In the beginning

Dedication

Determination

Leadership

Intelligence

Optimisim

"We ain't in the same league...you can lie to yourself, but can't lie to me..."

Jay-Z - Blow the Whistle

I write for several media outlets, including HOOP and SLAM magazines, so when my editor at HOOP asked for my 2008-09 NBA season preview, I jumped at the chance. I'd grown up reading what the "experts" thought about basketball, and now I am giving my "expert" opinion.

There was one catch...I only had 75 words to capture my view on the upcoming year. The following is what I submitted, and while I wish I had more to share, I'm confident in my picks from MVP, to playoff contender. At the end of the season we will revisit this post and see how right I was, LOL:

HOOP 2008-09 NBA Preview, Anthony Gilbert

The more things change, the more they stay the same. With that said, the Lakers and Celtics will vie for the Larry O’Brien trophy, Kobe wins the Maurice Podoloff, with Dwyane Wade as runner up. The East is stronger with the 76ers-revamped roster, Jermaine O’Neal in Toronto, a full-season of Bibby in Atlanta, and Detroit and its championship nucleus. The West ups the ante with New Orleans, the Texas triangle, and the Clippers.

It's going to be a great season.

Stay tuned!

The Dark Knight

All Star Saturday Night 1997

"Show me a hero, and I will write you a tragedy." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Kobe Bean Bryant is the story of how a child from West Philadelphia, grew into a man of worldwide acclaim. It has been 12 years since the fabled NBA Draft of 1996. Within that class are the likes of Allen Iverson, Marcus Camby, Ray Allen, Steve Nash, and Jermaine O'Neal, however none of them are as intriguing as the enigma that is Bryant.

Over the years, the experts spewed venom saying that he was everything from an elitist without street creditably to a bad teammate. The only thing he ever was as a 17-year old high school student, straight to the professional ranks of the NBA, is misunderstood. In his naivete he didn't even read all of the crazy things the Los Angeles and national media wrote about him. His main focus was making the transition from competing against boys, to men.


Basketball is, was, and always will be something that drives him.


The goal is just as it was during his youth in Italy to become the BEST basketball player he could be. If it were not for the guidance and support of his family, this story had the potential to go awry way before 2003.


We all make mistakes, especially as a teen or young adult, however not many of us, have had to grow up and make choices in a fish bowl for all the world to see.


I write this as a friend of the Bryant and Cox families, so my words are tainted with loyalty. Nevertheless, if you had a sneaker contract worth six-figures when you were 17, or if you wanted to make a decision that went against what your parents wanted, just remember that you didn't have to do it with complete strangers and the media looming. For some reason or another Kobe has been painted as everything that is wrong with professional sports.


Allow me if you will to venture back to the early 1980's. Joe "Jellybean" Bryant was playing for the San Diego Clippers, and made his native Philadelphia the off-season home. The family lived in the Overbrook section, directly around the corner from the legendary Wilt Chamberlain. By this time Kobe had started to emulate his father, playing basketball in the living room while watching Jellybean on TV.


These were the building blocks of the MVP you see today.

They who endure, conquer.