Los Angeles Lakers: Saying Goodbye To Kobe Bryant
By Greg Chin
“But all of you helped me become the player and man in front of you today”
The beginning of Kobe’s Lakers’ career wasn’t easy – he came off the bench as a rookie and saw limited playing time during the early stages of the season. But in typical Kobe fashion, he worked hard and improved on his game, and started earning himself more playing time. One of the defining moments of his early career was during the Lakers’ 1997 second round playoff series against the Utah Jazz. Facing elimination, Kobe missed four game-changing shots in the final minutes: a jumper to win the game, and three three-pointers in overtime. Again, this was just a snapshot of the player we would eventually grow to know – the unabashed gunner Kobe.
His rise to superstardom after his first season was rapid – more playing time led to more opportunities to wow fans. Not since Michael Jordan had the NBA seen such an electric and dominating shooting guard. Despite still being in his first five seasons in the NBA, he was already being compared to Jordan and Lakers’ great Magic Johnson.
But the real success only came when Phil Jackson took over as head coach. Alongside Shaquille O’Neal, Bryant formed one of the deadliest two-man combos in the league. They were a class above the rest of the NBA and a period of dominance followed.
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