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

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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Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Ranking every Kobe Bryant season with the Lakers: 18. 2015-16

Kobe’s last season in the NBA came in the 2015-16 campaign. By 2015, he was on his farewell tour in his final season and wasn’t the player he once was. He struggled most of the year shooting the ball and seemed to be walking around every game with ice bags all over his body.

He tried as hard as he could night in and night out to play in every game so that fans could see him. He was able to play in 66 games that year and would average 17.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per night, playing 28.2 minutes per game.

His shooting splits were very dismal at 35.8/28.5/82.6 for the year. He seemed to have a lot of volume and there were plenty of nights the Lakers deferred to him so that he could get his points on certain nights.

Many nights graded out negatively on the court, but the team was very bad during the season and not many players had decent lines. It was Byron Scott’s second and last season with the Lakers as the team finished 17-65 and missed the playoffs for a third straight year.

On the court Kobe graded out with a 100.1 offensive rating and a 114.9 defensive rating, that stands out as a -13.8 net-rating. The team had an offensive rating of 99.7 with Bryant on the bench so he still had an impact in season 20. But their defense was a lot better with Bryant off the floor, but that was to be expected at this point in his career.

Of course the highlight of the season was the final game of his career. The last game of the season a beat-up Bryant that could barely walk dropped 60 points and hit the game-winner. The entire Staples Center was going nuts and it capped off a Hall of Fame career. He also played in the 18th All-Star game of his career.

I will never forget watching this game and just knowing every shot down the stretch was going to go in. I kept thinking to myself there is no way the basketball Gods don’t let Kobe pull this out on such a historic night. Truly a treat to watch and something many of us will remember our whole lives.

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