Kobe Bryant was drafted 13th overall by the Charlotte Hornets. But, then during a major lapse of judgment, the Hornets traded Kobe to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Mamba went on to play out his 18-year-long Hall Of Fame career with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kobe and Shaq three-peat 📸#KobeBryant #Kobe #Bryant #ShaquilleONeal #Shaq #ONeal #NBA #LosAngelesLakers #LosAngeles #Lakers #NBAFinals #NBAChampions #ThreePeat pic.twitter.com/J5LgiYSqUF
— In The Showcase (@intheshowcase) July 21, 2020
Kobe, Shaq, and the Lakers have been the only team to three-peat after Jordan and his Bulls. He led his Lakers squad to a lot of glory throughout his career. But, he wasn’t great when he arrived, he worked his way to the top.
Kobe Bryant’s rookie year is different than other All-Time greats
Bryant played a total of 71 NBA games during his rookie year and averaged just 7.6 points a game. Apart from winning the dunk contest, Kobe didn’t do anything special that would have led teams to believe that he had the tools to be an all-time great But, Kobe and his legendary work ethic were quick to set him apart from average NBA players.
From coming off the bench his rookie year, to becoming one of the NBA’s greatest players, Kobe Bryant. #LegionTransformations pic.twitter.com/oRU0KKALfI
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) August 6, 2017
Kobe Bryant won 5 championships with the Los Angeles Lakers
4 years after he was drafted by The Magic Kobe along with his All-NBA teammate Shaq shocked the world after the led the lakers to the 2000 NBA Championship. Their first championship together was the first of 3 consecutive championships. But, all good things come to an end and after a feud between Kobe and Shaq, The Lakers traded Shaq and Kobe was the only star left on that roster.
On this day 11 years ago, Kobe Bryant won his 5th Championship, becoming the only player ever to 3peat and repeat in the history of the Western Conference pic.twitter.com/FruVnmrcsz
— KBs GOAT (@KbsGoat) June 17, 2021
After Shaq’s departure, Kobe and the Lakers faced a tough few years. But, Kobe eventually led his team to NBA glory again. After his initial threepeat with Shaq, Kobe put the Lakers on his back and led them to 2 consecutive championships. They won in 2009 and 2010, he also won the Finals MVP award for both of those championships. Kobe has had some amazing seasons but has only won 1 MVP award in his career.
This could be because of the bad job the Lakers front office did in giving him a good supporting cast and another reason could be because of how good Steve Nash was at basketball. But, Kobe didn’t pay attention to all of that. He was loyal to the Lakers and played out his entire 18-year career with them. Kobe had both of his jerseys (8 and 24) retired by the Lakers after he stopped playing basketball.
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