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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 VINCENT LAFORET/AFP via Getty Images) /

Ranking every Kobe Bryant season with the Lakers: 16. 1997-98

Bryant’s second season in the league. It was the first of his 18 All-Star selections in his career. He would have a positive impact on a Lakers team that finished the season 61-21 and made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals before losing to the Jazz.

He established himself as a two-way player and teams started to see the player he was about to blossom into. Looking into advanced stats his offensive rating was 108.8 and his defensive rating was 102.7, good for a +6.1 net-rating. It showed the positive impact he had for a stacked Lakers team that was starting to get ready for a dynasty two years later.

For the year Bryant would average 15.4 points on shooting splits of 42.1/34.1/79.4. He was third on the team in scoring behind Eddie Jones and Shaq. He was the top player off the bench, playing in 79 games at 26 minutes per night. His eFG% of 46.9% and TS% of 54.4% were both around the middle of the pack for his career.

The highlights of the season for Kobe would be when he was named the youngest All-Star starter in NBA history. It started his rise to popularity in the league. He also was the runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year award behind Danny Manning of the Phoenix Suns.

The fact that he was playing a key role on a contender at just 19 years old says all it needs too. Young Kobe was set to let the world know who he was. This was the stepping stone for what a great career he would end up turning in.

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