1. Kobe Bryant 2010-16
Was there any doubt at all as you were going through this list that this was going to be the number one answer? Kobe Bryant easily lands in this spot, as even in his early 2010’s he was still playing elite basketball. Far removed from his early 2000’s days but it didn’t matter, Kobe stayed breaking hearts.
In the 2010-11 season, Bryant started the decade by coming off two straight championships. He continued playing dominate basketball, as he averaged 25.3 points per game on 45.1% shooting. He won the MVP of the All-Star game and was an All-Defensive and All-NBA first-team selection.
The same would go for the 2011-12 season as Bryant would make the All-NBA first team again. His defense was actually better then it was the year before but it landed him an All-Defensive second-team selection.
His points per game went up to 27.9, but he did it on less efficiency. He had a higher volume of shots and his eFG% and TS% were towards the bottom of his career numbers. Through it all, he was an All-Star again and still showed he could score with the best of them.
That leads into the 2012-13 season, Kobe was a different beast during the season. He willed the Lakers night in and night out to wins amid the Dwight Howard drama. He was clutch on any given night and he turned in one of the best seasons of his career. He showed at the age of 34 that he was still elite on both ends of the floor.
His eFG% was the highest of his career at 50.4% and his TS% was third highest at 57%. The story that tells the most truth is how bad the Lakers played without Bryant on the court. They had an offensive rating of 108.5 with him on and 99.4 with him off. He capped the season off with his last All-NBA first-team selection.
Unfortunately towards the end of that season, Bryant would tear his Achilles tendon against the Warriors. The rest of his career would head down the hill as he struggled to stay healthy.
He played three more seasons with the team and graded out very badly in each of them. It’s sad that Kobe had to go down with that injury as 2012-13 was an all-time clinic. He grabs the number one position and there was never a doubt.