1. What if Kobe Bryant didn’t tear his Achilles in 2013?
It was no secret that Kobe Bryant was nearing the end of his legendary career in 2013 but with how well the Black Mamba was playing, many believed that he still has plenty in the gas tank and could potentially tie Michael Jordan in championships if the right team came around him in his final years on the court.
Kobe was playing excellent in the 20122013 season, essentially willing a not-so-talented Lakers team to the NBA Playoffs. He was averaging 27.3 points, 6.0 assists and 5.6 rebounds and had the best effective field-goal percentage of his entire career.
Then his season was taken away from him, and so were the following great seasons that would have followed. In the 80th game of the season, Bryant ruptured his Achilles in a freak accident, essentially ending the Lakers’ aspirations of making another title run and putting an end to the dominant Kobe that we watched for over a decade.
Kobe played only six games the following season, 35 the season after that and then 66 games in his final season. He was not the same player. While he was still the most beloved player on the court, he lacked the same intensity that he had prior to that Achilles injury.
This injury not only took away the Lakers’ title chances, even if they were relatively small, but took away an opportunity for the team to contend in the following years with more great seasons from Bryant.
The Kobe-less Lakers got swept in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs.