blinded by Lakers glasses isn't exactly non-biased. . .

Look at it objectively - let's everyone take the glasses off. The MVP is voted on by industry professionals and sports analysts to reward the 1 player in the year who stands out as being more valuable to their team than any other player on their respective teams. It has nothing to dot with individual achievements. If it did Kobe would have won it years before when he was averaging 35 pts per game or when he averaged 30 but scored 81 pts in one game.

Kobe has been Phenomenal for several years as a team player. You've just been blinded by your Jazz glasses and haven't noticed. While you were hating, Kobe was secretly averaging 5-6 APG for the last 5+ years which put him in the top ~20 every year. This year in the playoffs he's averaging only 2 fewer APG than DWill but 15 pts and 3 rebounds more. His team mates have more shots per game than in years past and Kobe has dropped 7 shots per game over the last 3 years. Not exactly selfish.

If Kobe doesn't win a title this year or in the near future, it's only a matter of time before he starts his ranting again.

Actually not sure you're on with that one. Bynam was a total rock star before his injury and will be here for years to come. Gasol is only 27. Odom is 27. Kobe is 29. No reason to leave at this point. He finally has the team that was promised to him.

When Shaq left (not becaue of Kobe but because he was 40 lbs overweight, wasn't playing well and Buss wouldn't pay the max contract) Kobe was promised a better team. Since that time this is the first year that any major trades have happened. Now, finally they have done something and Kobe has said its' a championship team to build on and he has great team chemistry. Much better than with Shaq.

Besides, you should understand players trying to position themselves to win. . . Malone left the Jazz to sign with the Lakers because he didn't think the Jazz would win a championship. So, if Malone left why can't Kobe ask for players to be brought in?

No one cares when team mgmt complains or trades players but when players leave teams or complain, it's a huge deal for some reason. It should go both ways.

"Do you really think Kobe doesn't realize that Gasol's presence makes LA a title contender? Do you really think he doesn't realize that Gasol's presence helped him get the MVP? NOBODY GETS AN MVP OR A TITLE ON THEIR OWN!! Kobe's basketball IQ is as high as anyone's. "

Sure he knows these things. The point being made was that if the media were to flip this around and make this PAO's team, make it look like Pao is the savior of the team, like he's the true star, THAT'S when you'd see Kobe become the spoiled brat baby he is.

It ain't gonna happen because most of the media is still in love with Kobe... But Ohhh... what I wouldn't give to see it. Exposed for what he really is.

... would be if the Lakers made the finals and watching Pao win the MVP and upstage Kobe. Then watching LAtown become PAOtown. Then we'd see just how much of a team player Kobe is.

Malone of the recent Jazz was a complainer was in deep dutch with owner Larry H. Miller almost every day. Nothing new to the Jazz.
What Kobe Bryant wants Kobe Bryant gets. It as simple as that. I don't remember Malone ever pouting in a 4th quarter game and refusing to shoot the ball because something didn't agree with him.
I don't like Kobe Bryant and I'm not afraid to say it. He's a spoiled brat.

I lived in Utah for 7 years and watched Malone pout off the court a TON. I still remember him complaining about the strike and not having money for christmas presents. Yeah . . . You are okay with Malone's complaining and lame behavior but no one else?

As for Kobe. . . please, no one is as competitive in this league today as Kobe. Kobe has put that team on his shoulders every single night and played hard. There are plenty of critics of Jordan who said that he made life horrible for his teammates because of his high expecations. Kobe has high expectations and voices them. That doesn't make him spoiled. He wanted a better team and he pushed until he got it. Without Kobe threatening to leave the Lakers wouldn't have Pau. So I'm glad he did. Not sure how Kobe's complaints impact Jazz fans. Maybe you should discuss how Sloan didn't like Giricek so he basically fired him - why can't Kobe threaten to quit? Same thing no? The NBA is a business.

Try reading credible sports analysts talk about Kobe instead of local Craig Boulderjack or Hot Rod or whoever is still there.

Thanks for leaving Utah, and could you somehow talk the hundreds of thousands of other California transplants to leave as well? Thanks!

Doug Robinson clearly has some serious issues with his own underachieving. Why else would ANYBODY ask such a dumb question like "Will Kobe be happy if Lakers don't win?"

What kind of person, in ANY profession, would be happy if you are losing? Especially if management appears to have NO intention of improving?

Answer? The kind of people that consistently underachieve, and have simply decided to be pleased with being mediocre. Finding comfort in just being "close", but never grabbing the brass ring.

If you want to debate exactly how Kobe went about making changes? Fine. Could have been more professional, no doubt.

If you agree with this silly perspective, then good luck to you. Best wishes while you lean over the counter with your paper cap and ask me if I want you to super-size my meal deal.

Robinson and Bryant need to be bundled in the same elitist ship and sent to Siberia. Include Larry Miller and Gayle Ruzicka in the trade.

Well trust me- it was extremely hard to leave the mecca of culture and sports but somehow I managed to pull away. As for the hundreds of thousands of others from Cali leaving? I'm sure they wish they could . . . they are from Cali so . . . they would want to. If they want to get objective viewpoints. Maybe that's the obsession - Jazz fans hate the fact that there is a huge Laker fan base built in for each game at the delta center. It's like SoCal in SLC. . . I love it.

It's funny though, in California we have a few things you don't . . . like more than one thing to obsess about. I don't know what the Jazz fans would do if the team ever left Utah. It's the only thing to talk about in the state. What if LHM sells the team to an investment group in Seattle to fill the gap there? Will the entire state just be devestated? I guess there's always the Buzzzzzz and the Starzzzzzz and the Grizzzzzz and the rest of the... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

YOu guys stick to what you know. YOu guys aren't laker fans or kobe followers so leave that alone. Stick to what you know. Getting inot debt because the jones jsut bought a nice boat, Saying ridicoulis comments about sports.

AMen AMen Amen

Nice . . . telling non-Utahns to leave the state . . . that doesn't make Utah sound backwards or Hillbilly at all. . . haha. Very nice.

Huge Laker fan base in Utah? Are you serious? These same fans who show up to ESA wearing Kobe jerseys are the same idiots who showed up in the 90's when the Jazz played the Bulls in the finals wearing Jordan jerseys. They aren't true fans of any team, they just jump on the bandwagon of whatever team is winning...

I don't really care what others think of Utah, just don't want Utah to end up like the hole that Cali is or even worse, what LA is

just another Kobe hater...you point it out like he manipulated what has happened all the way to the MVP Award.

Jerry Buss didn't want to pay Shaq more money, he's the one that canned Shaq.

Mitch Kupchak had to grow after a few years of managment. he didn't angle for any quality trades, aside from Odom.

Is the greatest player ever, check the number of rings if you don't believe me. The man dominated his entire career and he won championships which are all hanging in Boston.

Oh yea and boston has more championships than any other! Feel the love. I don't know if the boston three party can compete down the stretch but Bill he is the man!!

"I don't really care what others think of utah, just don't want Utah to end up like the hole that Cali is"

If you've seen "The Village" you'll understand how backwoods your comments sound . . . but you keep on with that if you want. Maybe closing your windows extra tight at night will keep out the rest of the Boogie men. Once you do that though, ask yourself why the Jazz has a hard time getting NBA players to come to Utah... Then go re-read your post and you'll have your answer.

Any chance Robinson ever writes a good article - what a poor effort. The vendetta of the SLC media against the Lakers is disgusting. They all but villified Magic and Kareem in '88 and now they are merciless against Kobe. Fact is they should have taken inventory of the dirty laundry of Stockton and Malone.

All of us in Utah need to give credit to Kobe and quit hating him for something that he did not do (Colorado). I am a huge Jazz fan and have been forever but lets face it Kobe is amazing and without him the Lakers would be nothing, cause if it weren't for him Gasol would not be there and the others would be average at best. He is the most deserving player of the MVP without a doubt and any average basketball fan knows that. And even though I want him and his team to get beat by the jazz, he is still the best basketball player on the planet.

wow - I'm totally blown away by your crack analysis of bandwagon fans. I find it extremely funny that you assume any fan of any winning team in Utah must be a bandwagon fan. So in your professional opinion, there aren't actually multiple teams' fans?

I find that odd in a state with multiple major universities and a state that draws mormons from around the country it's not possible to have more than one teams' fans? All Bulls fans must now be Lakers fans? And all Jordan fans must now be Kobe fans? So are these the same fans that wore rockets, heat, spurs, pistons jerseys during the years the lakers and bulls weren't winning? That's got to be expensive - it seems expensive to be a bandwagon fan. I wonder if these fans have to check the team standings before they choose which jersey they'll wear for the weekend.

You Jazz fans really do have an 'us against the world' complex.