Ball Back in His Court

It is the assist of a lifetime, a pass out of nowhere, to a man standing wide open, facing the rest of his career.

So what does Kobe Bryant do now?

Does he humbly collect the ball and use it to benefit the team that has lavishly paid him and the fans who have unconditionally supported him?

Or does he arrogantly jack it up?

The dismissal of the felony sexual assault charge against Bryant on Wednesday is not only the end of one saga, but the beginning of another, an arrest record cleansed and an attitude slate cleaned.

For the last year, it has been Bryant Besieged. From this day forward, it is Bryant Blessed.

The future of Los Angeles’ favorite team depends on how seriously those blessings are counted.

Will the disappearance of this darkest cloud enable Bryant to shed the coat of bitterness that surrounded him last season and allow him to develop into the mature leader his young team so desperately needs?

Or, empowered by this new freedom and $136 million, will he just buy a bigger coat?

It’s about more than a win-loss record, it’s about a legacy.

Because, face it, Bryant does not walk out of that courtroom untarnished.

He never had the opportunity to be found not guilty in front of a jury, meaning the incident will forever be dogged with questions for which there will be no answers.

The case not ending in a verdict, the public will see it as ending in a wallet. Although the facts have yet to be determined, the perception will be that Bryant quietly settled the civil suit with the alleged victim just in time for her to drop out of the criminal trial with no legal repercussions.

Bryant apologized to her in a statement Wednesday. It will be seen as little more than legal ransom for her dropping her accusations.

Bryant said he finally understood that she really didn’t believe she had consented. What, it took him 429 days to figure that out?

And it didn’t help anyone that the Eagle County, Colo., justice system could be described in one word.

Mayberry.

Many were afraid to use that cliche comparison in the beginning of the case, but it has been proved as true as Aunt Bee’s smile, this small county being run by comics and fools.

District Judge Terry Ruckriegle allowed constant and suspicious leaks to sink any semblance of fairness to either Bryant or the alleged victim. Playing on the same field as powerful attorneys and national media, he was out of his league. Wrong-Way Ruckriegle, carrying justice backward.

Then there was Mark Hurlbert, the Eagle County district attorney who smartly refused to answer questions at Wednesday’s news conference, because there would have been only one: Where’s your new job?

If Eagle County voters reelect a man who just wasted thousands of taxpayer dollars on what seemed like a weak case backed by a clearly weak accuser, they are dumber than a tow rope.

Nobody will ever know what went on in that hotel room . But we now know this: The alleged victim dropped the case because her attorneys said it was too stressful for her to testify in a criminal court ... yet it apparently will not be too stressful for her to testify in a civil court.

Big surprise there. How could Hurlbert not have seen this coming?

Everyone was dirtied by this dangerous trek across the quicksand that is apparently Eagle County justice, but, in the end, none quite as much as Bryant, if only because he had much farther to sink.

And now, having been rescued and given a brief rinse, No. 8 needs a bit of polishing.

If Bryant so chooses, he can use this second chance to make a new first impression in a town that wants to believe.

He can show how being so scared has taught him compassion, how being so unconditionally cheered has taught him unselfishness, and how feeling so alone has taught him about teamwork.

The Lakers have reason for optimism after Bryant showed up in July at a news conference introducing his three teammates from Miami. Most NBA players wouldn’t even walk across the street for their team during the summer, much less drive 40 miles in traffic.

Bryant was there as a leader. He needs to return for the start of camp this fall as that same sort of leader, tending to such little things as if they were all last-second shots.

After nearly losing everything, he must show that he no longer takes anything for granted.

Kobe Bean Bryant will never again be viewed as an innocent kid. One mistake changed that forever. But now that he won’t have to pay for that mistake with his life, he can seize this rare opportunity to again be viewed as just Kobe.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at [email protected]. To read previous columns by Plaschke, go to latimes.com/plaschke.