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Full disclosure: I was never a big Kobe Bryant fan.
I've always thought he was a great player, someone who won championships, but wasn't really a winner. I thought he could have done more to lead the 2006 Los Angeles Lakers — the one with Smush Parker and Kwame Brown and Chris Mihm. I thought he was selfish and petulant at times.
Yet, I am saddened by his retirement from the NBA at the end of the season.
Kobe Bryant was a polarizing figure. Either you loved him or hated him. But he defined the NBA for the better part of two decades. In this way, he and LeBron James are so much alike. He's either your cup of tea, or he isn't.
Allegiances aside, not many can deny his overall contribution to the game. When we all missed Michael Jordan, Bryant gave us the next best thing; a killer's mentality on the court, a beautiful fadeaway jumper and an athleticism at the rim that won't be seen again for some time.
"You don't have enough time to thank him for what he's done for the game of basketball," Orlando Magic forward Channing Frye said. "He's one of the best of all-time as a competitor. I always wanted to bring my best when I played against him. Going to the Western Conference finals and playing against him was one of the best experiences of my life. I'll always respect his grind and what he's done for the game and he's going to be missed."
Bryant came into the league in 1996, his camp forcing a trade from the Charlotte Hornets to the Lakers. If you guessed Vlade Divac as the trade piece that allowed Bryant to don the purple and yellow, you know your basketball. For Jerry West, the Lakers General Manager at the time, it may have been his biggest coup.
A 6-foot-6 shooting guard out of Philadelphia, Bryant teamed with Shaq for three titles by the time he was 25. At his peak, it was evident that he would go down as one of the top players ever. Not many can forget his 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors. Or his performance in the 2000 NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers, taking over down the stretch when O'Neal fouled out and pulling Game 4 out in overtime against Reggie Miller and company.
Kobe was fresh off the court, a poster boy for the new hip-hop generation. He was waving off Karl Malone pick-and-rolls in all-star games seemingly before he was old enough to legally drink.
That word, old, is what makes us all a bit sad. You never associate old with Kobe Bryant. We've seen him grow up before our eyes, win consecutive titles with Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol, and battle generations of players. He's played against Jordan and Charles Barkley. He's played against LeBron and Dwyane Wade. He's battled Tim Duncan for years. And he's still around for Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.
That's a ton of institutional history in one 20-year career. But even though we all know nobody can play the game forever, sub-consciously, I think everyone hoped we would never see the end of Kobe, hero or villain.
In my view, Bryant isn't one of the top five players ever. But he can stake a legitimate claim to the top 10, which is a phenomenal accomplishment in its own right. Why not higher? It's reasonable to say he was Robin to Shaq's Batman in his first three title runs. It's reasonable to say the end of his career has been marred by injury and ineffective play. Plus, the NBA has had so many great players over the decades.
But no matter where you see Bryant, you can't deny the man his due props. He played the game his way, and developed into one of the great two-way players the game has ever seen. There's little question that he's the second best shooting guard in NBA history. And his place within Laker history is secure.
The man was great at what he did, even if he ruffled feathers while doing it. And for that, he can take his place among the greats of the game. I, for one, will cherish every minute he has left as an active player.
Twitter: @tonyjonestrib A big injury
Sacramento Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein suffered an open dislocation of his index finger on Thursday and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. That takes away a bunch of frontcourt depth for the Kings, who have been playing DeMarcus Cousins a lot at power forward and Cauley-Stein at center.
Awards time
Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis and Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns were named the rookies of the month for the NBA. Porzingis ranks third among rookies with 13.7 points per game, and is averaging 9.3 rebounds per game. Towns is averaging 14.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.
Quiet, though
Without much fanfare, Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard has developed into one of the top two-way players in the NBA. With Tim Duncan and Tony Parker taking a back seat in the offense, Leonard is averaging a career-high 21.7 points per night. He's one of the top defensive players in the league as well.
Player of the week
We should name this the Stephen Curry award. The Golden State point guard began the week by leading the Warriors to a win over the Utah Jazz. On Wednesday, he scored 28 points in the third quarter alone against the Charlotte Hornets. Curry's been on a roll the league hasn't seen in some time.
Team of the week
The Orlando Magic are on a five-game winning streak, and doing it with defense and athleticism. Orlando's a dangerous team with strength in numbers. The Magic don't have a superstar. But they have a bunch of good players and any one of them can beat you on a given night.
Game of the week
The Golden State Warriors play against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday in a matchup between the best team in the league and one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. It will be one of the potholes where the Warriors could see their winning streak broken.