With Kobe Bryant's 20-year career coming to an end on Wednesday night, it's only fair to ask, what period of the Black Mamba's career was his best?

The five-time champion played 10 seasons each under two different jersey numbers—the first half of his career under the jersey No. 8 and the last half of his career under No. 24.

For perspective's sake, Bryant won his first three championships while wearing No. 8 from 2000 through 2002. It was also under this jersey number that he scored the second-most points in an NBA game, when he poured 81 in a win over the Toronto Raptors in 2006.

However, it was under the No. 24 jersey number that Bryant won his only MVP in 2007-08. It also during this era that Kobe established his legacy without Shaquille O'Neal, winning two more championships and his first Finals MVP awards during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons.

So which Kobe was truly better? Let's take a look at the numbers:

No. 8: 707 games, 35.7 MPG, 8.3-18.4 FGA, 23.7 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.6 BPG

No. 24: 638 games, 36.6 MPG, 9.1-20.6 FG, 26.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.9 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.3 BPG

The No. 8 version of Bryant was more athletic and was probably the peak of when Kobe was truly a dominant defender.

However, it was under the No. 24 jersey number that Bryant truly learned how to become a leader and he became a more well-rounded player despite his declining athleticism.

Having said that, with the good comes the bad. The No. 8 version of Bryant was a rookie still learning how to play the game and even shot airballs to win important games, such as this playoff matchup versus the Utah Jazz in 1997:

But then again, the current version of the Black Mamba is shooting airballs at a pretty consistent rate.

LA Times via Getty Images
LA Times via Getty Images

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The bottom line is this—the first half of Bryant's career is remarkably different from the last decade of his career.

When you take a look at his 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, it marks the evolution of Bryant as a raw high-school product into becoming a superstar, who would eventually learn how to lead a championship squad much later in his career.

Whether you think No. 8 or No. 24 was better, both eras defined brilliance of one of the greatest players of all time.

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