Kobe Bryant vs. Derek Fisher: The Hunt for Six!

Kobe Bryant the "Greatest Lakers" of all time confessed by both Magic Johnson and Shaquille O'neal is on a quest to capture his 6th NBA Finals Championship. Kobe Bryant was drafted in the 1996 NBA Draft "Charlotte Hornets" and debuted in his first NBA game November 3rd 1996 versus the Minnesota Timberwolves. Kobe was scoreless in his NBA debut logging 6 minutes of play but over the next 15 years his career would go on to be the story of legends. The all time Lakers great is looking to join Michael Jordan with 6 rings and win more Championships than any player in the post Jordan Era.

Kobe Bryant "Black Mamba" is not the only player in the NBA seeking his sixth NBA championship ring. Long time friend and former Lakers teammate Derek Fisher now of the Oklahoma City Thunder is quietly on a mission of his own. Fisher drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers 24th overall in the 1996 NBA Draft has won 5 NBA  Championships and has been a key member of the Lakers last 5 championship banners hanging in Staples Center.

Fisher has also played for the Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz. In both stints Fisher has been unable to win an NBA championship without playing next to his 1996 rookie teammate Kobe Bryant. Ditto for the Black Mamba for years Kobe and Fisher have meshed together like a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. "No one just eats a Jelly Sandwich" the two players together have produced 7 trips to the NBA Finals and won 5 NBA championship rings since 2001.


Now in the 2012 NBA playoffs the two compadres will be known enemies each searching for their sixth NBA championship. Ask Kobe about the subject and he will probably deny he ever thinks about it "it's just a question in the wind"  Well hopefully those winds are the Santa Ana winds that tend to blow through the greater Los Angeles area instead of the Thundering thud from Oklahoma City. We all know that some where deep inside of the competitive mind of Kobe Bryant he knows the real score is 5-5. Not only must he make a statement against up and coming OKC Thunder but he wants to remain the best in every way possible and that includes receiving his sixth ring before Fisher.

In the main plot there's the L.A. Lakers vs. OKC Thunder in the sub plot there's Kevin Durant vs. Kobe Bryant but not on the list, not on the club brochures or team websites is the battle from within a small tug o' war between two very close friends. The Race to 6            has begun!

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Los Angeles Lakers: For Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher Breaking Up is Hard to do...

Playing in the NBA for 15 years, you've won 5 Championships been to 7 NBA Finals. You look around the locker room noticing all the reporters standing around in their usual format asking questions to teammates sitting at their locker. You over hear a few questions and answers being thrown around between players and media staff and then it hits you, the moment you notice your childhood (rookie) friend is missing. Things start to become a little bit more blurry as the new coach enters the locker room and he approaches you, yes the rumors are true. The teammate you knew and loved for 15 years is gone, the team co-captain, heart and soul has been traded. Man breaking up is hard to do....

Kobe Bryant has won 5 Championships in the NBA 1 with the basketball player formerly known as Ron Artest, 2 with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, and 3 with the most dominating "Big Man" to ever play the game Shaquille O'Neal. Yet, none of those 5 Championships could have been accomplished without one of the most clutch players in Lakers history Derek Fisher. 

Derek and Kobe came to the Lakers the Summer of 1996, they were both rookies playing together in the back court entrusted with wearing the historic Purple and Gold of the Los Angeles Lakers. Derek was never an NBA All-Star and he didn't have to be. Derek Fisher was more than an All-Star he was a Champion, a player his teammates could depend on to make tough shots and smart decisions. He ran Phil Jackson's Triangle offense better than any point guard in Phil's coaching history.

When Kobe was double teamed and the Lakers needed a big shot Derek used his leadership and championship pedigree to knock down the big one's. If Kobe's game on the court was off, Derek was the only one with enough determination to get in Kobe's ear. Kobe and Derek's relationship meshed like the "Purple and Gold" on their jersey's. Derek was more than just a back court roommate of Kobe on the court, he was his best friend. 

One day Derek's jersey will join the highly regarded panel of West, Chamberlain, Baylor, Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, Worthy, Goodrich, O'Neal (next season) and Lakers legendary announcer Chuck Hearn hanging from the rafters of the Staples Center. Next to Derek's #2 jersey will be Kobe's #24. The summer of 1996 will always be remembered as the summer the Lakers created a 5x Championship back court combining the super uber talented skills of Kobe with the professional leadership of Derek Fisher. 

For nearly 15 years, Kobe has been the on court talent and Derek has been the locker room voice of the Los Angeles Lakers. Now separated due to time but forever remembered and meshed in the Purple and Gold of the historic Los Angeles Lakers.