2. 2000: Ankle sprain in NBA Finals
This game took place against the Indiana Pacers, right in the middle of Shaquille O’Neil being a dominant force of nature that could not be contained. Kobe was 21 years old and starting to come into his own on the biggest stage.
Kobe went up for a jump shot on the right-wing, when Jalen Rose pulls a dirty move by undercutting Kobe, not giving him space to land; Zaza Pachulia has recently been guilty of this. The injury forced Kobe out of the game, even going on to miss Game 3, but taped up the ankle and gave it a go in Game 4.
The Lakers were sitting on a 2-1 series lead, with the only loss coming when Kobe was injured. The Lakers needed this victory to keep the Pacers at bay. Shaq fouled out in overtime, obliterating the Pacer front line with 36 points and 21 rebounds before being forced to the bench.
This is where Kobe stepped up and we started to see real glimpses of the “Black Mamba” on the NBA’s biggest stage. Kobe put Reggie Miller on skates for a clutch jumper, and iced the game on a tip-in from a Brian Shaw miss, effectively sealing the Pacers fate.
Kobe had this to say after the game:
The Lakers would end up winning the next game 116-111 behind 41 points from the “Shaq Diesel” to lock up banner number thirteen for the purple and gold, the first step to Kobe become the G.O.A.T. Laker.