The Main conflict in The Last Season

There is one main conflict in The Last Season. That is the conflict between Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. This is an external conflict. Shaq and Kobe, who are both very talented players, and will one day be in the hall of fame, did not always work together well. they had problems working together well because both players were superstars, and they wanted to be the head of the team. In the triangle offense, the main objective is to get the ball close to the basket to make it easier to score. Shaquille O'Neal loved the triangle offense because it gave him an opportunity to showcase his offensive skills. Kobe, however, was not too fond of this offense because he was more of a perimeter player, and did not get a lot of scoring opportunities. When Kobe started to disregard the Triangle Offense and take over the game, Shaq became irritated. Even though the Lakers were still winning, Shaq' number of touches was decreasing, and he felt that he didn't have the ball enough. Shaq and Kobe eventually settled their differences and The Lakers rose back to top of the NBA.

Pages 21-35

In the next 15 pages of this book, Phil Jackson writes about the upcoming off season. This off-season was interesting because Kobe Bryant, the star of the Los Angeles Lakers was about to go into free agency, because his contract was about to expire. "I would never oppose a player's decision to explore his true market value" says Phil Jackson on page 32 of his book. Kobe often reitrated the fact that his decision to re-sign with the team, or explore the free agent market would be mainly based on the actions of Shaquille O'Neal, the other superstar of the Lakers. What many people do not know is that off the court, Kobe and Shaq often had major disagreements. It is unknown where their fued started, but it is known that both of them wanted to be the star. I personally believe that this is why the two future Hall-of-Famers had constant confrontations. During the off-season, the Lakers were able to convince Kobe Bryant that his best shot at winning a championship was with the Lakers. In addition to role players like Derek Fisher, rookie Brian Cook, and rookie Luke Walton; the Lakers were able to pull a few strings and sign forward Karl Mailman, "The Mailman", and guard Gary Payton, "The Glove". At first, Jackson feared that Malone would try to come and take over the Laker's offense, since he was not that far away from the scoring; but after Karl promised that he wouldn't Phil Jackson began to trust that he would pass the ball. Jackson did not want three people on the team that wanted to be "superstars". After these accusations, the Lakers became an immediate threat to win the Western Conference. The only thing that stood in the way was the San Antonio Spurs, and the presences of Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. Duncan, the reingning MVP, was arguably the most talented big man to ever play the game, besides Wilt Chamberlain, in my personal opinion. "Nobody in the NBA can defend him" recalls Jackson, who debated on whether Shaq or Duncan should ATTEMPT to guard him. Later in the book, we will discover how the Lakers thrived with this unbelievable squad.

"The Squad"

The setting in The Last Season

The main setting in The Last Season is Los Angeles, California. All of this book, however, does not take place in Los Angeles. Some of this story takes place in Phil Jackson's hometown of Deer Lodge, Montana. During the off-season, Phil Jackson spends most of his free time in his town, doing things such as riding his bike, fishing, and spending time with his family. During the season, he spent nearly all of his time in Los Angeles, (except on road trips with the team). He spent lots of time practicing with the team, being with the team during training camp, and coaching the team during home games.

Types of character in The Last Season

The two main characters in The Last Season are Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant. Phil Jackson is a static character. A static character is a character who remains the same throughout the book. Phil Jackson, however remains the same throughout his whole life. Phil has always been a calm, non-shalant person. Phil Jackson takes his job serious, but he does not let it stress him out and take over his life. Phil virtually has the same reaction to a win or a loss, which is not much of a reaction. You will probably never see him jump up and down to celebrate, or get really emotion and upset because of a loss. Kobe Bryant, on the other hand,  is the exact opposite.You might not exactly see Kobe jump up and down after a win, but he will be very emotional and upset after a loss. Kobe is often regarded as a bad teammate, because he sometimes yells at his teammates and put them down because of their mistakes. Kobe is highly emotional, and he is not afraid to show his emotions. This affects his game. Sometimes, Kobe may be having a bad night, and he may shoot about 15 percent and only score eight points. Another night, he might shoot about 60 percent from the floor and end up scoring 45 or 50 points.

Comparing and Contrasting Kobe and Phil

Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson have VERY different personalities. Kobe Byrant has always been regarded as a selfish player, and a ball hog. In Phil Jackon's triangle offense, the object is to spread the ball around by passing it until you find the open. Kobe likes to get the ball and wait for the play to develop, and even create his own shot. Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson fueded continually on whose offense worked better. Kobe would always threaten to demand a trade, or opt out of his contract because he knew that the Lakers needed him more than he needed the Lakers. Phil and Kobe also had arguments about whether the team supported Kobe. Kobe was always a good player, but he was not so much a good teammate. He would often times yell profanities at the other players because he felt that they were not doing their job.