I was so happy to see Phoenix come back and win this series, and in convincing fashion in Game 7. I have to admit, I didn't think it would happen after the Lakers took the 3-1 lead. I'm definitely not a fan of Kobe (or the Lakers necessarily - but I didn't mind them as much before Kobe), but I'll admit that he is a tremendous player. Probably the best scorer in the game, without much doubt. Best all around player? I'm not sure about that, but definitely up there. My problem is the Jordan comparisons that he gets a lot of times. I grew up watching Jordan, well before he won anything, and to me Kobe is just not on his level. He tries to imitate him a lot, particularly in his younger years, but he's starting to have a little more of his own identity lately - the past couple of years - and I respect that. But, the comparisons just aren't the same. As it was mentioned earlier, Jordan made all-stars out of Horace Grant, BJ Armstrong, and made other players that were basically scrubs (Cartwright, Hodges, Hansen, Perdue, Wennington, Longley, Paxson, Kerr, etc.) look pretty darn good at their roles. Pippen (and to a lesser extent Rodman) were the only "star" players to go alongside Mike, and I would say that he elevated them to that (the evidence of Pippen's drop off when at Houston/Portland is proof of that). Plus, MJ never would have given up or stopped passing purposely in that Game 7 on Saturday to "prove a point", which even the analysts and announcers were saying Kobe did that exact thing after the game on Saturday. He needs to show a little more maturity and play better with his teammates before he can elevate himself to all he is capable of. Anyways, it was a heck of a series, and the Lakers should have earned some respect if nothing else.