Remember the Kobe has no street cred/cornball brother debate from 2003

[boskey]

Like right before the rape case the big talk in basketball was how the black community doesn't support Kobe cuz he's too much of a cornball brother with no tattoos, suburban upbringing, too well spoken etc etc. And how black people need to embrace good examples like Kobe and not thugs like AI...

And that was supposed to be the big reason why Kobe never had a popular shoe. It was kicked off first when Kobe got booed in his "hometown" and was looking sad during the All Star Game and then again when Nike gave Bron 90 million while he was still in high school and signed Kobe for way less after 3 championships...


Classic Skip Bayless from 2003:

ESPN.com: Page 2 : The price of Kobe's cred

And pre-Eagle, it appeared to irritate Kobe that he was viewed as so suburban by so many urban NBA fans. As too upper-middle-class privileged to be street cool. As lacking the edge the shoe companies want from their primary pitchman.
Sluggish sales prompted a split between Kobe and adidas. Shortly before Eagle, Kobe signed with Nike for about $45 million over five years. That's a pittance next to the $90 million over seven years that Nike gave LeBron James, a kid who hadn't played anything but high-school ball.
A Los Angeles Times story examined the question of Kobe's "street credibility." Several marketing experts were quoted as saying Kobe hadn't proven to have sneaker-selling power.
David Carter of Sports Business Corporation in Los Angeles said: "You've heard a lot being made about street credibility the last month or so. I think both those guys (Kobe and LeBron) have street credibility. It's just that their streets are in different neighborhoods."
That, perhaps, wounded Kobe's pride. He set up a meeting with L.A. Times editors to complain about that story and others he said delved too deeply into his off-court life. That Kobe was intensely private.

ESPNMAG.com - Taking it to the street

AI. Steph. KG. Odom. Spre. Rasheed.

They boast the street cred that Kobe or VC will never have, no matter how many times they show up at Rucker Park in Harlem, like Kobe did last summer. They can own the place for a day, but even a 15-year-old white kid from Nebraska would call him a phony if either dared say "yo, yo" or "whassup wit my peeps."

We talked about it in the old Coli too. A lot of folks were sounding like Rush Limbaugh trying to defend Kobe and sh!t on AI . But as soon as he caught that charge the whole made up "controversy" disappeared...

 

[boskey]

This is from 2011:
Why isn't Kobe Bryant embraced and celebrated more by the black community, like Jordan? - Washington DC Sports | Examiner.com

Bryant’s popularity is worldwide, but for some reason in the black community, Bryant’s celebrity has no gray area. On the basketball courts in the inner cities of America, people either like or hate Bryant. Those who like Bryant are mainly Lakers fans, but the ones that are not Lakers fans can’t stand Bryant because he is viewed as someone who acts like he’s Jordan. According to many basketball fans in the black community, Bryant walked, tried to talk like Jordan, expressed the same on-the-court-antics of Jordan, and one basketball fan stated when Bryant wore the diamond-hoop earring it was enough for him.

 

[HookersandIceCream]

How could we ever forget

 

[boskey]

How could we ever forget

A lot folks making threads today might've still been in middle school in 2003. Maybe younger.

 

[OGmittee]

 

[MoneyTron]

Winning cures all.

 

[AlbertPullhoez]

I do remember hearing shyt like other players in the NBA used to didnt fukk with Kobe cause he was a lame ass nikka.

Kobe has came off like a corny nikka at times though. He told on Shaq, made that garbage ass rap single, tried to flex and got 2 pieced by Chris Childs, stole Roger Mayweather's nickname.

 

[boskey]

I do remember hearing shyt like other players in the NBA used to didnt fukk with Kobe cause he was a lame ass nikka.

Kobe has came off like a corny nikka at times though. He told on Shaq, made that garbage ass rap single, tried to flex and got 2 pieced by Chris Childs, stole Roger Mayweather's nickname.

Add to the fact that Kobe would 100% have went to Duke if he decided to go to college. I couldve hated him so much more...

 

[2Quik4UHoes]

lol, that was one of the wars from the early 2000s lunchtable/corner arguments. He did have a lot of missteps tho so I always took it back to the court cuz that shyt is irrelevant at the end of the day. Him gettin on that Don't Be a Menace list helped him big time in that regard tho, hurt him too for tellin on Shaq's private affairs truly a square ass move.

 

[boskey]

Him gettin on that Don't Be a Menace list helped him big time in that regard tho, hurt him too for tellin on Shaq's private affairs truly a square ass move.

 

[Johnny Kilroy]

Jordan loves him.

 

[TheNig]

Yeah... I don't give a shyt about none of that. He's a great basketball player and happens to be my favorite player.

 

[2Quik4UHoes]

Real live, I ain't watching Kobe play basketball thinkin "Damn, I wish I could chill wit that nikka on a day to day basis." I just wanna be entertained, fukk I care about his private life?

 

[ROFL_GUY]

tha gawd

[ame="[MEDIA=youtube]cU63znm-aO8[/MEDIA]"]

 

[BrothaZay]

STOP.

I was growing up in inner city LA/Long Beach during the 3 peat era. Wasnt NO hood nikkas hating on Kobe. We loved that nikka, he was literally God.
When my grandma bought me a pair of kobes, i wore them to school the next day and literally nikkas was looking at me like I was walking on water.
The big kids let me sit at the bacc of the bus with them that day, and even shared their candy with me
Thats how powerful Kobe was breh.

The only nikkas who hate kobe are wanna be thugs who praised ALLEN IVERSON and his image, and are bitter that Kobe shytted on him