Kobe Bryant's hard to embrace, but he's clearly the best clutch player in the game

The Lakers guard can work miracles, but he doesn't make it easy.
By Mark Heisler

Kobe or not Kobe, the mystery, wrapped in an enigma, wearing No. 24, continues....

There was never an icon, or whatever Kobe Bryant is, like Kobe Bryant, who's held at arm's length even by a segment of Lakerdom.

When he broke Jerry West's scoring record a wave of protest arose — among Lakers fans — offended by the suggestion that it made him the greatest Laker.

Kobe takes your breath away, but so did West and Magic Johnson, who also tugged at your heartstrings.

If Kobe realizes you have heartstrings, he doesn't know how to tug at them, although he's gone through enough PR people trying.

What setting a Lakers scoring record lacked in drama, Bryant is making up for with six game-winning shots — thus far — in his Miracles R Us season.

Of course, Kobe being Kobe, even this is arguable.

ESPN's Henry Abbott, who had Bryant as a guy who made big shots "at a pretty good, but not elite, rate," now says he's "open to the idea he could still be the best clutch player in the NBA."

That's good because Bryant is far and away the best clutch player in the NBA.

LeBron James's shooting has improved enough to put him in Bryant's class, but he doesn't have the same body of work.

If anyone seems close to them, it's because you can't measure "clutch."

The Elias Sports Bureau now has a stat called "game-winners," counting shots that put your team ahead to stay in the last 10 seconds.

Not that breaking a tie with 10 seconds left is like bringing your team from two points behind in the last :04 — as Bryant has done three times, against Miami, Sacramento and Memphis.

Two more Kobe jumpers in the last :07 brought them from one point behind in Boston and Milwaukee.

Then, there was last week's relative anti-climax, an 18-footer with 1.9 seconds left, breaking a 107-107 tie with Toronto.

Bryant's six game-winners, the most in a season since 2000, and his 20 for the decade to No. 2 Vince Carter's 13, are officially incomparable — because the NBA didn't archive play-by-plays until 1998.

We don't know how many West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Michael Jordan made, but with or without stats, they were a different species from Carter.

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