Perhaps you saw it, or read about it:

Kobe Bryant, ejected from the Lakers’ loss to the Charlotte Bobcats at Staples Center on Wednesday night.

He picked up two technical fouls in a 30-second span late in the game and was sent to the locker room. That makes 15 technical fouls this season, and if he gets one more … he is suspended for a game. A rule put in only a few years ago and aimed, looking back, specifically at ref-baiter Rasheed Wallace. But the ‘Sheed Rule is about to ensnare KB24.

And he will deserve it, if he doesn’t clean up his act.The reality is, as good as Kobe is … he also is the biggest whiner in the NBA. The Biggest. If he takes a shot in the lane and it doesn’t go in, he without fail will start complaining to the officials. (He whines about some of his made shots, too.)

The problem begins in Kobe’s head. He believes … he knows … he will make every shot close to the basket unless he has been interfered with by a defender. If the ball didn’t go in, he was fouled. (He occasionally seems to concede he can take a shot from the perimeter and not score, but if it’s in the paint? No.)

In Kobe’s head, this is self-evident, and he has absolutely no problems sharing that belief with the officials, whom he is convinced are derelict in their duty.

Knowing a few referees over the years, I’m confident this behavior doesn’t endear Kobe to the guys with whistles. And they respond, in some games, not only by not giving Kobe the borderline, “OK, yeah, he’s a star” two-shot fouls … they don’t call the thoroughly legit fouls.

That’s what appeared to happen vs. Charlotte, and Kobe yapped about it and yapped about it some more and got run.

It was a game the Lakers just didn’t show up for, which hasn’t happened many times this season, and they trailed by 14 entering the fourth quarter.

It seems as if the Lakers, especially Kobe, believe they are good enough now to just turn it on for a few minutes and beat lesser teams. They did it at Sacramento earlier this month.

But when they go into overdrive and it doesn’t work out for them, they get frustrated and angry, and nobody moreso than Kobe. You can see the anxiety build as he takes bad shots, they don’t go in, he doesn’t get a foul, and he starts riding whichever referee is nearest as the ball goes the other direction.

Kobe needs to get a grip. He has been in the league too long to not understand this dynamic, to let his competitiveness overwhelm him, to perhaps miss a key game simply because he couldn’t control his outbursts.

Perhaps he could channel his energies toward his teammates, making sure they show up with the proper energy and enthusiasm even for lesser teams. If they had been up 10 against the Bobcats, instead of down 10, this wouldn’t have happened.

Kobe has lifted his game this season as the possibility of a lengthy playoff run became real. I have never seen an NBA superstar show up game after game, week after week, with the absolute physical and mental commitment to perform at his peak in the way that Kobe Bryant has this season. It is a marvel to behold.

But he is not making a similar attempt to control his emotions, and it would be a pity if Kobe’s outbursts ultimately drag him down — and carry the Lakers with him.

Final score: Charlotte 108, Lakers 95, Kobe 15 technicals this season.