Kobe Bryant turned 36 on Saturday, making the Mamba another year wiser. Bryant is entering his 18th season in the NBA, having spent all 18 with the Los Angeles Lakers. Let us have a peek at Bryant’s accomplishments so far in his lustrous career:
5× NBA champion (2000–2002, 2009–2010)
2× NBA Finals MVP (2009–2010)
NBA Most Valuable Player (2008)
16× NBA All-Star (1998, 2000–2014)
4× NBA All-Star Game MVP (2002, 2007, 2009, 2011)
11× All-NBA First Team (2002–2004, 2006–2013)
2× All-NBA Second Team (2000–2001)
2× All-NBA Third Team (1999, 2005)
9× NBA All-Defensive First Team (2000, 2003–2004, 2006–2011)
3× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2001–2002, 2012)
NBA All-Rookie Second Team (1997)
NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion (1997)
2× NBA scoring champion (2006–2007)
Los Angeles Lakers all-time leading scorer
Naismith Prep Player of the Year (1996)
Mind boggling, right?
Another milestone that Kobe could potentially accomplish this season is pass Michael Jordan on the all-time scoring list, barring injuries. Bryant only needs 592 points to pass Jordan, and he is one of the very few to be compared to Michael, so it would only be fitting.
As we all know, Kobe Bryant has worn two jersey numbers throughout his career with the Lakers - number 8 and 24. Which one will he retire? That remains to be seen.
Right now, father time is catching up with Bryant in a hurry due to a couple of major injuries. Two years ago, Bryant suffered one of the worst injuries in sports - a torn achilles. After recovering from that injury, Bryant came back and played six games, only to reinjure himself. This time, he broke a bone in his knee.
Time is not on Kobe Bryant's side as his window to win yet another championship is closing, leaving us with one question.
Can Kobe Bryant carry the Los Angeles Lakers to a champion one last time in the coming seasons before he calls it quits? We shall see in the near future.
Nevertheless, Kobe Bryant has certainly had an amazing career and will go down as a Hall of Fame player.