Kobe Doin’ Work
If you’ve ever watched the DVD extras of a movie, where the director talks over the show to add commentary, that’s what this is.
It’s the Lakers’ April 13, 2008 late-season game against Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs (not a playoff game, as is widely thought). Thirty cameras follow Kobe before the game, on the floor, in the locker room, in timeouts, and generally everywhere that Kobe goes. In addition, Kobe adds narration to tell you what’s going on—it’s like sitting down with Kobe to watch the game.
Note that the Ebonics pronunciation of the title is important. This is not Kobe Doing Work—that’s what it would be called if he were an accountant. This is Kobe Doin’ Work.
One of the best things about this movie is that Kobe spells out, while the game is going on, how his own individual approach is changing and adapting as the game progresses. Let me explain.
Kobe Bryant has a reputation for turning up the heat in the 4th quarter, but also for sometimes being invisible early in games. It turns out that’s on purpose.
As the game goes on, Kobe talks about getting Pau Gasol “going.” Then he talks about getting Derek Fisher going, and getting Lamar Odom going. Then, once he has all of his teammates going and producing offensively, Kobe remarks that he can now step up—because the defense is spread. With his teammates keeping the defense honest, Kobe can go one-on-one with his defender.
And that’s when he takes over a game.
It makes sense, of course. It’s not that I ever thought that Kobe didn’t have a plan, but it’s almost startling to hear the intellectual depth of his gameday approach. It becomes obvious very quickly that he really, really knows his stuff.
Kobe even gives some brief explanation of Phil Jackson’s triangle offense, which I believe is a simple offensive system where players make decisions based on multivariate calculus, moon phases, and information found buried in the human genome.
But even if you’re not into the technical stuff, it’s refreshing to hear Kobe’s light-hearted analysis of his own play. The way he playfully curses Bruce Bowen, the stingy defender assigned to him in the game, reflects a genuine respect for Bowen’s game instead of the playground-style posturing we have come to expect from NBA superstars.
Another high point of this documentary is the non-game footage. Perhaps most impressive is the film of Kobe in the locker room at halftime, and how clear it is that he is the leader of the team.
He talks to the other players like a coach, pointing out things he’s noticed about the players they’re guarding and weaknesses they can exploit offensively. In turn, they’re listening. Even though they play with and around Kobe every day, it seems like they listen to him the same way I would if he were telling me a few things about how to play the game of basketball.
The movie focuses more on Kobe and his method than on the game, which is fair. You lose track of the score as the game progresses, and there isn’t the traditional story arc you might expect in the game.
It makes me wonder if this model could be easily applied to some of the all-time great games in various sports. Imagine watching the end of the 2007 Boise State vs. Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl, and listening to the players’ commentary as the final trick plays play out.
Or how about Eli Manning and David Tyree narrating the fourth quarter of the New York Giants’ Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots? And I can only imagine how entertaining it would be to hear Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz chronicle a Boston Red Sox World Series triumph.
Overall, I’m going to recommend Kobe Doin’ Work to anybody who’s a solid basketball fan. My wife was with me as I was watching, and while she was interested it’s not the same as watching a movie with a rock solid storyline. The reviews on Amazon average out to 3.5 out of 5 stars
But if you’re a basketball guy, or possibly if you have a man-crush on Kobe, then regardless you’ll dig Kobe Doin’ Work
good.