It was possibly for this reason that the NBA superstar was finally able to will his team to victory after two straight losses on their current road trip. Los Angeles lost its games to two inferior teams, the Heat on Friday and the Magic on Saturday. The Lakers are favored to repeat their Western Conference championship from last season and are generally considered one of the top two teams in the league. However, they have not played well as of late and needed their best player to step up.

Fresh off his MVP award from last season, Kobe Bryant took a step back this season. Early on, his team was able to win without him haveing to dominate or play more than 30 minutes a game. Recently, though, the team has gone as Kobe goes. It took 36 points from him on Monday night to beat the lowly Memphis Grizzlies. The Lakers trailed 93-88 with 3 minutes remaining and relied on ten points from Bryant to take the lead and seal the victory.

It had always seemed that Vanessa Bryant wore the pants in their relationship, but Kobe’s infidelity and subsequent rape trial proved that he was not as subservient as some thought. However, all that trouble put him into that position. It is widely known that Vanessa does not tolerate losing by her husband and will hold back on certain wifely duties when it occurs. Now, Kobe is a great competitor, but a beautiful woman can will a man to do things when nothing else is working.

A couple of weeks ago the New York Knicks told Stephon Marbury to go home and not come back, to practices or games, as they decided what to do with him. He is currently earning his $21 million salary and has yet to play in a game this season. At the start of the year coach Mike D’Antoni let Marbury know he did not fit into the team’s plan and that he would not see the court. However, a couple of injuries and delayed trades later and the Knicks were in need of his services. The same coach who told him he was not wanted attempted to put Marbury in the game. He refused, sending the organization into furious frenzy, and getting himself the boot.

Just last week, Marbury met with team president Donnie Walsh to discuss buyout options on his contract. Walsh figured that Marbury’s desire to play NBA ball sooner than later, and potential large contract with another team, would make for an easy deal. Marbury knew he was not worth anything close to $21 million anymore and would make more money as the Knicks’ castoff. He walked out of the meeting after 20 minutes, at which time he was told to stay away from the team for good.

Coincidentally, or not, Marbury happened to be in L.A. at the same time as the Knicks. He put some of that $21 million to good use and bought some court-side seats.  Instead of sulking on the bench, watching anything but the game, he was court-side, getting paid to root against his own team.  After the game, the Knicks’ players were forced to keep hearing his name as they were all asked about his presence at the game. The fact that they almost beat the best team in the league was barely mentioned. Starbury continues to steal their thunder, and their money, without even suiting up.

Not long ago, Kobe Bryant was on top of the basketball world. With the help of Shaquille O’Neal, Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers won three straight NBA championships.

However, eventually Los Angeles wasn’t big enough for both Bryant and O’Neal, which resulted in O’Neal being shipped to the Miami Heat. There were whispers that Bryant was the one behind O’Neal departure.

O’Neal went on to win a championship with the Heat, while Bryant has yet to lead the Lakers past the first round of the playoffs since the breakup. Yet now things have started to change. O’Neal and the Heat are near the bottom of the Eastern Conference only two seasons removed from their championship. Conversely, Bryant and the Lakers are near the top of the Western Conference standings.

Bryant, as weird as it may sound, has just now figured out how to win. When he had O’Neal to fall back on, Bryant could rely on his natural ability and just play off of O’Neal dominance. When O’Neal left, Bryant could no longer rely on his natural abilities to propel the Lakers to victory. He had to become a true teammate.

Although Bryant is averaging eight fewer points per game than he did just a couple seasons ago, he’s playing better than ever. He’s passing the ball. He’s taking a backseat when a teammate gets on a roll. He’s playing defense. He’s encouraging his teammates. Bryant, at age 29 with three NBA championship rings, has just now figured out how to win on his own.

While the Lakers are probably a year or two away from truly competing for a championship, Los Angeles once again has hope to go along with their re-born franchise player.