Kobe Bryant was the heart and soul of the Los Angeles Lakers for 20 seasons and whether he knew it or not, he was the heart and soul of the National Basketball Association during his career. In many ways, he still is. The tragic loss of Kobe Bryant still stings for many across the globe and will continue to do so for quite some time.
Lakers News: Kobe Byrant is inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
The Black Mamba was posthumously inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA on Friday along with two other NBA greats. Power forwards Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett both were inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame alongside Kobe Bryant with the official announcement coming on Saturday, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Duncan and Garnett were both famous playoff foes of Bryant and the Lakers. Tim Duncan’s Spurs played Kobe-led Lakers teams on six occasions, including twice in the Western Conference Finals (the Lakers won both matchups).
Kevin Garnett’s time with the Boston Celtics was another huge chapter in the rivalry with the Lakers playing them in the NBA Finals in both 2008 and 2010. As we know, the two teams split the matchups at one apiece.
Because the three players that were inducted have had careers that were so intertwined, we decided to take a look at the greatest playoff performances that Kobe Bryant had against the San Antonio Spurs while they had Tim Duncan and the Boston Celtics while they had Kevin Garnett. Expectedly, Bryant had countless terrific games which made it hard to choose from.