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Los Angeles Lakers: Ranking all 20 seasons of Kobe Bryant’s illustrious career

By Justin Hickey

LOS ANGELES - JANUARY 22: Kobe Bryant #8 of the Los Angeles Lakers points in the air in a game he scored 81 points in against the Toronto Raptors on January 22, 2006 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2006 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES - JANUARY 22: Kobe Bryant #8 of the Los Angeles Lakers points in the air in a game he scored 81 points in against the Toronto Raptors on January 22, 2006 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2006 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Ranking every Kobe Bryant season with the Lakers: 19. 1996-97

Another one of the easier choices of this article. Kobe’s rookie season was one that didn’t feature him as a top option. He played in 15.5 minutes per night, he only made six starts that season in 71 games.

The Lakers were coming off of a 53 win season in which they made the playoffs, but lost in the first round in the 1995-96 season. So Kobe being 18 years old figured to take a back seat to a veteran team eyeing a deep playoff run.

The team featured Shaquille O’Neal, Eddie Jones, Nick Van Exel, Jerome Kersey and Elden Campbell leading the way. Kobe played very well at times during the season. In his spot starts he scored 12, 19, 10, 19, 20 and seven respectively. In those games he shot 30-of-67 combined which was good for 44.8 percent from the field, he also shot 36 percent from 3-pointer.

On the season he averaged 7.6 points per game on shooting splits of 41.7/37.5/81.9. That’s not bad for an 18-year-old coming straight out of high school into the NBA to a team that had championship aspirations on their mind.

Looking into the advanced stats that year Bryant fared quite well. His offensive rating was below average at 101.9 but his defensive rating came out to above average at 99.9, so he finished with a positive net-rating of two. His eFG% was 47.7% and his TS% was 54.4, which were around the bottom in terms of his career.

The Lakers would go on to win 56 games under Del Harris during the season and ultimately lose in the second round to the Utah Jazz in five games. Kobe would average 8.2 points per game on shooting splits of 38.2/26.1/86.7.

Doing this at 18 years old is a feat itself. The highlight of the year would be impressing the judges and winning the Slam Dunk Title. He put on a good show for the fans and judges.

Somewhere along the line in his rookie season Kobe earned Shaq’s respect. The guy had confidence like no other!

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