Kobe Bryant Career in 2003 - 2008

In the summer of 2003, after six years of meticulously cultivating a spotless image and building a seemingly indestructible empire of endorsements and outside business interests, Kobe was accused of sexual assault by a 19-year-old girl in Colorado. The alleged attack occurred while Kobe was at a resort near Vail, where he was waiting to have surgery performed on his right knee. Kobe acknowledged that the two engaged in sex, but contended it was consentual. It was a humiliating and very public downfall. And though the case crumbled before going to trial (and was settled out of court), Kobe and his marketing appeal took a death blow. The episode stretched his marriage to the breaking point.

Despite the ongoing distraction of Kobe’s case, there was basketball to be played. The Lakers went into 2003-04 loaded for bear. Along with Kobe and Shaq, the team also featured future Hall of Famers Gary Payton and Karl Malone. LA started fast, winning 20 of their first 25 games. The Mailman missed some time with a knee injury, but the team soldiered on, finishing strong with 14 victories in their final 17 games. They edged the Kings for the Pacific Division title, with their single-game margin coming courtesy of Kobe. He tied the clinching game against the Blazers at the buzzer, and then won it with another buzzer-beater in double overtime. He averaged 24.0 points per game on the season.

With two frustrating misses after three straight championships, Kobe felt stifled as third banana to Jackson and O’Neal. He did not have to wait long, however, to make the Lakers “his” team. Jackson resigned as coach after the seson and O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant. With Chucky Atkins at the point and Chris Mihm stepping into the pivot, Kobe was suddenly the only holdover from the starting five that had made it to the 2004 NBA Finals.

The highlight of '04-05 was probably the first meeting between the Lakers and Heat, on Christmas Day. Kobe hit for 42 and helped LA build a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter. But Miami stormed back to tie the game and then won in overtime. It was one of 48 losses the Lakers suffered on the way to a mind-blowing last-place finish in the Pacific Division.

LA assembled an interesting supporting cast for Kobe in 2006-07, but injuries kept the team from flourishing. Still, with Kobe leading the club in points and assists, and Odom chipping in around 10 boards a night, the Lakers were winning consistently enough to stay near the top of the Pacific Division. The team was within striking range of the first-place Suns until it hit a February losing skid. A rumored deadline deal for Jason Kidd fell through when the Lakers refused to part with teenage center Andrew Bynum.

Kobe put his stamp on the season during the All-Star Game in February. Going head-to-head with LeBron James on several first-half possessions, he looked intense from the opening tip-off and finished with 31 points, six assists, six steals and five rebounds. The West won 153-132 and Kobe was named MVP.

The rest of the year did not go as well, at least for the Lakers. The team finished 42–40, the worst record of Jackson’s coaching career. They did make the playoffs, but were eliminated again by the Suns in the first round.

Kobe, however, led the NBA in scoring again with 31.6 points per game. He did this on the strength of a monstrous March surge. With the Lakers mired in a long losing streak, Kobe exploded for 65 points against Portland. The T-Wolves came to town, and he dropped 50 on them. The Lakers next took the court in Memphis, where Kobe totaled 60 points on the Grizzlies’ defense. Incredibly, he netted 50 against the Hornets the next day.

Kobe had nothing left to prove except that he could take a team to the NBA Finals without Shaq. After off-season rumblings from Kobe that he wanted to be traded, the Lakers vowed to build a decent team around him in 2007–08. Los Angeles made good on itss prommise when it dealt for Pau Gasol to join Bynum and Odom in the frontcourt. The feel around the locker room was different going all the way back to training camp. This was a different Lakers teams. Slowly, quietly, Los Angeles knit into a winning unit.

Kobe Bryant, 2006 Total

                         

           

Unfortunately, prospects for a championship run dimmed somewhat after Kobe blew out the little finger on his shooting hand in a February game. He decided to put off the delicate surgery and deal with the pain.

Kobe played in all 82 games nonetheless and scored 28 a night He . Although his numbers across the board were far from his best, he had fully matured into a veteran leader on the floor. The Lakers finished with 57 victories and the Pacific Division title. Kobe was an easy choice for MVP. Had an average player been in his situation, the team’s 57–25 record could easily have been reversed.

Kobe continued his MVP performance in the playoffs, as the Lakers swept the Nuggets. Kobe scored 49 points in Game 2. He closed out Denver with 14 points in the final five minutes of a 107–101 victory in Game 4.

Next up were the Jazz. The Lakers took the first two games in Los Angeles, and the Jazz evened the series in Utah. Gasol and Odom came up big in Game 5 to give the Lakers a series edge. The Lakers thenfinished off the Jazz in Game 6, winning by two but having led virtually the entire way. Kobe scored 34 in the victory.

Most experts figured the Spurs would give the Lakers problems, and they did—for about 24 minutes. San Antonio opened up a 20-poin t lead in the first half of Game 1, but Kobe scored 25 in the second half of a stirring 89–85 victory. The teams split the next two games before Los Angeles took control with a narrow win at home. Kobe missed an ill-advised shot that gave the Spurs a chance to win at the buzzer, but the Lakers survived. They won the series two days later, as Kobe netted 17 points in the final quarter of Game 5.

Kobe had proven he could lead a team to the NBA Finals by himself. The final hurdle was the Boston Celtics, a team built to derail a club like the Lakers. Veteran superstars Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen simply proved too much for Los Angeles.

The Celtics won the first two games in Boston and split the next two in California. Kobe scored 36 in a Game 3 win, his best output for the series. He had a poor shooting night in Game 5, but made a nice defensive play to save a victory and narrow Boston’s series lead to 3–2. This just delayed the inevitable as the Celtics humiliated Kobe and his teammates in Game 6, 131–92.

That painful loss became a distant memory for Kobe during the 2008 Summer Games in China. Kobe headlined the newest version of the Dream Team, happily sharing time with LeBron and Dwyane Wade. The Americans rolled through the tournament, blowing out opponents on the strength of tough defense and an unstoppable fast break.

Kobe played well throughout the Olympics, but he put his stamp on Team USA with a scintillating performance down the stretch of the gold medal game against Spain. After the Spainards cut America's lead to 91-89, coach Mike Krzyzewski called a timeout to settle his squad. Kobe responded with a short jumper, assisted on a 3-pointer by Deron Williams, and then set up Wade for a monster jam. Kobe scored 13 in the fourth quarter, as the U.S. captured its first gold since 2002 with a 118-107 victory. Kobe—nicknamed "Flying Little Warrior" by adoring Chinese fans—lived up to the billing.