A Bean & A Beanpole

Kevin and Kobe. Kobe and Kevin.

They’re similar in a few ways. They’re obviously both stars. They both jumped from high school to the NBA. Both have won an MVP award. Both have won championships (it’s 5-1 in favor of the Black Mamba, but whatever).

They’re a little different too. They obviously play different positions. One plays on the east coast, the other plays out west. One spent his entire playing career with one team, the other split his career between two franchises.

There’s one thing about them, though, that I think links them. They’re the last two left.

Last two what, you ask?

There’s a Nas song that answers this quite well, but I’ll just say…they’re the last two players in the NBA that believe in cutting your throat to win. They’re the last two with that killer instinct. They’re the last two who will get nasty, talk trash, and play with the fire that those of us over the age of 25 always remember NBA players having.

Look at the Dream Team (and if you ask which one, stop reading and improve your quality of life somehow). Magic. Bird. I don’t even have to mention 23. Sir Charles. We’re talking about people who would seriously consider harming members of your family to win a game. There were plenty of non-DTers who had that trait too: Reggie Miller, Mark Price (don’t get it twisted)…didn’t even have to be a star: Mario Elie could find his way onto such a list.

And the Bad Boys? Uh, yeah.

Don’t get me wrong: there are talented players in the NBA now. LeBron, Wade, Durant, some others…but they won’t cut you open and savor the taste of your blood like 24 and 5. They just won’t. They seem to like to win games on talent alone. Durant in particular has a knack for hitting the “clutch” (I believe that concept should be used for entertainment purposes only, owing to sample sizes) shot, but he doesn’t relish in it. LeBron takes over games and drives at will because he can: not because he absolutely wants to. People compare him to Magic all the time give his proclivity for passing, but Magic has ‘the hook’ on his resume.

When Kobe hits a winner, though? You’re going to know about it. Lose to the Celtics and KG will be the first to tell you where you messed up. No one else does that now. The one guy who might grow into that is Russell Westbrook, and he has Durant to deal with as far as getting such opportunities to shine. The Kyrie Irving challenge situation is cute, but Kyrie knows as well as I do that he has no chance against Bean. If they went to 21 I’d be shocked if Uncle Drew got to double digits.

Kobe and Kevin understand the difference between “winning” and “beating you”. Because of that, watch them for these next (last) few years of their careers. Like Keyser Soze and Elijah Muhammad, you’ll never run across anyone like them again.