Kobe Bryant.

Just about everyone knows the name. How you remember him is totally up to you.

He can be remembered as the guy who supposedly broke up the Lakers dynasty of the new millennium, the player that cheated on his wife and faced criminal charges or as the guy who might be better than Michael Jordan.

I choose to think of him as one of the dominant players in the modern area.

Sure he is arrogant and selfish. So was Jordan.

So what if he has the killer instinct needed to be great. So did Jordan.

My point is not to compare to Bryant to MJ. I’m just trying to point out the good in Kobe.

If you weren’t hiding under a rock this summer you know about Bryant wanting the Los Angeles Lakers to trade him. He felt they lied to him about surrounding him with capable players to compete.

It was back and forth all offseason with Kobe changing his stance on being traded.

As far as Kobe wanting better players around him several top players said they wanted to play with Bryant if they were traded.

Kevin Garnett wanted to play in L.A. if Bryant would be staying.

Shawn Marion, who has constantly been on Phoenix’s trading block, also said he wanted to be traded to the Lakers because he was sick of hearing his name in talks all the time.

None of these moves happened but the Lakers are still one of the top teams in the NBA.

If the playoffs started today they would be the sixth seed in the West. They have won three straight and eight of their last 10.

They are also just one game back from the Pacific Division leading Suns, and the Lakers have already beaten the Suns twice this season.

Kobe is putting in his usual work, averaging 27 points per game. That leaves him second in the NBA to LeBron James’ 29 ppg.

Andrew Bynum is a guy that has really responded well this season and has surprised me.

Bryant called Bynum’s name when Bryant mentioned the Lakers trading for a guard like Jason Kidd, but at this point in the season Bynum is averaging 10.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.

As the Lakers continue to win, trade talks will stay under the rug, but if the Lakers start to struggle and go on a long losing streak, I’m sure the talks will re-emerge.

It’s a long season in the NBA and anything is bound to happen.

I love this game.