Kobe Bryant

Yeah
Yay
Woohoo

Kobe, you are a very talented ball player. Timing, hand-eye coordination, footwork, speed...all above the norm.
Michael Jordan was the last pure talent like Kobe.

But neither was close to Ervin Magic Johnson.

Magic had physical talents galore, a loping gait that threw people off rhythm, hands of an Olympian, the drive and tenacity of a champion and yet they were not his strongest force. Magic had a brain.
Magic had more brains in those huge hands of his than many MIT graduates.

Forget his behind the back passes, the now-you-see-the-ball-now-you-see-the-ball-gone move, forget that loping run of his. It was so out of rhythm people would lean with him.

With seconds to go at the end of a championship game in which the Lakers had been working very hard to win, Magic took the in-bound pass and was trapped in the back court. On no?!
He gently rolled the ball down the court...bounce...bounce...et cetera...It meandered down the length of the court and the clock ran out.
No super play, just snatching a win by using his brains.

Time and again, he proved that his greatest asset was his smarts. Chick Hearn (God love him) referred to Magic as the "on court general."

The way he dealt with HIV and survived, no thrived. His myriad business deals. The man is a genius, with huge Olympian hands.


Bye Kobe.