First Dirk Nowitzki, now Derrick Rose.
The NBA’s superstars just won’t stop doling out the feel goodz to Kobe Bryant.
Ahead of the Chicago Bulls’ thorough drubbing of the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, Rose, like Nowitzki before him, showered Kobe with the utmost praise, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com:
“Kobe, he’s someone that I’ve looked up to ever since I came into the league,” Rose said. “Someone that I did commercials with. Someone that always gave me advice about my game, just coming into the league. He’s seen how hard I worked and for him and all his accolades and his résumé … I think that he’s leaving the game in some good hands.
“You’ve got [Stephen Curry] playing well, you’ve got a whole bunch of guys that’s right behind him giving their all to the game. And just for Kobe himself, he’s going to be a legend no matter what. He’s our [generation’s] Michael Jordan.”
I’ve already been through the “Kobe’s generation actually being Tim Duncan’s generation” stuff, so we’re going to let that slide.
But I’m not sure to what generation Rose is referring.
Kobe entered the league in 1996, a full 12 years before Rose made his NBA debut in 2008. The Black Mamba is also 10 years D-Rose’s senior.
They are not part of the same generation.
If Rose was specifically using “our generation” to describe what Kobe meant to his actual peers, as the player they all grew up watching and emulating, then I get it.
Otherwise…yeah.
