While the Lakers swept the Blazers and defeated the Spurs 4–1, the Lakers didn't have home court advantage towards the Sacramento Kings. The sequence would stretch to 7 games, the first time this occurred to the Lakers since the 2000 Western Conference Finals. In the 2002 Finals, Bryant averaged 26.8 factors, fifty one.4% shooting, 5.eight rebounds, 5.three assists per sport, which included scoring 1 / 4 of the groups points. Bryant's play was notable and praised for his performance within the 4th quarter of video games, specifically the last 2 rounds of the playoffs. This cemented Bryant's popularity as a "clutch participant." Statistically, the 2000–01 season saw Bryant perform equally to the earlier year, but he averaged 6 extra factors a game (28.5).

Receive a MyPLAYER gamerplate and a pair of further MyTEAM Promo Packs whenever you order by way of the PlayStation Store. Kobe's mother's brother, John Cox, additionally played in the NBA. At the time of the writing of this text he was third on the all-time NBA scoring listing.

According to Arn Tellem, Bryant's agent on the time, Bryant taking part in for the Charlotte Hornets was "an impossibility". However, Bill Branch, the Hornets' head scout on the time, mentioned that the Hornets agreed to commerce their draft choice to the Los Angeles Lakers earlier than choosing Bryant. The teams agreed to the trade the day before the draft and the Lakers told the Hornets whom to pick 5 minutes earlier than the choose was made.

Later, Kobe talked about how vital guarding Iverson in a sport meant to him. A newspaper profile described them as prizefighters engaged in a warfare of wills, a standoff that threatened to divide some of the proficient basketball groups ever assembled. Two gifted athletes unwilling to surrender their egos, they have been solid in Shakespearean phrases, Bryant as Ariel against O’Neal as Caliban. Bryant was nonetheless 17, so his parents had to co-sign the three-year, $3.5-million contract the group supplied him. The hype started immediately along with his pro debut in a summer league game towards a Detroit Pistons squad at Cal State Long Beach.

The Lakers completed the common season with the best record in the West (65–17). Bryant was runner-up in the MVP voting behind James, and was selected to the All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team for the seventh time in his career. Statistically, the 2000–01 season saw Bryant perform similarly to the previous 12 months, however he averaged six more factors per game (28.5). It was also the year when disagreements between Bryant and O'Neal began to surface.

I actually have good relationships with gamers across the league. But by method of having a type of nice, bonding friendships—that’s one thing I will in all probability never have. This self-perpetuating picture of Bryant as an unyielding workaholic has turn into so integral to his ethos that it reflexively informs every other element about his life. He has become The Last Hard Man, the realest of the true, the lone remnant from a Precambrian NBA era when players nonetheless hated each other and the only individuals who cared about AAU basketball have been precise eighth graders. Yet individuals forget that this was not always the case.

In the primary spherical of the playoffs, the Lakers performed properly enough to achieve a 3–1 collection lead over the Phoenix Suns, culminating with Bryant's overtime-forcing and game-winning photographs in Game 4. They came within six seconds of eliminating the second-seeded Suns in Game 6, nonetheless, they lost that sport 126–118 in overtime. Despite Bryant's 27.9 factors per recreation in the sequence, the Lakers broke down and in the end fell to the Suns in seven video games. After scoring 50 factors on 20 of 35 shooting within the Game 6 loss, Bryant was criticized for only taking three shots within the second half of the 121–90 Game 7 loss to Phoenix. Bryant obtained several awards for his outstanding efficiency during his senior yr at Lower Merion.

Kobe manifested his destiny, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a model new era of domination as their capturing guard and bringing a novel strategy to the sport. He was nothing short of sensible to look at, an enigmatic determine with a legendary work ethic and unquenchable thirst and dedication for the game. It can be secure to say that fans are typically socialized to sports activities early and consider it not just as a recreation, however as a nostalgic or emotional expertise. Fabolous has recently shared a heartwarming, but funny, story about the late Kobe Bryant, and the time he pulled up to Fab’s “Trade It All” video shoot.