It isn't a stretch to say that we probably won't see another Kobe Bryant again.
When you think of the all of the amazing scoring outbursts and the will to win against all odds, No. 24 was truly a once-in-a-lifetime type of player. Now that he's officially retired, stories like this one from Andre Iguodala will only add to the Los Angeles Lakers‘ legend.
While Iguodala is now known as the lockdown defender on the defending champion Golden State Warriors, he was once upon a time a young Philadelphia 76er trying to make a name for himself in the NBA.
It was during his second season in the league in 2005-06 that he drew the assignment of guarding Bryant, who would be on his way to averaging 35.4 points per game for the year. During Philadelphia's first meeting with Los Angeles that season, Iguodala shut down Bryant as he struggled on 7-of-27 shooting for just 17 points.
Iguodala said that his favorite defensive matchup was against Bryant that year, via Marcus Thompson of the Mercury News:
“Kobe in his prime. It was on the front page of the paper (after I held him to 17 points on 7-for-27 shooting). After the game, Phil Jackson said it was the best he'd seen someone defend Kobe.”
However, when the Sixers visited Staples Center later that season, Bryant made a bold prediction—he would score 50 points on the second-year swingman.
“When the 76ers came to Los Angeles later that 2005-06 season, Kobe came by the Philadelphia locker room. Iguodala wasn't in there, but Kobe left a message.
‘Tell Andre 50 tonight,” Iguodala said, recalling the message relayed to him. “You know how much he got – 48.'”
For those that don't recall, that was the season in which Bryant scored 81 points on the Toronto Raptors and outscored the entire Dallas Mavericks team, 62-61, through three quarters of a game.
Holding 2005-06 Bryant to 48 points doesn't seem so bad when you really think about it.
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