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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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Ranking every Kobe Bryant season with the Lakers: 13. 2011-12

Another season that included an NBA lockout that shortened the season to 66 games. The team brought on Mike Brown to coach the team after Phil Jackson retired from coaching and the team struggled to get going early. Eventually going 41-25 on the year, they would be bounced by a young explosive OKC Thunder team.

Bryant was 33 years old and although he wasn’t the young athletic player he used to be, he found ways to be successful and change his game. He averaged 27.9 points per game, 5.4 rebounds per game and 4.6 assists per game. His offensive rating was the lowest since his rookie year at 104.8, while his defensive rating was 102.1, good for a +2.7 net-rating.

The team struggled with Kobe off the court for the year registering a 101.3 offensive rating which was a -3.5 difference. Showing that he was still very valuable to the team’s success.

He turned it up a notch in the playoffs as he would go on to average 30 points per game. Little did we know that this would be the last time we would see Bryant in the playoffs. His last game vs. OKC that year he lit them up for 42 points hitting shot-after-shot going 18-33 on the night.

That series OKC would win in five games but Bryant would average 31.2 points per game on 42.6% shooting. The Lakers did not catch a good draw as they looked to be a lot slower and were outplayed by OKC in many facets of the game.

Bryant didn’t take it too lightly that he was voted seventh-best player in the league. He often went out and played with a chip on his shoulder to prove the doubters wrong.

Bryant enjoyed many highlights this season including his 14th All-Star game, 10th All-NBA first-team selection and third All-Defensive second-team selection. He also enjoyed a streak of scoring 40 or more points in four straight games.

Playing in the All-Star game, he went on to pass Michael Jordan’s all-time scoring mark. In the same game, he suffered a broken nose and a concussion from Dwyane Wade who made it infamous.

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