a selfish act or selfless act?

Post #1 » by **snaquille oatmeal** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 2:34 am

although I already know what Lakers fans are going to say (because I am one), I want to ask anyway if you guys think that Kobe playing with his injured right pinky is a selfish act or a selfless act. there could be an argument made by both sides.

on the selfish side you can say that Kobe is hungry and wants his glory and wants to be known as the best and is playing injured because he only cares about himself...blah, blah, blah...

and on the selfless act you can say that he knows his team wont even make the playoffs if he has the surgery and is sacrifising his body (sort of speak) for his team, wants to bring happy days back to LA, etc.

feel free to elaborate on your answers.

EiRON · Post #2 » by **EiRON** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 2:38 am

Selfless Act, Kobe wants to win.

slifersd · Post #3 » by **slifersd** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 2:42 am

There are two sides to every story, and Kobe is no exception to that. He wants more glory for himself, but then again, who doesn't? If you can get four rings, why would you be satisfied with three? Besides that, you have to see that Kobe was the one who made a big fuss about this team not wanting to win. And now the first chance he gets to win and you expect him to just go get surgery and ruin the whole season? He is both selfish and unselfish at the same time.

Post #4 » by **snaquille oatmeal** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:15 am

EiRON wrote:Selfless Act, Kobe wants to win.

oxymoron?

sli- I didn't make a judgement I was just asking.

Post #5 » by **alfurd** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:29 am

Have to be careful about phrasing it because it isn't necessarily wrong to be selfish. You don't play to win a championship for the team, you play to win a championship yourself. Everything else is important and motivating, but it's in addition to the individual gain.

Kobe sees that this season is a great opportunity to win a championship. Of course he wants to win for the Lakers and the fans, but no player is going into a season with a primary objective of winning for their team, their city, their teammates, etc. The injury shouldn't rephrase the issue to ulterior motives (e.g. proving himself vs doing it to bring back happy times), bottom line it's still about winning rings and right now it's pretty important for him to hang around and make sure the Lakers even make the playoffs.

So yeah, I picked selfish.

"You play to win the game!"

Sofa King · Post #6 » by **Sofa King** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:41 am

Kobe is the opposite of Lebron when it comes to finger injuries. Does that tell you what I picked? :lol:

Post #7 » by **LLcoleJ** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:46 am

both?

Post #8 » by **snaquille oatmeal** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:58 am

Sofa King wrote:Kobe is the opposite of Lebron when it comes to finger injuries. Does that tell you what I picked?

I wasn't asking who has cojones :lol:

Phil- thanks for your extended reply lol

slifersd · Post #9 » by **slifersd** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 5:02 am

snaquille oatmeal wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

sli- I didn't make a judgement I was just asking.

I didn't say you were making a judgment, or at least I didn't mean to.

Post #10 » by **LLcoleJ** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 5:10 am

snaquille oatmeal wrote:

Phil- thanks for your extended reply lol

HA...

Well I think its a combo of both. He is doing this for his team the Lakers and the fans ..but he also wants it for himself.

Rambis/Mitch were on the radio today/tonight and they touched on it.

Basically saying, Its to a point where it will be a threshold of pain that Kobe will have to deal with and there are very few players in the league equiped to play through this. Rambis said, he doesnt see anyway Kobe will get surgery because thats not who he is. He wants to win and he wants to compete. Mitch said, Kobe has played with more injuries that would keep most athletes out for weeks or months.

Rambis also mentioned that Vitti's tape job actually had made Kobe's shot better because he concentrates more on the act of shooting and to be sure his hands are in the right spots. His release and rotations have been great since his new tape job.

The long term effect that Mitch eluded to was for 15 years down the road when he is retired. Right now, barring any massive impact or specfic injury to the pinky.. its not going to get much worse and its just going to hurt, alot.

Kobe smells blood and he knows he has a special team and he wont waste this year , when he has a chance for a title.

He also knows that him being out there , sets an example for the rest of the guys and the team chemistry is at an all time high...

So my vote is ... both.

lets do dis!!!

Sedale Threatt · Post #11 » by **Sedale Threatt** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 6:11 am

I don't see how this can be construed as selfish in any way, shape or form. He's doing what he has to do to help his team win, which is playing through pain and staying out on the court.

No question it's a gamble. Only time will tell if it pays off. But regardless of what happens down the road, there's no doubt in my mind that this was the correct decision.

The Western Conference is simply too stacked to expect we could have survived without our best player for six weeks. With so many quality teams, there's no way we'd make it through three rounds without homecourt advantage in at least one -- provided we even qualified in the first place -- which is the situation we would have likely been looking at.

Nope. Kobe is simply doing what has to be done, and I appreciate him for it.

LAKESHOW · Post #12 » by **LAKESHOW** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 6:11 am

he wants a championship. thats team all the way.

NOODLESTYLE · Post #13 » by **NOODLESTYLE** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 6:59 am

well the fact that we have a greater chance of being a top seed in the West come playoff time rather than not being in the playoffs without Kobe. I would say the chances are better with Kobe, and I'm not sure if it's fair to judge if it's a selfish/selfless act.

At the end of the day, Phil Jackson could also always just bench Kobe if he felt Kobe playing injured would really hurt the team. So it's not just about Kobe.

Post #14 » by **milesfides** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 7:27 am

It's a self act.

He made the decision himself, against the advice and recommendations of others, sacrificing his health in order to help the team continue to win, in order to receive more rings on his finger and yet more trophies for L.A.

I have seen Kobe called selfish for shooting too much and not shooting enough.

It could be both and neither, and that is the paradox that is Kobe Bryant. You can't figure him out, because he represents both the height of humanity and the lowest.

Love him or hate him, for the exact same reasons.

I love it.

J Rob · Post #15 » by **J Rob** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:57 am

Is any act ever truly selfless?

Of course its self-serving to not get the surgery done now.

That, however, doesn't mean its a bad thing.

Kobe's putting pain and personal injury aside to accomplish a personal goal but ultimately helps his team, the organization, and the fans at the same time.

So I really have no problem that it is a selfish act.

If he was only playing to try and set a personal scoring record this year, then I'd be pissed...but this selfish act happens to benefit everyone.

I stand guilty of being self-interested.

/End of philisophical ponderings.

SashAlex · Post #16 » by **SashAlex** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:00 pm

The third option.

hermes · Post #17 » by **hermes** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 5:06 pm

i think in kobe's mind its selfless because he is risking further injury to make sure his team can compete, if he had the surgery he might feel that he is letting his team down by putting his health before the team--sounds selfless to me

TonyMontana · Post #18 » by **TonyMontana** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 5:15 pm

Come on MANGS , its just his little pinky were talking about .... :rofl:

But joking aside I with Phil on this one .

I think he broke it down pretty good .......