No one has ever doubted Kobe Bryant’s toughness. Take a look at last season when, when the Lakers most desperately needed a win, Bryant played more than 42 minutes his final seven games of the season. He’s grown a reputation as an iron man of the league,
NBA GMs noticed and on Tuesday, the annual NBA GMs survey was released. While Laker appearances were few and far between for the most part, Bryant still took home the title of NBA’s toughest player. Bryant’s 31% total in the category was far and away the most, with Indiana Pacers big man David West coming in second with 13% of the vote.
Bryant also appeared on the list as the 2nd-ranked shooting guard in the league to James Harden, though by a wide margin (56.7% to Harden, 20.0% to Bryant). He also finished second in player who best creates his own (Durant first at 33.3%, Bryant with 26.7%), tied for fifth in highest basketball IQ, and was second again to Durant in who GMs would want to take the last shot with the game on the line. He also received votes for best leader.
A few other Lakers made cameos on the list, with Nash finishing 4th in player most likely to become a head coach, 3rd in best passer rankings, 2nd in basketball IQ, and also received votes in the player makes the most of limited natural ability category.
Mike D’Antoni did finish in the top of coaching rankings, finishing tied for fourth in the poll of coaches who run the best offense.