Player Haters Ball

So it’s that time of the year again. The sun’s out a lot more. Beach trips become a daily routine. And, ah yes, the NBA playoffs. The ultimate showdown of the best professional basketball teams duke it out for one year of bragging rights. I have been a basketball fan for years, but there’s just something about this current season that makes it seem like everything’s at stake and every game matters. Derrick Rose, who was awarded MVP, is bringing the Bulls back to their glory days. Lebron and company want to show that they are a force to be reckoned with and no one can stop them. Dirk and the Mavericks are desperately fighting to get that championship ring. Boston wants revenge. And last but not least is Kobe and his posse going for that three-peat.
You would think that a team who has so much championship history would be one of the most respected teams in the league. Well, quite the opposite. It’s crazy how many people of my peers hate the Lakers, mostly because they’re not from Los Angeles. Yet most of them complain that there are too many fans in one area. Hmm, I wonder why. You chose to be in the heart of the LakeShow. Regardless, when people hate on the Lakers, it’s because of one man: Kobe Bryant.
This is a guy that’s so easy to hate on. Before most haters begin to criticize his game on the court, they immediately bring up his scandal back in 2003. “Kobe’s a rapist and blah blah blah.” Seriously? What year are we in again? Whether it was consensual or not shouldn’t be the reason to hate on the guy. Don’t get me wrong. That’s something that shouldn’t be tolerated. Besides, the girl dropped the charges. But when that happened, people began speculating that Kobe paid her to do that. Yeah, pretty sure Kobe would be in jail for bribery and you that know the media would be all over that.
But let’s not talk about the past and talk about the present. A lot of pressure is on this team as of now. The haters desperately want every team to beat the Lakers, and if they do, they will rejoice. My only hope would be that Lebron gets knocked out too. He has a good team now, but I’m honestly so over the hype. They are a great team, but everyone expected them to be undefeated and dominate every team. It turns out that by the end of the season, they pretty much blended in with the rest of the top teams.
I would love to see the Lakers and the Bulls for the Finals. How awesome would that be? It’s a classic matchup. Not to mention that it’s Phil Jackson’s old team that he used to coach; you know where he coached that Jordan guy. Plus, if the Lakers were to win it all again, it would be Jackson’s 4th three-peat, totaling at 12 championships. Six with Jordan and six with Bryant. That’s a basketball story. Despite the haters, the fans stay persistent with their team, and I hope that once again, the haters will keep their mouths’ shut again this year.
By: Aaron Frias