NBA: 30 greatest playmakers in NBA history

2. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

Kobe Bryant earned the moniker “Black Mamba” during his playing days with the Los Angeles Lakers and with good reason. He is considered one of the best playmakers in the history of the NBA because of his killer instinct with the ball in his hands.

When in the clutch, Bryant was the go-to guy no matter the situation (outside of the 2010 NBA Finals when Metta World Peace, formerly known as Ron Artest, played out of his mind in Game 7).

Bryant won five NBA titles while wearing the purple and gold, winning in 3-peat fashion from 2000 to 2002 and in back-to-back fashion in 2009 and 2010. He took home the NBA Finals MVP award twice in their second run to back-to-back titles. Bryant made 18 All-Star appearances, won the 2007-08 MVP award and won two scoring titles as well from 2005-07.

He put up 35.4 points per game during the 2005-06 for his first scoring title. In 2006-07, Bryant followed that up with a 31.6 points per game average. Ironically, the only NBA MVP award of his career came after those seasons during the 2007-08 season, when he produced 28.3 points per game. “The Black Mamba” finished his career with averages of 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game with the Lakers.

Bryant alllowed Shaquille O’Neal to get traded away to become the team’s primary playmaker. However, things worked out for him in the end. Bryant will go down as one of the best playmakers in history but in his shadow, there was always one figure who he couldn’t seem to surpass.