The Los Angeles Lakers came into this season with expectations that it would be a rebuilding year, but a recent article written by Michael Pina brings to light the notion that Kobe Bryant's farewell tour negatively affected the progression of the Lakers' young nucleus during the 2015-2016 NBA season.
Knowing that the Lakers would not be fortunate enough to compete for an NBA Championship this year, the primary focus of the franchise should have been placed on the development of the young and promising core they have established in D'Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, and Larry Nance Jr.
However, after beginning the year with a disappointing record of 2-14, the Mamba announced that this season would be his last. Inevitably, the theme of the Lakers' season dramatically shifted from focusing on the progression of their young core, to instead becoming a celebration of one of the greatest basketball players to ever step foot on a court.
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Before Kobe's epic 60 point finale against the Jazz on Wednesday night, Lakers' Head Coach Byron Scott admitted that “once [Kobe] decided to retire, I think all our focus started to change toward making sure that this could be as enjoyable as possible for him.”
Kobe Bryant finished the 2015-2016 season with the 4th highest usage percentage (32.2%) in the NBA, trailing only James Harden, DeMarcus Cousins and Steph Curry.
The Black Mamba shot just 35.8% from the field this season. According to NBA Basketball Refence, of all NBA players with at least 1000 attempts from the field in a season, the 35.8% field goal percentage is the lowest recorded percentage the league has seen since 1952.
Kobe also finished 452nd out of 462 players in Defensive Real Plus-Minus, a stat the measures how an entire team plays on defense while a given player is on the floor.
The young Lakers' players were forced to take a backseat after coming to the realization that the all-time legend who gave the franchise his heart and soul for 20 years was indeed retiring. In turn, the development of the young core was negatively affected. With the shadow of the Black Mamba hovering over them this season, they were never given the opportunity to fully take control of the reigns and build chemistry together playing with one another. Now that Kobe Bryant is no longer in the picture, the Lakers can shift their focus back to developing the talented young core of players they have on the roster.
It was definitely fun while it lasted, Kobe. But the time has now come for these young Lakers to show the city of Los Angeles what they are truly made of.
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