Philly Fans Boo All-Star MVP As He Scores 31 in West Victory
Kobe Bryant spent the past few days asking to be loved.
He gushed about his return home, wearing his dad’s old Sixers jersey to Friday’s media session, eating so many cheese steaks he got sick and promising that, unburdened by the triangle offense, he’d use the NBA All-Star Game as a platform to show off his Philly game.
Then the fans showed theirs. They rolled out their favorite one-word welcome mat: Booooo.
On what should have been a perfect homecoming for Bryant on a night when he scored 31 points, most in an All-Star Game in 14 years, and walked away with the MVP award in the West’s 135-120 victory Sunday, the Lakers guard didn’t so much feel like a favorite son but a scorned one.
Bryant was booed in pregame introductions by the sellout crowd at First Union Center, but not again until the second half when it became apparent that he was on his way to winning the MVP. When he was given the award at center court, the fans booed so loudly, they drowned out commissioner David Stern.
“I was pretty upset. Pretty hurt,” Bryant said, pursing his lips. “I don’t know what to say. I can’t really describe the feelings that I have when it happened. I’m happy. I’m happy I played well. I’m happy to win the MVP in Philadelphia, and the booing was hurtful, but it’s not going to ruin this day for me.”
Bryant, who went from Lower Merion High to the Lakers, was booed in his first NBA game here. He solidified his role as a villain last spring when he declared that the Lakers, after splitting the first two games of the NBA Finals in Los Angeles, were coming here to rip the Sixers’ hearts out.
Yet, given the festive atmosphere of the weekend, Bryant expected the fans to treat him like a local rather than a Laker.
During his fourth All-Star Game appearance Kobe Bryant grabs a rebound in front of the Hornets’ Baron Davis. The 2002 NBA All-Star Game marked Kobe’s return to his hometown of Philadelphia, where he received a cold reception from fans. (AP Images)
“I’ll use it as motivation, definitely,” said Bryant, who won’t play here again this season unless it’s in the NBA Finals. “I’m the type of person where if something occurs in my life that’s hurtful, I’m going to let it hurt me but for so long. I’m going to turn it around and use it as some type of motivation.”
Shaquille O’Neal, who was injured and in street clothes, wrapped his arms around Bryant after the award ceremony and whispered in his ear. Everyone else had a word for Bryant, too: Fuhgedaboudit.
These are the same fans, after all, who once booed the son of Phillies Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt at a father-son game and, as the old joke goes, would boo the crack in the Liberty Bell.
“It’s a tradition in Philadelphia,” former Sixers great Julius Erving said. “We boo Santa Claus.”
Sixers guard Allen Iverson was disappointed the fans booed, but said Bryant shouldn’t take it personally.
“It’s just something that you’ve got to deal with,” Iverson said. “I’ve played in Philly for six years, and they boo us in the first quarter if things are not going right. You just have to handle it like a man and understand that everything is not always going to be peaches and cream.”
It was clear that this wasn’t just another game for Bryant.
Kobe may have been booed by the Philadelphia fans but he was triumphant in the end, winning his first All-Star Game MVP, while pouring in 31 points. (AP Images)
Despite not playing the final 11 minutes, Bryant took 25 shots, 10 more than anyone else on the West. His best bucket came when he drove the lane and banked in a shot over Indiana’s Jermaine O’Neal.
“You could tell from the tip of the ball that he wanted the MVP,” Charlotte guard Baron Davis said.
Bryant, who scored 12 in the first quarter, gave the West the lead for good when he scored on a layup and was fouled to snap a 48-all tie. Bryant, who scored the final six points of the half for the West, had 23 points at the break.
In the third quarter, when the West stretched the lead to as many as 24, the crowd began to boo Bryant every time he touched the ball.
“He’s such a competitor,” said West assistant Del Harris, who butted heads with Bryant when he coached the Lakers. “He only knows one way to play it. If playing poorly meant getting cheers, he wouldn’t trade that. I don’t want him to feel (bad) about (the booing). This is one of the best moments of his life.”
Even if he can’t get any brotherly love.