Even though Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player in the NBA he is one of the most hated basketball players in the NBA. He gets booed on the road more than any player I have seen in recent years. Most players that are stars and marketed heavily by the NBA like Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, and Allen Iverson rarely get booed on the road, so why does Kobe? It seems that people see him as a cocky player, which causes them to dislike him. Many supporters of his see it as confidence. As a very hard working player he should be confident.

Others see him as a selfish player. Players like Allen Iverson and Lebron James take just as many shots but their selfishness is overlooked. Another big reason people hate Kobe is because of the rape incident he had back in Colorado. Even if he did not do it people dislike him for cheating on his wife, although many athletes do it. Overall it seems like people dig for reasons to hate Kobe. When he scored 81 points in a game earlier this season people said that a person should not take that many shots in a game. When he only took 3 shots in the second half of a game 7 playoff loss, people said that he did not shoot enough and he was being selfish.

If you take a long look a the situation it all goes back to Jordan. People see Kobe as a Michael Jordan imposter and they hate him because of it. The reason behind the comparisons is Kobe wants to be better than Jordan, he does not want to be like Jordan, and that is what people do not understand. It would be easier for fans to like him and appreciate his game if they analyzed him as an individual rather than comparing him to Jordan.