Wednesday, May 4th, 2011 at 10:00 am  |  71 responses

Kobe Bryant: ‘I’m Not Clutch’


NBA fans, players, coaches, and front-office personel think Kobe is lethal with the game on the line, but he (jokingly, of course) doesn’t seem to agree. From the LA Times: “One curl off a screen, one catch at the top of the key and one game-winning three-pointer could’ve continued the narrative of Kobe Bryant showing how he’s a clutch player and how the Lakers are poised enough to win close games. Instead, Bryant’s potential game-winning shot hit off the front rim, the Lakers lost Game 1 to Dallas in the Western Conference semifinals and Bryant is dripping with sarcasm about his late-game shooting. ‘I’m not clutch,’ Bryant said. In fact, there is data to support that argument. Bryant missed two of his final three shot attempts and committed a turnover in the final 2:42 of the game. Ever since Game 3 of the Lakers’ first-round series against Utah in 2009, Bryant has missed five consecutive game-tying or go-ahead attempts in the final 24 seconds of the game. And according to NBA Statscube, Bryant has gone shot six for 30 (20%) from the field in what the site calls ‘clutch moments,’ the last five minutes of games when the margin is within five points.”

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  • Jer dawg

    The stats can go to hell! Where was this stuff when Jordan was around? This stuff about PERs and % when game was on the line. The Henry Abbott of ESPN saying stats show Kevin Martin as the most clutch when game is on the line. Who are these geeks?!? Do that with Jordan and he’ll look mortal, just as people do with Kobe.
    There aren’t too many players that leads comebacks with timely shots in waning moments of the game. With few ticks on the clock there isn’t too Many guys that can take a dribble and get shot off and make it. Creating and making shots is what makes Kobe clutch. Kevin Martin needs to have someone else set the table with 3 minutes left in game, down 5. Come on!

  • slamfan4life

    kobes not clutch? thats like sayin DRose isnt fast

  • TheNightWatch*8*

    A missed game winner doesnt mean your not clutch. Head Up Kobe.

  • feez22

    @Jer dawg the stats can go to hell? see this is the funniest thing. When stats prove that KOBE isn’t clutch, the stats can go straight to hell. YET when ESPN points out that lebron is 1-8 in situations to tie or win the game within 24 seconds the stats are the ULTIMATE TRUTH. ROFL. ROFL. LMAO at your comment on where this stuff was when jordan was around… in fact it was not around in masses. HOWEVER MJ leads players all time in PER and is one of the CLUTCHEST players % wise in nba history. Retroactive stat tracking isn’t to discredit players today. It is to show people how great players were before this era. It is to show people facts about players that played back in other era’s. To dismiss stats and advanced stats is ludacris to me. It is also ludacris to strictly use those stats and not watch the games. It is most beneficial when you WATCH THE GAMES and Look @ the stats for reference. Laker fans might not want 2 admit… but kobe has missed TONS of shots late in the 4th in NUMEROUS CLOSE GAMES this year. In fact, kobe has missed clutch shots in 3 out of the 4 down to the wire games the lakers have played THIS YEAR(games 1, 3 & 4 of the hornets series & gm 1 of the mavs series). the rest have been 10+ point wins with kobe being on the bench at the end of game 6. If the stats are correct they should back up what you see. If you have been seeing clutch kobe this season+playoffs you have been watching too many highlights. point blank. He is 2-8 in shots to tie or win the game this year. lebron is 1-8 in those same shots. Yet who is painted as the least clutch in the nba this year? and how big is the MARGIN? “Brainwashed”

  • http://www.facebook.com/joe.l.brewer3 BlackPhantom

    Kobe has hit 27 game-winning/tying shots in his career. That’s pretty clutch. But he also missed alot. So?? “Clutch” and “Perfect” are two different things. Most people would give Kobe the last shot because 1. He’s the most willing to take the shot on the court, all the time. and 2. Results don’t lie. He can hit the game-winning shot.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Kobe over his career is a 30.1% shooter when he has an opportunity to tie or take the lead with less then 25 seconds left in the game. The league average is 30.0% – Kobe is not clutch, he is brave, but just as (not more) human and “clutch” as everyone else.

  • feez22

    w/ that being said i commend kobe for having the balls to take the last shot with confidence for all these yrs. The fact still remains that he misses about 2-3 of the clutch shots he shoots. His career shooting % in the clutch is around 31%. I’d take melo in the clutch over kobe from what i’ve seen… 6-11 in clutch game winners/tiers this yr… oh ya stats should go to hell and they don’t count. NVM…

  • Anonymosdef

    Wonder why this article was taken off the main page so quickly hmmmm….probably because feez22 and nbk shut ish down.

  • Anonymosdef

    Best believe slam is a HUGE part of the media machine that shapes perception and they want no parts of telling the truth. Hype moves units not facts.

  • http://slamonline.com Michael

    ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

  • korda

    people are you mad?! he made his last clutch shot in playoffs in 2006!!! he’s not clutch, the media makes him clutch when in fact even lebron has better clutch percentage than him, not to mention melo or billups… you are SHEEP

  • Aja R.Witt

    If he’s not clutch then who will take the final shot? Derek Fisher? Maybe if they want to lose.

  • Rasta

    Ofcourse kobe aint clutch!!! B!tch a$$ finally sees himself as he truly is? About mofo time! If he gave up the ball to Shaq and played ball like Derek Fisher knew he can, they woulda won 4 straight. Maybe even more. kobe is such a watered down Zima, a sex offender, a fake, and his underbite looks retarded especially after a loss. What a lil BIYATCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Harlem_World

    Dirk and Melo are more clutch by the numbers.

  • George

    Kobe haters? What Kobe DID TO YOU!!! Huh? N-O-T-H-I-N-G…:):)

  • Wade = Clutch

    Kobe is most definetly not clutch , obviously you don’t know the definition of clutch if your saying he is. For you to be clutch it has to be out of skill , not luck . And a lot of those shots that he took involved the element of luck . So Kobe , most definetly not clutch .

  • KoBynum716

    ^^ But wade is clutch?

  • Darrell Robinson

    You might not be right now, but when you are you are VERY tough to defeat. You’re not fooling anyone Kobe. Especially your Lakers getting swept by the Mavericks in this year’s playoffs.

  • http://slamonline ordinarybrutha

    You don’t win five championships and not be clutch. just like any high risk situation you win some you lose some. Sometimes as fans we have a tendency of confusing the concept of clutch with profection. Kobe has been responsibe for many unbelievable clutch situations.

  • Kevin Jackson

    Oh my God!!!! You guys are unbelievable!!! I suggest everyone in this post go to youtube and look at Mr.Kobe Bean Bryants career then check yourself into rehab get off the crack because it has severely distorted some sense of reality……KOBE IS CLUTCH!!!! Facts Kobe has 5 rings,MJ himself out of his own mouth said and I quote”KOBE BRYANT IS THE BEST ALL AROUND PLAYER OF THIS GENERATION!!!! Jordan said this in front of a bunch of kids at a basketball camp and then said it agin on a radio station!!!! So for those of you who hang on to everything the G O A T says,I think that he knows the game BETTER THAN ANYONE IN THIS POST!!!

    AND I GOT A NEWSFLASH FOR YOU…..UNTIL LEBRON JAMES DEVELOPS A LOW POST GAME,A MID RANGE GAME AND KILLER INSTINCT HE IS “NOWHERE EVEN CLOSE TO KOBE BRYANT LET ALONE MICHAEL JORDAN!!! Dont get me wrong I am not a LeBron hater,but he is NOT the best ALL around basketball player in this league,KOBE BRYANT IS PERIOD!!!!! People are amazing,though Kobe doesnt piss and moan about it, his foot was swollen throughout the whole playoffs and he was dealing with a bad knee Not to mention a broken or dislocated finger,he Will be back there is NO WAY HE”S DONE!!!!

  • asd

    Kobe isn’t clutch, he’s just brave. Jordan is all-time clutchest. Highest Finals average and playoff average, 56% game-winning shots makes. Kobe’s numbers drop in the Finals, and stay the same in the playoffs.

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