Best basketball player on the planet, future hall of famer, and the 2007-2008 NBA Most Valuable Player. Yes ladies and gents, I'm talking about Mr. Kobe Bean Bryant. Whether you like him or not, you have to give credit where it is due. He took a team that many picked to barely make the playoffs all the way to the NBA Finals. And granted they had there "rear ends" handed to them by the better team, they still made it there. Yet in still, Kobe still receives quite a bit of criticism.

   Is it his cockiness? Well some may say that could just be a very high level of confidence. He has a swagger that is unmatched in the NBA right now, and many people can't stand the fact that he knows just how good he is, and is not afraid to admit how good he is. Maybe its because he's selfish. Well, up until now, he has had to be selfish to even give his team a chance at competing. Maybe its because of the whole Eagle, Colorado thing, but that's another story for another article. Maybe there are just alot of Shaq fans who are peeved that Kobe "forced" the Big Aristotle out of Tinseltown (also another story..).

   In the end, Kobe may go down as the greatest player to ever grace the NBA. And then, when the smoke clears, and his numbers 8 and 24 are hung in the rafters of the Staples Center, and he and his lovely wife Vanessa and his two daughters are all taking in the moment, will there still be that amount of hate from his critics? After he has won 3 to 4 more titles without the Big Diesel, will there still be critics saying that he's nothing but a sidekick; that he couldn't lead a team? Only time will tell.

   As the Lakers will probably be the odds on faves to win the Western Conference next season, and Kobe is coming off of a MVP winning season, and has the taste of NBA Finals defeat in his mouth, I would say he is hungrier than ever. And with the now famous freestyle from Shaq Diesel egging him on, look for KB24 to shut his critics up next season, and lead his team to the NBA title.

Yes, I said LEAD his team.