Ranking every Kobe Bryant season with the Lakers: 15. 1998-99
Kobe’s third season in the league, he continued to show the growth he was displaying in the NBA. It was also the first season of his career that he would establish himself as a starter. The season was cut short due to the NBA lockout, with only 50 games played, Bryant started all 50.
The Lakers would go through three coaches this season which included Del Harris, Bill Bertka and Kurt Rambis, although Bertka was only interim for one game. The team would finish 31-19 and would make it to the second round of the playoffs before getting swept by the San Antonio Spurs.
Bryant enjoyed success in the starting lineup, playing in 37.9 minutes per night, he would average 19.9 points per night. He also bumped up his rebounds per game to 5.3 per night and assists to 3.8 per night. He was expanding his game and at the age of 20 he was entering the talks of becoming a star in the league.
Bryant would post-shooting splits of 47.5/26.7/83.9, he would struggle from 3-point range but his volume wasn’t very high only shooting two per night. His offensive rating was 105.2 and his defensive rating was 102.6, that was good for a +2.6 net-rating. That number was lower than his previous season but the team battled through numerous changes this season.
The highlight of this season would come when Bryant was named to his first All-NBA team. After the season he was named to the All-NBA third team. It would set him up into being a superstar and would be the last time he wasn’t voted as an All-Star in his career.