Kobe Bryant is justifiably considered one of the greatest shooting guards in league history, but as tough of a reality as it is to face, the Black Mamba was far from perfect. Labeled everything from a bad teammate to a ball hog, Kobe managed to transcend it all. Still, he does hold one of the most unfavorable records out there—the most missed shots ever. Luckily for him and his fans, Bryant couldn't have cared less about owning the negative piece of league history.
When asked about what he thought about becoming the NBA's all-time leader in missed field goals, Kobe was brutally honest about what it meant to him.
"Nah, I don't follow that stuff, man. Well, I'm a shooting guard that's played 19 years. Like I said, shooting guard, 19th year. I don't care about it, to be honest with you. It is what it is. I remember when I was a kid, and I watched Michael Jordan shoot 49 times in an NBA Finals game. Can you imagine if I did that and lost? Puts things in perspective," he said .
Different standards
The famous quote, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take," was taken very literally by the likes of Michael Jordan and Kobe . The two were especially unapologetic about shooting the ball because they wanted to be the main man and equally lacked trust in their teammates throughout their careers.
Kobe's comments make it clear that the likes of Jordan and even Bryant played in a less scrutinized era by putting up a high volume of shots no matter the circumstances or consequences.
As Kobe references, Jordan shooting nearly 50 times in a Finals game is largely forgotten in NBA history but would be heavily criticized in today's social media-driven society if it were to occur nowadays. Similarly, even though it was the last game of his career, everyone remembers Bryant dropping 60 points in his final performance, but no one recalls him shooting the ball 50 times to get there.
Equally, it's obvious that current Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James will be held to a whole different standard in his own right, given that he is just five shots away from taking the record from Kobe, as he sits at 14,476 missed shots.
It will be an unfair array of criticism directed at James when the time inevitably comes, especially considering LeBron has only recently passed Kobe in free throws made and has been the NBA's all-time leading scorer for over a year and a half without holding the record for the most missed field goals.
Playing without fear
To his credit, Bryant never bought into what the media and fans would negatively say about him.
It's easier said than done, but Kobe was one of the more critiqued players ever for his play on the floor and the drama away from it. One has to tip one's hat to him for staying the course in his relentless pursuit of greatness and respecting his ability to play through criticism and failure.
"You've got to step up and play, man. You can't worry about criticism. You can't worry about failure. You really can't worry about that stuff. You've got to go out and figure that out and play and do the best you can, and whatever happens, happens. You can't be held captive by the fear of failure or the fear of what people may say," he said.
It worked out well for the five-time NBA champion, who reinforced what it was to be a winner, despite holding what many believe to be the most unattractive record there is in professional basketball.
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