There’s no more complex grade to hand out than this one on the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s so difficult to weed out the emotions of Kobe Bryant’s final season in the NBA and with this franchise and simply assess what he’s been able to do on the floor this season. In fact, I’d venture to say that it’s impossible to fully separate the Kobe Bryant farewell tour from Kobe the player in the 2015-16 season.
In terms of his actual performance, he’s played about like you would expect Bryant to play in with 20 seasons worth of miles and a slew of recent injuries on his 37-year-old legs. He’s been wildly inefficient, wildly frustrating, and entertaining nonetheless. There are a billion ways that he’s stunted the development of the young Lakers players when he’s on the floor with them, most notably getting the ball and not moving it. However, there have still been those moments of magic from Kobe.
I’m not even going to attempt to give Kobe a grade, though. Frankly, any grade doesn’t matter. This season after he announced his retirement stopped being about how he was playing in 2015-16 and started being about appreciating the player as he makes his exit out of the league after reaching legendary status. No grade can encompass all of that, so why even try?
Next: Jordan Clarkson