We have just spent the past 48 hours or so hearing that Kobe Bryant should never be compared to Michael Jordan because Bryant's Lakers lost game four of the Finals after leading by 24 points.
Many people--including this author--consider Tim Duncan to be the greatest power forward of all-time. He led the Spurs to four championships in a nine year stretch.
If having one's team lose a 20 point lead in one playoff game is the sole determinant of greatness, how come no one suggested that Tim Duncan could no longer be considered the greatest power forward of all-time after Duncan's Spurs--the defending NBA champions--lost to Bryant's Lakers after blowing a 65-45 lead with just 17:54 remaining in the game?
The answer, of course, is that it would be absurd to judge Duncan's entire career on the basis of one game during which his teammates shot 22-59 from the field, including a combined 10-30 performance from Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. I doubt that anyone thought for one moment about writing such a stupid, slanted article about Duncan in the wake of that game. So it is worth asking why so many people--from heavy hitting mainstream writers to Joe Blogger--instantly had such a visceral anti-Kobe Bryant reaction to game four.
A Simple Question for Those Who Doubt That a Double Standard is Applied to Kobe Bryant
