Lakers great Kobe Bryant is on the cusp of an ignominious distinction. He could become the NBA’s all time leader in shots missed. After failing to knock down 13-of-20 attempts in LA’s lone win this season over the Hornets on Sunday, he’s missed 13,405 shots in 1,251 games. John Havlicek‘s all-time mark of misses — 13, 417 in 1,270 regular-season games — is in danger of being eclipsed, possibly tonight.
Havlicek won eight championships with the Celtics — six with Bill Russell‘s juggernaut, and two more for the early 1970s Celtics Boston fans normally associate with Jo Jo White and the one year Dave Cowens took the season off to drive a cab. But Hondo’s longevity still doesn’t match Bryant, who is playing in his 19th NBA season (Hondo retired after 16 seasons).
That being said, Bean has shot better than Havlicek in their thousand-plus game comparison, shooting 48.3 percent on his 2-pointers and 45.3 overall, while the 6-5 Boston wing, Hondo, shot just 43.9 percent from the field for his career, with no three-pointers available.
While most players would self-consciously admit there were a few shots they shouldn’t have pulled the trigger on, Bryant isn’t most NBA players. Neither is Hondo, for the record, but Bryant’s competitiveness in relation to his shot attempts is the stuff of legend.
Carlos Boozer, a new Laker addition this summer, is already drinking the Kobe kool-aid. Via the Orange County Register comes Boozer’s unctuous attempt to spin the record in a positive light with the code words any Bryant watcher has memorized by now:
“He has the ultimate confidence, no question,” Boozer said. “I’ve seen Kobe make shots that most guys couldn’t even think about doing.
“That’s why fans come every night. You might see him do something that you’ll never see again in your life. He’s worth the admission price.”
[…]
Said Boozer: “I know he’s missed some shots, but he’s capable of making every shot that he takes. That’s what makes him so dangerous.”
“He’ll make a shot over three guys. He’ll make a shot over two guys. He’ll make a shot when a shot isn’t there.”
As Janis Carr mentions at the Register, current Lakers coach Byron Scott saw Bryant air ball three consecutive shots at the end of Game 5 in the 1997 playoffs. But while that sort of disappointment on such a large stage so early in an NBA career might have broken a less mentally driven player, for Mamba, it freed him to keep chucking with an unyielding belief the next one will go down:
“We knew about him at that time … that it was going to make him stronger,” Scott said. “It did. He’s come back with a vengeance. … He’s never been shy and has always been aggressive.”
For all the game winners Bryant has missed…
There have been almost as many that have won it for the Lakers…
It’s hard to fault Mamba for his gunner mentality, especially with three championship rings. Still, as Bryant comes up on passing Michael Jordan for third place on the all-time scoring mark, it’s worth pondering just how many ill-advised shots its taken him to get to this point.
Does this record matter at all, or is it just another sign of Kobe’s confidence?
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