Tick-tock… Tick-tock… Tick-tock…

Sure, it was the MVP trophy LeBron James was hoisting towards the basketball gods on Tuesday night, but in Kobe Bryant’s eyes it might as well have been a clock.

That’s because time is melting away for Kobe, both in terms of his stranglehold on the league’s power structure and on his standing as the best player in the world.

Bryant wasn’t even 18 years old when he was selected in the 1996 NBA Draft and, thus, needed his parents’ signatures on his first contract. Think hard enough and you can still remember the smile on his skinny frame.

Where did the time go?

The infamous air balls and the ensuing resolve. He won three titles by the age of 23; the youngest player ever to do so.

The dark stretch stemming from his legal disaster transformed him from a boy to a man. Or at least it seemed that way to us. If nothing else, it hardened him and his image.

Phil Jackson left. Shaquille O’Neal left. And Kobe was basically blamed for the loss of both. Phil returned. Shaq returned too, only it was in Kobe’s nightmares. The Big Aristotle was seemingly smiling everywhere on every channel after winning the title in 2006 in a different sun-baked city, Miami.

Thirteen years have elapsed since the summer Bryant was drafted and now he owns the NBA. No player in the league has a longer tenure with a single team. To put it into perspective, he’s been a Laker longer than Tim Duncan has been a Spur.

However, he is still ring-less without O’Neal. He wants another title so bad it burns and last year’s appearance in the Finals did nothing to soothe it.

This is clearly Bryant’s best opportunity to win a championship. His supporting cast is big and athletic and skilled and, most importantly, worthy of his trust. And, of course, Kobe himself is at his own basketball apex. His awareness, understanding, and skill-set are all peaking simultaneously.

Tick-tock… Tick-tock… Tick-tock…

Yet, at 30 years old, his decline is also imminent. Whereas his mental aptitude may continue to grow, his reflexes will start to sputter. And with his demise peaking over the horizon, just out of frame, his reign over the league is being challenged.

Meanwhile, James is a cement-sculpted, 6-foot-8 point forward, devoid of any hardwood flaws. James led his team to a 39-2 record in Cleveland. James won the MVP award. He is so shockingly good that he could match almost anything accomplished by the legends of yesteryear.

Play center in a Finals game?
Sure.

Unleash 63 points against the Celtics in the playoffs?
No problem.

Average a triple-double for an entire season?
Absolutely.

Next summer King James becomes the crown jewel of free agency. So Kobe essentially has this year and next to make a title push before LeBron crafts his own dynasty in any city – with any set of teammates – his Ohio heart desires.

Tick-tock… Tick-tock… Tick-tock…

You can be sure that clock is the reason Bryant scorched Houston’s Ron Artest and Shane Battier, two of the best wing defenders in basketball, for 40 points on Wednesday. It also upped the volume in his barking. For he is hungry and can undoubtedly smell that savory Larry O’Brien trophy.

That damn clock can keep ticking, but Kobe was always at his best with time running out.