Kobe Bryant‘s last season with the Los Angeles Lakers’ wasn’t always the prettiest, but his post game never faltered
Looking back on the season, the Kobe Bryant Farewell Tour was anything but traditional, in terms of what the word encapsulates for Kobe himself. Instead of seeing the Black Mamba dominate opponents with no mercy, fans instead saw a lighter side of Bryant on a nightly basis.
Letting his guard down mentally also led to a physical sort of “let up,” though not to make small of his 20 plus seasons of mileage, as Kobe often looked only like a shell of his former self. This is to say, last season may have accounted for more Bryant airballs than his entire two decade career.
But through it all, the one thing that never wavered was his ability to dominate with his footwork and patience in the post.
In an amazing seven minute compilation video, fans are able to see him operate from everywhere within ten feet of the basket, speaking to his belief that if he really wanted to continue playing into his forties and average 15 points a game, he probably could.
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Upon first watching the video, it appeared that KB24 favored posting up his defenders on the left hand side of the basket and fading over his right shoulder towards the baseline, but after rewatching it over and over his post game in reality has no tells. Attacking from both sides of the block, even dominating in the middle of the key, Kobe showed the ability to shoot over both shoulders with ease, even with what minimal lift he had left during his 20th season.
The general rule of thumb is that even if your athleticism falls off, a few things that should remain are your shot and decision making and Kobe seemed to reaffirm this.
Scoring over formidable defenders in the post on a nightly basis during his Farewell Tour, the most notable being LeBron James, it wouldn’t surprise me if we saw videos of Bean posting up pick up game defenders or campers in a similar fashion in the future.
Next: Lakers: Brandon Ingram Motivated by Winning ROTY
It’s easy to forget Kobe’s profound impact on the game and the Los Angeles Lakers specifically, but watching this should help remind you of just that.