The first job Jud Heathcote gave Tom Izzo that required a measure of trust back in 1983 was handing him the keys to Jenison Field House and instructing him to have it open at the crack of dawn so Michigan State’s most valuable ambassador could get in his morning workout.
You might have heard of him. Magic Johnson’s statue now graces the entrance to the building his legacy helped launch, the Breslin Center.
Ray Allen, the NBA’s runaway career leader in 3-pointers, had a sacrosanct pregame routine. Precisely three hours before tipoff, he’d step onto the court – before the rookies, before the 15th man on the roster – and start launching shots with historic meticulousness.
The moral: Great players aren’t great by happenstance. I once made the mistake of suggesting to Isiah Thomas that he had God-given talent. It was the first time I witnessed the famous Isiah Thomas flash of the eyes, the portal to a furnace that burned hotter than any athlete I’d ever encountered.
Stan Van Gundy has a story about Kobe Bryant. When he was coaching in Orlando, the Lakers star – already with a Hall of Fame resume and a jewelry box sagging with testimony to his greatness – called with a request.
He was in town with his family for the things families do in Orlando and wanted to know if he could use the Magic’s practice gym and weight room to get his work in. Don’t worry about me interfering with workouts for your young guys, Bryant said. I’ll be gone before they get in. He needed to be at the amusement parks when they opened, after all. Bryant was working out before the sun came up, out by 8 a.m.
He’ll make his final visit to The Palace on Sunday, his 20th NBA season his last. No visiting player has ever generated the type of buzz Bryant did – does – at the place that opened off of Lapeer Road, now the William Davidson Memorial Highway, back in the summer of 1988. Not Michael Jordan – remember, the buzz was for the Bad Boys then – not Allen Iverson, not LeBron James.
It’s worth wondering how many players are in the NBA today because they were inspired by the work that Kobe Bean Bryant has logged over the years. Stanley Johnson says Bryant “made basketball cool for me.” Johnson was 5 months old when Bryant debuted with the Lakers on Nov. 3, 1996.
Marcus Morris grew up in Philadelphia, Bryant’s hometown. He was 7 when Bryant went right from Lower Merion High School to the NBA. Spencer Dinwiddie grew up in the heart of Lakers country. He was 3 when Bryant debuted. So was Andre Drummond, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Darrun Hilliard, who grew up a short commute from Philly. The officials had to chase Hilliard out of the captain’s pregame meeting, limited to two per side, at center court last month at Staples Center when Hilliard sneaked in to shake Bryant’s hand.
There’s no bigger Bryant worshipper in the NBA than Brandon Jennings, another Los Angeles kid who rooted hard against the Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals.
“I grew up watching Kobe,” he said. “It’s going to be sad watching him go. For me, Kobe Bryant is the Michael Jordan and always will be.”
We can safely assume that for every NBA player who grew up idolizing Kobe Bryant, there are a million kids who held him in equal regard but didn’t get anywhere near the NBA. But maybe they went after whatever called to them with the same fervor, inspired by tales of Bryant’s legendary drive, and maybe some of those kids are going to become to their fields – medicine, the environment or social welfare, perhaps – what Kobe Bryant was to his.
The Lakers have let it be known that Bryant doesn’t want any ceremony or gift-giving as he makes his final stops around the NBA. He’d probably be a little miffed if fans acted any differently toward him this time around, knowing it’s their last chance to see him, or cheered his successes at the expense of their teams. But it’s OK to acknowledge his greatness in whatever way fans choose to do so when he comes to The Palace one last time Sunday. He deserves that much.
