The announcement drew a robust response, particularly from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. "With 17 NBA All-Star selections, an NBA MVP, five NBA championships with the Lakers, two Olympic gold medals and a relentless work ethic, Kobe Bryant is probably considered one of the greatest players in the historical past of our sport," Silver mentioned in a statement. "Whether competing in the finals or hoisting bounce pictures after midnight in an empty gym, Kobe has an unconditional love for the game."

Bryant’s career got here to an end in 2016 after spending 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe Bryant is as iconic as it will get in terms of the game of basketball and the NBA. Now, though departed for almost three and a half years, his legacy is still making an influence today. In today’s publish, we will focus on the rationale why Kobe Bryant is deserving of the honor of the duvet of NBA 2K24.

The Lakers swept the Utah Jazz within the second round and superior to the Western Conference Finals, where they confronted Phoenix Suns. In Game 2, Bryant finished the sport with 13 assists, setting a model new playoff profession high; it was essentially the most assists by a Laker in the playoffs since Magic Johnson had thirteen in 1996. The Lakers went on to win the series in six games capturing the Western Conference Championship and advancing to the NBA Finals for a 3rd straight season. Bryant gained his fifth championship and earned his second consecutive NBA Finals MVP award.

Bryant's performance all yr long earned him a spot on the NBA All-Rookie Second Team with fellow bench teammate Travis Knight. Bryant was born on August 23, 1978, in Philadelphia, the youngest of three youngsters and the only son of Pamela Cox Bryant and former NBA player Joe Bryant. He was also the maternal nephew of NBA player John "Chubby" Cox.

Bryant's play was notable and praised for his performance within the 4th quarter of games, particularly the last 2 rounds of the playoffs. This cemented Bryant's popularity as a "clutch player." Statistically, the 2000–01 season noticed Bryant perform equally to the previous 12 months, however he averaged 6 more factors a recreation (28.5). Once again he led the group in assists with 5 per game. The Lakers nonetheless, solely won fifty six video games, an 11-game drop off from last 12 months. They easily swept the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, and San Antonio Spurs, before dropping their first game in opposition to the Philadelphia 76ers in OT.

The Lakers were knocked out of the playoffs by Durant and Oklahoma City in the second round of the playoffs, shedding in five video games in what would be Bryant's ultimate playoff appearance. The road to the Finals would show a lot more durable than the document run the Lakers had enjoyed the earlier year. While the Lakers swept the Blazers and defeated the Spurs 4–1 within the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Lakers did not have home-court advantage in opposition to the Sacramento Kings. The collection would stretch to seven games, the first time this had occurred to the Lakers because the 2000 Western Conference Finals.

He was additionally the general league MVP in 2008.The accident shocked basketball fans and athletes from across the nation and around the world. Countless tributes have been held to honor Bryant, his daughter and the others killed within the crash. Bryant returned for the 2014–15 season, his nineteenth season with the Lakers, who had changed D'Antoni with Bryant's former Lakers teammate, Byron Scott.

It said in a preliminary report last year that the engines had been found close to the wreckage and showed "no evidence of an uncontained or catastrophic inner failure." Without the sudden boon of involvement from the sport's top gamers and Bryant’s iconic second, who is aware of if the Drew League would have survived to see 50 years. However, Smiley couldn’t have predicted how close the sport would be.