Kobe Bryant On First Dunk Of His 20th Lakers Season

Dan Duangdao
2 Min Read

In the 107-87 loss to the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant turned back the clock as he posterized Clint Capela in the third quarter.

With his first dunk of the season, it was a pleasant surprise as Kobe had his teammates and fans buzzing at Staples Center.

Following the loss, Kobe was asked about his dunk in the third quarter and shares he has ‘no idea where it came from’ according to Baxter Holmes of ESPN:

While Kobe struggled to start the new season, it appears he has turned the corner. In the past five games, Kobe is averaging 18.4 points (48.6 percent shooting), 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 28.8 minutes. Also, it appears he is stepping back and allowing the young core of D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson to figure out their games.

With 56 games remaining in the season, the hope is Kobe can sustain this level of play while the young core continues to develop. As this will be the five-time champion’s final season, he will attempt to play every game possible as his farewell tour continues.

In 22 games, Kobe is averaging 16.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists.

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Dan Duangdao was the managing editor at Lakers Nation (2013-16, 2018-20). He is currently the founder at LA Sports Media, Lake Show, Raiders Nation, Rams Nation, Kings Nation, Galaxy Nation, and MMA Rumors. Born and raised in Southern California and a lifelong Los Angeles sports and mixed martial arts fan, his first NBA game was Kobe Bryant and the Lakers against the Golden State Warriors with Michael Jordan in attendance during the 1998-99 NBA season. He was previously a contributor at HOOPSWORLD (now Basketball Insiders) and an NBA editor at ClutchPoints. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @DanDuangdao.