Duplication Vs Imitation (Kobe Bryant – Michael Jordan & Sugar Ray Robinson – Muhammad Ali & Others)

By Elder Hugh “Holy” Tarrer

So there I was a day off from work the Thursday after Kobe’s 60 point last game performance checking out my usual morning line-up. Mike and Mike, ESPN First Take, His and Hers and even The Herd on Fox Sports. I just wanted to get affirmation and hear some post game comments on what we witnessed last night. The 5-time Champion, 2 time Olympian and 2 time Finals MVP on 37 year old legs with little tread left, just threw up a sixty-burger and a win in front a capacity crowd of who’s-who at the Staple Center last night. So I want to hear the biggest Kobe-haters this side of Sports Nation eat their crow and finally get what the hype was all about. Well big surprise, Colin Cowherd or coward as I like to call him, had taken the day off, and who’s in his place today…Jason Whitlock, (noted Kobe-hater) and last name should probably begin with S vs W. Anyway, he is referring to himself as a wolf and “All you Kobe people are sheep” because Kobe is just a big narcissist and merely an imitation of Michael Jordan. I immediately picked up my cell phone and called in to the show, and surprisingly they actually heard my take and told me to stay on hold so I could defend.

As a minister of the gospel I have a tendency, and a duty to try and live the Word of God, study it and even attempt as futile as it may be, to see things as He sees them, through dove’s eyes, with completeness. The bible teaches all things were made by Him and without Him not anything was made that was made in John 1. With that mindset I’m constantly looking for a deeper more emblematic meanings that transcend surface judgment. I ask myself; what is the Godly message in all of this? Even if the participants cannot see. So what Mr. Whitlock missed was the fact that Kobe wasn’t a 20 year imitation of Michael Jordan. He was the duplication of Michael Jordan. St. Luke’s the 6th chapter and 20th verse tells us that “A disciple is not greater than his teacher, but everyone when fully trained will be like his teacher”. Of course you will see MJ in Kobe’s game. The same way we saw Dr. J in MJ’s game. Have we forgotten the similarities? Who was the first one we seen in a dunk contest glide from the free-throw line? Wait… Look at YouTube before you answer. It was Dr. J Julius Irving. Before Space Jam there was the Fish That Saved Pittsburgh. Before Air Jordan’s there were leather white on white Dr. J Converse. Trust me I got a pair in 4th grade; needless to say I was the envy of the schoolyard. Check some old footage of Julius the “The Doctor” Irving giving press conferences in tailor made suits and dapper ties. Articulation, verbiage and vernacular reflective of a U Mass education. Who does that sound like?

My Apostle is recently teaching a 10 part series entitled “The Power of The Bounce” Ephesians 4. He has so eloquently put together his message focusing on the 4 aspects of the bounce which are; the fall; impact; restoration; and elevation. This situation really has me emphasizing the second aspect of the bounce: Impact. As a ball bounces and makes impact the area it contacts with, say for instance dirt, to be disturbed imprinted and stamped. The ground is actually broken for a split second and indentation is created. Impact is ground-breaking and moves and distributes all it comes in contact with. A second fold connotation also views impact as legacy and influence. In 1991 when Michael Jordan changed hands on us in Los Angeles Game 6 immediately Gatorade ran the advertisement it had ready to go. “Like Mike if I could be like Mike”. Any and every person whom heard that saw that and wanted to be that.

But a young man in Italy at the time took that literally. Being socially awkward and coming to the United States a little scared and isolated said to himself to fit in, I’ve got to be a great basketball player, who’s the greatest one? Who does everyone admire? Hmm, I’ll just be like Mike. So it’s only natural that the impact of what many consider the greatest basketball player ever would have some influence. Here is the revelation of a difference between imitation vs duplication: Imitation is a knock-off a fake done for flattery or not genuine; However, duplication yields substance it’s a copy or clone. Think of it this way, we can paint an orange red and give it a stem, it’s merely imitating an apple. But if we break-ground and plant the seed of an apple it will make a substance and another after its own self.

What substantiates Kobe, and Brady, and Brian Billicks duplication is championships. Kobe has won 5 championships, and a league MVP, Olympic Gold and been named to numerous All-NBA and All-Defensive teams. Impersonators, impostors, and imitators don’t yield substance. Elvis has a lot of impersonators. Michael Jackson has numerous impersonators, but how many albums have they sold? How many Grammy’s have they won? Even LeBron James, whom Mr. Whitlock called “genuine” wears the number 23. Tiger Woods chased Jack Nicklaus’ records beginning with the amateur championships. Tom Brady’s studies and duplicates whom I consider the gold standard of throwing motions Joe Montana. At least 60% of the NFL still uses the West Coast Offense that Bill Walsh created and perfected. Impact is legacy impact is Sugar Ray Robinson being seen in Muhammad Ali, who is seen in Sugar Ray Leonard. Influence is a coaching tree that spans generations.

It is seed planted, germination, and production of its own. Jason said some pretty mean things, but I get it. We have to have those curmudgeons and malcontents to know when someone is being objective. He said Kobe took Michael’s narcissism to another level. I was happy that future Hall of Famer Terrell Owens wound up calling in and saying “all the greats have a degree of narcissism” I think if you don’t believe you’re great, no one else will. If you don’t want the ball in the moment, you’re not that guy. Think of the disappointment we felt after the Mayweather Vs Pacquiao fight. The whole world stopped and watched, and they couldn’t live up to the hype. Peyton Manning won a Super Bowl his last game, but rode the Denver defense spearheaded by Von Miller to do it.

Kobe was asked when he got the job in LA to be our Michael Jordan. In a city known for stars and entertainment, he took the challenge and surpassed it.

Lastly, Kobe has shown a redeemable quality. When he lost against the Original Big Three the Boston Celtics with Pierce, KG, and Allen, he came back the next year and exercised those demons twice. When he was on trial for the events of Vail CO. He fell, he lost endorsements, money sponsors and almost lost his marriage. Added to that he was said to have chased the biggest superstar out of town in one Shaquille O’Neal. I have to be honest and transparent I was even upset about that, but he came back and delivered. How ironic or fitting is it that in 1997 he put up 4 air-balls against the Utah Jazz in his first playoff series. Some of which were game winners in OT.

But last night he elevated and put the most points (60) of any NBA player in their last game. Redemption is the Lords bounce. The word says in Romans 3:23 we all come short of the glory of God. But the word also tells us that He is faithful and just to forgive us and He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think. I was thinking 32 points last night. His career was truly one of falls, impacts, restorations, and elevations. Bounce.

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