Kobe Bryant carried the Lakers to the Promised Land and also won the Finals
MVP trophy. (NBA.com/Getty Images)

When there is blood in the water, sharks attack. Circling their
prey, assessing the circumstances, sizing up the victim and waiting for
the perfect moment to make the kill.

Midway through the second
quarter of Game 5, the Los Angeles Lakers had done enough circling. They had sized up the wounded Orlando Magic team. They were ready for
the kill.

A 16-0 run, featuring a trio of 3-point baskets, all but finished off the floundering opponent.

Kobe
Bryant, the much-maligned head shark on a team of sharp-toothed
hunters, led the surge. Yet he did not do so with his flashy,
me-first, take on the world attitude we have become accustomed to
seeing. Instead he led as the facilitator many have criticized him for failing to be.  He found Trevor Ariza on the wing for a wide-open three. He
drew a double team and dished to Derek Fisher for another. He drove
and drew the defense and again kicked to Ariza for another dagger. He
rebounded. He stole the ball. He led.

He smelled blood. He sized up the victim. He picked it apart. One nibble at a time.

There
was no questioning Bryant's desire to win a fourth ring, this time
without the 400-pound Shaqrilla. He wanted that monkey off his back
badly enough he finally became the superstar who realized he couldn't
do it on his own.

His game-clinching stat line: 30 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks, and a whole lot of hugs.

When
you see a hunter glaring down his target in the scope, you get in the
way at your own peril. Kobe's target was a fourth ring, and a first-ever Finals MVP trophy. Unfortunately for the Magic, they were in the
way.

Bryant wouldn't be stopped. Not when he was this close,
not when he could smell the blood in the water, and taste the
championship mixture of sweat and champagne.

He hit jump shots
with hands in his face, 15-foot fall-aways over out-stretched hands,
three-pointers, one-handed baseline jams, and acrobatic layups over Dwight
Howard.

Bryant said after past games that Orlando threw the
kitchen sink at him defensively; on Sunday they threw the whole house and it didn't matter.

The weary hunt tests the mettle of even the
best hunters. Bryant's past two hunting trips to the NBA Finals he
tried the go-it-alone approach and came up empty. He might have tried
the same approach again in Game 5.  He could have forced shots, tried to
set records. Even if the Lakers lost, he still had Games 6 and 7 at home to
get the ring. But the seasoned hunter knew his prey was in the crosshairs and he couldn't let it slip. If he couldn't pull the trigger
himself, he'd make sure his teammates had a clean shot.

When he
trusted them, they didn't miss. Ariza, who could have been named
Finals MVP Jr., made sure Bryant's faith was rewarded. He knocked down
jumpers, made cuts, and wreaked havoc on the defensive end by keeping
Hedo Turkoglu off his game.

Accepting the MVP Trophy, the trophy
everyone said he wanted so badly, Bryant showed the least egotistical
side one could imagine. Embracing the trophy for no more than a few
seconds, he gave to it to his daughter to hold. For wanting it so
badly, he sure was willing to share it quickly.

There was little
question who the better team was going into the final series. For that
matter, there was little question for most of the season who the most
talented team was. The only question was whether the Lakers would play like
a championship squad or splinter under their own weight and
expectations.

Would Kobe Bryant try to be Superman's kryptonite
alone? Would his teammates step up when they were needed, and would he
trust them? Would Bryant be the teaching, imploring, I-got-your-back
leader or would he be the egotistical, snarling, finger-wagging, back
breaker?  In Game 5 he was the former.

They say old dogs don't
learn new tricks. They also say if you are the best you don't have to
lean new tricks. But to get a championship ring, Bryant learned he
needed help. Michael had Scotty, Magic had Kareem, Duncan had Ginobli,
Shaq had Kobe and Wade. Kobe finally figured out he needed Gasol,
Odom, Ariza, et al.

Championships in team sports aren't won with
one superstar and a bunch of table napkins.  Ask LeBron if teammates
matter. Ask A-rod.

It takes a team, a pack, a group committed to one goal.

To
win a championship a leader needs to be at the front, taking the heat
and making big plays. But when he has no shot, no place to move, he
must trust his pack.

Kobe took that step, made the passes,
swarmed on defense, and led his team in every way imaginable to the
champion's platform. He got his championship sans Shaq. He got his
Finals MVP, he got to smile a great big smile for the first time in
months

The only question left: When is he going to Disneyland?