After falling to the Philadelphia 76ers at the Staples Center on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers are below .500 once again with a 15-16 record. Although the team is struggling to play consistently well even with Steve Nash back in the fold, five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant is having one of the best seasons of his 17-year career in the league.
Following a 36-point performance against the 76ers, Kobe continues to lead the league in scoring with 30.3 points per game. Along with lighting up the scoreboards on a nightly basis, Kobe has been extremely efficient with a career-high shooting percentage of 47 percent after the first 31 games.
At 34-years old, many believe Kobe’s days as an elite player in the NBA are quickly coming to an end, but the numbers show otherwise with the future Hall of Famer holding off father time for at least one more season.
On Wednesday, Kobe spoke with ESPN’s Colin Cowherd about the team and his impressive season thus far. Kobe believes his diet has played a big role in being able to continue playing at a high level at 34:
“I really watch it. I mean from lean meats and really cutting out all the sugars and you know just all the unnecessary things. A lot of it is balance. You don’t want to go too crazy about it, but you want to make sure you have a good balance.”
Leading the league in scoring ahead much younger players in their prime like Carmelo Anthony (29.2 ppg), Kevin Durant (28.5), LeBron James (26.3) and James Harden (26.1) is impressive to say the least. Although Kobe would almost certainly exchange his efficient numbers for a better record at this point in the season, the perennial All-Star continues to prove that he can still play with the best of the best in the NBA with no intentions of slowing down anytime soon.
