Living in Utah and being a Lakers fan (ok, it’s out of the bag now, hopefully I won’t be stoned) I have to put up with a lot of Laker hating people. I hear it all of the time around me, almost as much as I hear people complaining about democrats. It’s funny though, that most of the Laker complaining and whining comes from Kobe Bryant. People here just can’t stand the guy. I don’t get it.

I ask people why they hate Kobe and the Lakers so much and most of the time they’ll come up with things like, “Oh, he’s so cocky.” Or, “His morals are terrible, I hate the guy”. Is that what you REALLY hate about him? Is this the ONLY reason you hate the Lakers? Or is it because the Jazz are just a blip on the Lakers’ radar and time and time again the Lakers dispatch the Jazz and destroy all hope of an NBA championship?

I’ll admit, I don’t necessarily like Kobe’s personal choices, but then again, I don’t agree with most professional athletes’ personal lifestyles either or, for that matter, many of the celebrities and people in the spotlight.

I want to clear things up here. You can not like the person or the choices they make and not hate them. I love the Lakers. Kobe is my favorite player for what he does ON the basketball court, not OFF.

Kobe is not the 2nd most entertaining basketball player in the NBA, behind LeBron James. Nothing against Kobe, he’s still my favorite player, but James is younger and a rising star. Kobe is getting older and all good things in the NBA come to an end. However, Kobe is still such an entertaining player to watch. The things he is able to do on the court are amazing. Kobe is arogant, yes, but then again, when you’re that good at basketball, you step on the court and you’re the best there, and you make a truckload of money, what do you expect?

During the last playoff series against the Jazz, Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan said that the Jazz needed to “get nasty”, meaning that they needed to be more tenacious on the court. The Jazz have a reputation for being the “excuse me while I try to make a basket” guys, rather than “Look out ’cause I’m coming through regardless of who’s there” guys. Kobe has that tenacity. The Lakers have that swager that the Jazz lack. It’s the killer instinct that separates the teams that exit the playoffs in the first round or just miss the playoffs and those who go to conference championships and NBA finals.