Logo awareness: West's comment must have fueled Kobe's fire

LOS ANGELES -- No, no, no, Kobe Bryant didn't read what Jerry West told Reuters in an interview Monday, that LeBron James has surpassed The Logo's favorite pupil as the best player in the NBA.

Why would Kobe -- the most driven, psychotically competitive basketball player since Michael Jordan -- pay any mind to such trivia?

"I didn't at all," Bryant said Tuesday night. He sandwiched that answer in between dropping 40 on the Nuggets to help the Lakers steal Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, 105-103, and launching into a lengthy response to West's comments -- which, of course, he hadn't read.

Spike Lee's next documentary: Kobe: Doin' Nostradamus.

"You know, I've been telling you guys for years that that's not something that I'm concerned with," Kobe said. "At all."

When it was explained that this wasn't coming from Bob The Blogger or Vic The Brick, the purple-and-gold-clad L.A. radio host, but rather Jerry Freakin' West, Kobe said, "I understand that. But that's not my goal. It's not my mission. If I wanted to go out there and put up 35 points a night, I could do that. That's not my mission. My mission is to win a championship. The debate of who's the best player in the NBA, that's going to go on for whatever. That's not something that I concern myself with. Although I love Jerry West to death. I think everybody knows that."

Everybody also knows what drives Bryant, and what has always driven him. He patterned his game, his speech, and his mannerisms after Jordan for a reason. This is his throne, and someone is going to have to drag him off it.

•  Lakers 105, Nuggets 103 | Series: Lakers 1, Nuggets 0 | Kobe or LeBron?

The comments from West in an interview at a Washington, D.C., health conference resonated because ... well, consider the source. West, 70, is the architect of two generations of Lakers dynasties. He traded for Bryant in 1996, and it was only two years ago when a disgruntled Bryant called for West to return to the Lakers to rebuild them again. They also resonated because West hit on the fundamental debate in basketball right now: Is this still Kobe's league, or has LeBron taken it?

Regardless of exactly when Kobe Bryant heard it, Jerry West's praise of LeBron James surely will motivate the Lakers star. (AP)

"I look at Cleveland [and] say to myself, 'How many games could they win without LeBron James?' " West said. "That's how great he is. He has a chance to be arguably the greatest player ever to play the game. ... Michael Jordan was the best defensive player in the league, but he was also the best offensive player. It wasn't a one-year fluke; he proved it over time. LeBron James will do the same type of things because he's getting better. He's a much more effective shooter. When he's making his shots from the outside, you can't play him. He's just too big, too strong, too quick. And he has incredible body control. But more than that, he's a great teammate. You can see his teammates love him."

And then, the money quote.

"If I had to have somebody make a last-second shot, it would be Kobe Bryant," West said. "But even though it's hard for me to be objective, because I brought Kobe to Los Angeles, I do think LeBron has surpassed Kobe as a player."

A challenge, no matter what Kobe says. And if Game 1 against the Nuggets was any indication, Bryant isn't ready to capitulate just yet.

•  West speaks about heart condition | Nuggets vs. WWE

"Capitulate" is a word Bryant used in his postgame news conference, by way of explaining what the Lakers did when they fell behind in games against the Rockets in the conference semifinals and what they didn't do against Denver on Tuesday night. Denver jumped out to a 13-point lead in the first quarter, and it quickly became obvious Bryant needed to carry the Lakers if they were going to avoid losing home-court advantage in Game 1 for the second successive series.

The Lakers got 1-of-7 shooting from Derek Fisher in the first half, got a total of seven points from Lamar Odom, 13 from Pau Gasol, and 16 more unproductive minutes from Andrew Bynum. Bryant's challenger on this night was not West or LeBron, but Carmelo Anthony, who had torched Trevor Ariza for 30 points by the time Ariza drew his fourth foul with 6:03 left in the third. When Ariza went to the bench, Bryant pulled him aside and told him, "I'm guarding him." Anthony scored only nine more.

The Lakers still needed Ariza to deftly pilfer Anthony Carter's inbounds pass for Chauncey Billups with 29.1 seconds left to make a two-point lead hold up. But it was Bryant who proved he could still be the best player on the court when his team needed him to be. Whether he will need to do that three more times for the Lakers to advance to the NBA Finals is a good question. Whether Bryant still can is another.

"You get used to greatness," Odom said. "He was amazing. He wanted the ball. ... He was able to make plays over and over again -- driving to the hole, putting them in the bonus. That's why he was the best."

I walked with Odom, who was wearing a red leather vest that would've made Clyde Frazier call his tailor in the middle of the night, and asked him to expound on that thought in the context of West's comments.

"That's somebody's opinion, right?" Odom said. Yes, it's Jerry West's opinion, I reminded him.

"Everybody's got an opinion," he said. "There might be some great players who still say Kobe's the best. It's what you like, what you prefer. To see who's the best player, wouldn't they have to play one-on-one and put it on pay-per-view?"

Good idea, but not necessary. The Lakers merely need to beat the Nuggets, and the Cavs need to beat the Magic, and then it can be decided by the very standard Bryant himself suggested was the only measurement that matters.

"I will use it as motivation, certainly," Bryant said. "But for years, the challenge has been winning another championship. And that's the challenge that I've accepted. Not, 'Can he stay on top as the best individual basketball player?' That's not something that's driven me. It's winning another championship. Although I do enjoy the challenge of having another player come along to challenge me for that top spot. That's always fun."

There's only one way to settle this. Kobe and LeBron both know what it is, and it doesn't happen on pay-per-view.