Kobe Bryant scored 45 on 15 of 26 shooting and 13 of 13 at the line to take Game 3 from Phoenix 95-89, the only win Los Angeles managed in the 2007 first round before the Suns closed it out 4-1.
The Lakers added Fisher and Ariza that fall, but the roster's biggest change was still the Gasol trade that February.
If Kobe Bryant played with 75 all stars in the weakest conference in the NBA for the majority of his career , maybe he would have 10 rings 🤷🏾♂️
#nba#espn#lakers
The 2000s belonged to Kobe Bryant, and nobody else came close 🐍
From the turn of the millennium to the end of the decade, Kobe dictated its entire narrative.
Look at the resume from 2000 to 2009:
Three-peat champion (2000–2002) alongside Shaq.
81 points in a single game.
35.4 PPG in 2005-06, and back-to-back scoring titles.
2008 Regular Season MVP and leading Redeem Team USA to Olympic Gold in Beijing.
Back-to-back Finals appearances, capping the decade with the 2009 NBA Championship and Finals MVP without Shaq.
Different rosters, different roles, different co-stars, but the exact same result.
Kobe was the heartbeat of basketball for years.
Where does Kobe’s 2000s run rank among the most dominant decades in NBA history? 🤔
Kobe winning back to back titles with Pau Gasol should have cemented him as a top 5 player ever but you know, unemployed hipsters play 2k all day know better.
Kobe was winning with Andrew Bynum before Pau showed up but even before that the entire league knew all Kobe needed was one more player that was competent enough like a Pau Gasol and he would win the championship. You can’t say that about any of his peers.
When The Lakers acquired Pau in 2008; after Bynum went down with a season entering injury.. he didn’t need to “develop chemistry” nope. He took a player who was labeled soft and had little not no playoff experience to the NBA finals.
Why am I entertaining this convo ?