When it comes to talking about who the GOAT or the Greatest of all Time is, Kobe Bryant’s name is inevitable in the conversation. An 18-time All-star, 15-time All-NBA, season MVP, two-time MVP, and five-time champion to name a few, his achievements are the stuff of legend, inspiring players and fans alike.
To give you an idea of his 20-year greatness, here are the most insane stats of Kobe Bryant.
Defensive-minded
When we talk about Bryant scoring always comes into mind. From game-winners, clutch moments, impossible shots, and an 81-point outburst, his scoring was simply unstoppable from anywhere on the court.
Despite being the scoring dynamo that he is, his reputation in the league being elite isn’t just about his scoring. Unknown to most, he is an elite lockdown defender as well, something that he doesn’t get credit for too much.
A 12-time All-Defensive team selection, he is tied with Kevin Garnett with the second-most selections trailing Spurs legend Tim Duncan with 15 selections. A testament on how Bryant affects the game on the defensive end as much as the offensive.
Moreover, he is the franchise leader in total steals with 1,944 for the Lakers.
Shot-taker, miss maker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JkAJiRuTzk
As the undisputed alpha and go-to-guy in any offensive situation for the Lakers, it would be common sense to get Bryant the shots due to his scoring acumen. However, a higher volume of shots a player does, a higher volume of missed shots are inevitable no matter how skilled you may be.
Bryant attempted an astounding 26,200 field goals in his career, another Laker franchise record. With the boatload of shots he attempted in his 20-year career, he missed 14,481 buckets which gives him the franchise record and makes him the NBA all-time leader in missed field goals.
Not the prettiest of records to be known for, but it is pretty impressive nonetheless knowing how the defense collapses on a scorer as deadly as Bryant.
Franchise categories
It is hard to quantify the value of Kobe Bryant on how he played the game and affected everybody around him. For the Los Angeles Lakers franchise and its fans, he may arguably be the greatest Laker that ever lived. Once he left the hardwood for good, you knew a portion of the greatness that made the Lakers great was going to be missing.
Kobe Bryant is Laker greatness personified, literally and figuratively speaking. Being the franchise career leader in 16 categories like points, games played, and minutes played he will be etched in Laker mythology as the best to lace it up for the purple and gold.
Once upon a time
As a scorer, Bryant will not strike you as the three-point shooting kind of player. He is the deadliest when slashing to the rim or using his repertoire of footwork and fakes to get a good look from mid-range.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtfZeoFU0J0
Despite his reputation as a non-marksman, he owned the most three-point shots made in a game once upon a time. Before Steph Curry broke the record with 13 made three-pointers in a game in 2016, he torched the Seattle Supersonics with 12 on 2003.
He went ballistic from downtown hitting 12 of 18 shots. Uncharacteristically leaning towards the deep ball, he finished the game with 45-points, proving once again that he can light it up from anywhere if he chooses to.
Career odometer
As an NBA player, it is natural to be always in transit. In and out of planes, to road games, going back to home games, it is naturally taxing besides the rigors of the physical nature of basketball.
In his 20 seasons, Kobe Bryant has approximately an accumulated 1,056,976 miles of traveling via airplane. To put that figure into perspective, he could have gone to the moon and back twice with enough miles to spare.
Scoring, Scoring, and more scoring
Bryant was a vicious competitor with an otherworldly talent to just flat out score anywhere on the court. His road to being the NBA’s third All-time scoring leader was not easy. 33,643 points in a 20-year span looks like an insurmountable figure to most.
Five hundred eighteen 30-point games, ten 50-point games in a season, an 81-point game, and years of scoring are to describe his accomplishment.
In relation, never the one to take it easy, even on his last game, Bryant went out with a bang. Being the oldest to accomplish the feat at 37-years and 234 days-old, Bryant turned the clock back on the Utah Jazz scoring 60 points on his final game.
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