Kobe is only 32 but it got me thinking whenever Kobe does eventually call it a career how many NBA fans will appreciate him more once he's no longer playing. Now im not saying people dont praise him now or that his detractors will all of sudden change tunes and worship him like some do Jordan.
I just think despite players like Wade, Lebron, and now Kevin Durant emerging in the NBA as the next wave of NBA superstars, there won't be a player like Kobe, who lays everything and more on the court each and every time, is a complete student of the game and whose basketball IQ seems to constantly be off the charts.
I think of all the times Kobe's made shots that you're not supposed to make. The times he's been on the line with the game in jeopardy only to calmly knock down crucial freethrows. Or the game winners. The last of which he's most recently perfected and added to his arsenal of weapons.
I will always be a Laker fan, an NBA fan, and a Kobe fan, but once he leaves theres going to a big gap between the players that live to play and the players that play to live. The latter being guys like Kobe, and Jordan, Russel, Robinson, Malone, Bird, Magic etc.
