The last time Kobe Bryant played a full (or relatively full) season, he completed one of his most impressive seasons.
Where ESPN had ranked him number six coming into the season and number seven coming into the previous season, Kobe put on an absolute show and even ended up fifth in MVP voting for the 2012-2013 season.
Obviously team performance is factored into that award and the Lakers barely made the playoffs that season, but Kobe’s level of play was just behind that of LeBron James’ and Kevin Durant’s (who were number one and number two respectively) in my view.
He shot lights out at the start within the confines of the Princeton offense, altered his game after the All-Star break to become more of a play-maker, and put on display plenty of highlight-worthy dunks in the process — all in an effort to help the Lakers make the playoffs, which they eventually did.
Of course I’m a biased Lakers fan, but I’d only concede that perhaps his level of play was on par with that of Chris Paul (who finished fourth in MVP voting), but not below it. Carmelo Anthony came in third in MVP voting that season, after putting up a career-high 28.7 points per game. For edification, Kobe averaged 27.3 points, 6.0 assists, and 5.6 rebounds that season.
Regardless of whether Kobe finished that season as the third best or fifth best player in the league, two things were certain:
1. He was undoubtedly still a top-five player in the NBA no matter how you sliced it.
2. He was still the undisputed top shooting guard in the league, even after 17 years of professional play.
Kobe had proved plenty of doubters wrong and his level of play earned him the nickname “Vino,” as he was seemingly getting better with age.
Unfortunately, the limits to which he pushed his body towards the end of the season caught up with him as he suffered three injuries in one game — the last one being a devastating Achilles tendon tear.
The tear would keep Kobe out until the following season, where he finally returned only to suffer a fractured leg, which limited him to just six games during his 18th season.
I recently wrote an article on how Kobe managed to outwork, out-perform, and outlast some of his “peers” such as Tracy McGrady, Vince Cater, and Allen Iverson over the course of his career.
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I explained how he put separation between himself and the other All-Stars he came into the league with, and how his ability to remain competitive with some of the current superstars in their primes (LeBron James, Kevin Durant, etc.) further cemented his legacy. I also explained how although his legacy in the league has already been cemented, he has nothing to lose going forward. Essentially, no one would blame Bryant for not being the same player he was, entering his 19th season and coming off of two serious injuries.
However, Bryant has something to gain if he somehow manages to play at an elite level in lieu of those factors, which I believe he will.
This brings us to another subject:
James Harden recently declared that he’s the best all-around basketball player in the NBA.
Harden must have forgotten that LeBron James also plays in the NBA, and is a pretty good all-around basketball player himself.
Anyway, Harden followed that statement up by saying he was trying to catch LeBron, Durant, and Kobe and that he couldn’t really back up his claim until he had won multiple rings.
Regardless, Harden sparked some controversy and conversation, so here’s my declaration:
I venture to say that James Harden won’t even be the best shooting guard next season, as that title belongs to Kobe Bryant until proven otherwise.
Although Kobe might see more time as a small forward next season or even considering the fact that the distinction between the two positions is seemingly becoming less and less clear and/or important, Kobe’s main responsibilities will include scoring the basketball and setting up his teammates — which are characteristics of a shooting guard.
So, why am I so certain that Kobe Bryant will remain the top shooting guard in the league when James Harden is a star on the rise and Dwyane Wade will be asked to do more for his team following the departure of LeBron James?
Let’s break down their recent performances, first.
[divide]Lakers News: Kobe Bryant Admits He Won’t Be The Same Player
Let’s begin by breaking down Kobe’s last full season (2012-2013) played compared with Harden and Wade’s most recent ones:
Kobe Bryant: 27.3 points, 6.0 assists, 5.6 rebounds, 50.4 percent eFG%
James Harden: 25.8 points, 5.8 assists, 4.9 rebounds, 50.4 percent eFG%
Dwyane Wade: 21.2 points, 5.1 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 52.8 percent eFG%
Taking a look at each player’s PER from the 2012-2013 season, Wade (24.0) actually had the highest when compared to Kobe (23.0) and Harden (23.0).
What exactly does that mean? It means that stats and advanced stats don’t always tell the whole story. Neither of those two (Harden or Wade) were legitimately considered in the MVP race in 2012-2013, although some of their stats and advanced stats were in the same range as Kobe’s and some were even better than the Black Mamba’s. Wade obviously had the MVP playing alongside him, which didn’t help his case.
Last season (2013-2014), Harden improved his PER to 23.5 and Wade held one of 22.0. Kobe held a PER of just 10.7 in six games coming off the Achilles tear. Kobe has since had time to fully condition and get healthy and has said that he’s 100 percent going into next season — although his game will have to evolve as he’s an older player with more limitation on his athletic ability following the injuries.
Defensively, in Kobe’s last full season, he held a defensive rating of 107, whereas Harden (107) and Wade (106) held similar ratings last season.
Those numbers don’t always tell the full story, either, and it’s often hard to measure defensive effectiveness. Harden, however, is notoriously known as a sub-par defender whereas Kobe possesses solid defensive ability, but at his age is unable to exert the required amount of effort to consistently lock players down.
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Just for argument’s sake, however, in Kobe’s 2012-2013 campaign, he held opponents’ PERs at the shooting guard position to 12.8 while Harden’s opponents held an average PER of 13.9 and Wade’s held an average of 14.2 last season.
Klay Thompson: 18.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 53.3 percent eFG%
Bradley Beal: 17.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 47.9 percent eFG%
Those stats are solid for a couple of younger players on the rise, but they are not quite on the same overall level of Kobe, Harden and Wade.
Additionally, Thompson (14.7) and Beal’s (14.3) PERs are nowhere in the same range as the aforementioned three players. Using the opponents’ PER method for measuring defensive abilities, Thompson held counterparts’ PERs to 12.4, which is the lowest among any of the players in this discussion.
Now for the case in favor of Kobe Bryant remaining the best shooting guard in the league.
[divide]Lakers News: Kobe Bryant Admits He Won’t Be The Same Player
Even if you concede that Kobe was the best two-guard in the league during the 2012-2013 season, how will he remain so when James Harden is only getting better and Dwyane Wade may very well come back with a vengeance after losing in the NBA Finals and losing the best player on his team?
Well, first of all, he’s Kobe Bryant. He’s accepted every challenge he’s been faced with and conquered every obstacle put in his path. However, the recent injuries, cumulative miles on his body, and the unstoppable clock of Father Time are certainly not in Kobe’s favor.
At the same time, he’s virtually had a year and a half of rest, minus those six games played last season. While there will certainly be rust, hopefully the nagging injuries are gone and hopefully some of the daily rigors that take a toll on an athlete’s body were alleviated with the time off.
Mentally, the Black Mamba is likely seeing the end of the tunnel and geared up to finish off the last two seasons of his career with a purpose.
Some may say that Kobe won’t even be playing as much at the shooting guard position, which is true.
In Kobe’s last full season, he played two-thirds of his time on the floor as a shooting guard, while the remaining one-third was played at the small forward position. It’s possible that we’ll see Kobe split time evenly at the two positions.
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However, when playing as a shooting guard and matched up against other two-guards, Kobe will have the advantage offensively as he likes to back players like Wade and Harden down and utilize his exceptional footwork. The limited time spent chasing around guards on the defensive end while he’s matching up with small forwards should also help conserve energy for when he does match up with the young shooting guards of the league, as he’ll be fresher.
However, regardless of what position he’s playing, Kobe still has the best footwork of any basketball player in the game, and his post game is among the best in the league — if not the best, even among centers and power forwards.
That is one thing Kobe has over any player in the league, and certainly possesses over the likes of James Harden and Dwyane Wade.
The guy is just a natural born scorer, and can find numerous ways to best his opponent.
He may not be shooting the ball as freely or as frequently as he did in the past, which may reduce his points per game, but I believe his shots will be more wisely selected and he’ll certainly continue to dissect opponents’ defensive schemes and set the table for his teammates.
That brings us to another thing that Kobe does better than most players in the league. Whereas Harden and Wade are excellent play-makers while handling the ball, Kobe has the ability to do that as well, but also is exceptional at collapsing defenses in the post and creating plays for slashers and/or big men on the weak side of the floor. With Pau Gasol gone, I anticipate him taking on more responsibility of acting as a hub down low.
When it comes to truly having an all-around game in terms of being able to score from outside, score from mid-range, score from inside, pass from outside, pass from mid-range, pass from inside, post-up, play within a system, play off-ball, rebound the ball, hound players on the perimeter and get physical with players in the post, there are not many other players out there who can rival what the Black Mamba is capable of.
No, he may not exhibit all of those skills exceptionally well in one game or even in one season, but he certainly possesses the skills to do so. He simply works on parts of his game in which he knows he’ll be better suited to take advantage of and be efficient with against his opponents. For example, in the upcoming season, Kobe realizes he’s going to need to become more of a play-maker from inside the post and also the mid-range. Additionally, he’ll handle the ball a lot more in the post and score closer to the basket and in the mid-range area, but perhaps his outside scoring will come more from off-ball movement rather than from gaining separation from an opponent as a result of shaking him with flashy handles.
So, there is is. That’s my case for why Kobe Bryant will remain the best shooting guard in the league.
Maybe he won’t. Maybe he’ll never be as productive of a player again and some of the other shooting guards will finally surpass him.
Even if he doesn’t, just the fact that he will be in the conversation coming into his 19th season at age 36 is a remarkable feat in itself. When comparing him to some of the all-time greats, even if Kobe is able to be just 75 percent of what he was two years ago and remain healthy, he’ll have one of the most productive lengthy careers in NBA history.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar saw his production decline significantly in his 18th season (of 20 remarkable seasons), and Karl Malone saw his level of play decline considerably in his 19th and final season (which was filled with injuries limiting him to about half the games of the season). Among guards, if Kobe can retain a certain level of play for the next two seasons, he’ll finish his career off as having the most productive lengthy career in the history of the NBA (Michael Jordan only played 15 seasons due to multiple retirements and baseball).
But, maybe Kobe’s body won’t hold up and he won’t be able to produce like he has in the past. Maybe he won’t even be the second- or third-best shooting guard in the NBA anymore. Maybe he’ll even drop to the rank ESPN gave him prior to last season — 25th.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned to not do over the years, which plenty of critics seemingly have not learned yet, even after being proven wrong countless times by Mr. Vino, it is one thing:
Never bet against Kobe Bryant.
[divide]Lakers News: Kobe Bryant Admits He Won’t Be The Same Player