Rap is the most obvious source of pregame confidence, however we borrow confidence from many sorts of art. That might imply athletes picturing themselves as Batman or Heath Ledger’s Joker after they step onto the field, very like Bryant did on the evening he scored 61 factors in opposition to the New York Knicks in February 2009. Bryant told the Knuckleheads podcast in 2019 that watching The Dark Knight inspired him to enter “Garden Mode”—a nod to the Knicks’ legendary residence arena, Madison Square Garden.

The Lakers completed the season at 45–37, good for seventh in the West. Playing with out Bryant, the Lakers have been swept in four video games by the San Antonio Spurs in the first spherical of the playoffs. Bryant obtained experimental platelet-rich plasma therapy called Orthokine in Germany to deal with the ache on his left knee and ankle, and Mike Brown replaced the retired Phil Jackson as coach of the Lakers in the offseason. Bryant started the season taking half in with an injured wrist. On January 10, 2012, Bryant scored 48 factors towards the Suns, probably the most ever by a player in his sixteenth season. "Not dangerous for the seventh-best player within the league," stated Bryant, referring to a preseason ESPN ranking of the NBA's high players.

He can be the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history. Since his second year in the league, Bryant has been chosen to start each NBA All-Star Game that has been held in the last fourteen years. He has won the All-Star MVP Award four times , tying him for essentially the most All Star MVP Awards in NBA historical past. He is a 14-time member of the All-NBA group and an 12-time member of the All-Defensive staff; he's also the youngest player ever to obtain defensive honors. At the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, he received gold medals as a member of the USA national team.

Collect an impressive array of legends and construct your good lineup in MyTEAM. Relive your favorite eras as a GM or Commissioner in MyNBA. Experience next-level gameplay and lifelike visuals along with your favourite NBA and WNBA teams in PLAY NOW. At the age of six, basketball became a half of my nature.

During the season, Bryant signed a six-year contract extension worth $70 million. The all-time leading scorer in Lakers historical past, Bryant was the primary guard in NBA historical past to play 20 seasons. His 18 All-Star designations are the second most all time, and he has the second most consecutive appearances as a starter.

He’s additionally the youngest scoring champion ever after his spectacular 2009–10 campaign when he led all scorers at just 21 years old. Kobe Bryant wrote a 2017 piece for The Players Tribune entitled "Obsession is Natural". In that first-person article, Bryant talked about how he 'obsessively hunted' Allen Iverson after AI frustrated him after a regular season game in Philadelphia.

As a result, Bryant's level averages greater than doubled from 7.6 to 15.four factors per recreation. Bryant would see an increase in minutes when the Lakers "performed small", which might feature Bryant playing small forwardalongside the guards he would normally again up. Bryant was the runner-up for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award, and through fan voting, he additionally grew to become the youngestNBA All-Star starter in NBA history. He was joined by teammates O'Neal, Van Exel, and Jones, making it the first time since 1983 that 4 players on the same staff have been selected to play in the identical All-Star Game.

He would come right as much as you in the course of the handshake and tell you he didn’t such as you and that he was going to destroy you. Seriously, he wouldn’t just say it within the pregame, he would say it in the warmth of battle. He’d say, “I can’t consider they’re placing you on me. And whenever you had that seed of doubt in opposition to Kobe, it was over. On Thursday, it was introduced the iconic Los Angeles Laker and Hall of Famer can be featured on two different versions of the NBA2K24 cowl. Bryant’s cover resume extends beyond “2K.” He was the star of “Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside,” which debuted in 1998 for the Nintendo sixty four.