Shaq and Kobe Court Competing Values

* Hurrah for the great column by Neal Gabler (“An American Story,” Opinion, Feb. 11)! Tracing back to the Golden Rule, and maybe even to when humans first evolved from their primate predecessors, the conflict between the community and the individual has perhaps been the central focus of human attention.

In the 20th century, communal governmental systems failed, the Bill of Rights was elevated to preserve individual rights over the will of the majority, and even art displayed an increasing emphasis on the individual, particularly the individual artist. Gabler’s column presents important insights on this question even in the perhaps trivial context of professional basketball. Yet I believe that even this reflects the longing of individuals for community in a world left alienated by the decline of community institutions, such as the church.

ANDREW J. GUILFORD

Costa Mesa

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Gabler did a fine job of dissecting the Shaq-Kobe conflict, but he forgot to mention a player who combined the stances of both of those guys in an exciting, entertaining, statistically amazing and championship-winning way: Earvin “Magic” Johnson. Magic made passing the ball to his teammates the most dazzling and gratifying part of his game, bringing all the glory anyone could ever want to himself in the process. And he made millions of free throws too.

GEORGE BABY WOODS

Los Angeles