Ranking Kobe Bryant’s Best NBA Finals Performances

One of the greatest champions in the history of the NBA is Kobe Bryant. The Los Angeles Lakers won five championships between 2000 and 2010, with Bryant being a key player for all of those teams. While Bryant was a two-time Finals MVP, there were times when Bryant always looked like the best player on the court. Without Bryant, the Lakers would not have been in the position to be a championship-contending team for so long.

Bryant qualified for the NBA Finals seven times and finished with a 5-2 record. The surrounding cast of Shaquille O’Neal, Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher, and others certainly helped, but Bryant’s play was always consistent. With his appearances in the Finals, some stood out above the rest. We are going to take a look at those now and rank Bryant’s NBA Finals appearances.

Here are the best NBA Finals performances by Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.

2000 NBA Finals

NBA Finals Series Result: Lakers vs. Pacers 4-2

At the time, Bryant was a young pup but was easily the second-best player on the team. Luckily, the best player on the team was the league MVP. After taking the regular season award, Shaquille O’Neal snagged the Finals MVP Award by averaging 38.0 points, 16.7 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks during the series. Bryant averaged 15.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.4 blocks. His 90.9% free-throw shooting led the team, but he was forced to miss one game of the series due to injury.

Bryant was not a team leader in many categories during the series. He led the team with five assists during the 120-118 overtime win in Game 3. Other than that, the team rode O’Neal as far as he could take them. With that said, others like Ron Harper, Derek Fisher, Glen Rice, and Rick Fox stepped up to help the team put the Pacers away.

2004 NBA Finals

NBA Finals Series Result: Lakers vs. Pistons 1-4

The Lakers were back in the NBA Finals after falling to the San Antonio Spurs in 2003 in the playoffs. The Pistons were seen as the underdogs, but the Pistons came out swinging big. That was evident when the team clamped down defensively with an 87-75 victory in Game 1. Bryant led the team to their lone victory in the series with 33 points in a 99-91 overtime victory in Game 2.

Bryant was held to 11 points and 4 of 13 shooting in an 88-68 Game 3 loss. He followed that by shooting 32% in Game 4 with 20 points in the 88-80 loss. The Pistons closed out the series 100-87 in Game 5, where Byrant led the team with 24 points. Bryant averaged 22.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.8 steals. He also shot a horrid 17.4% from three-point range.

2008 NBA Finals

NBA Finals Series Result: Lakers vs. Celtics 2-4

With a core of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen, the Celtics won their first championship since 1986. For the Lakers, the team cashed in on a midseason trade for Pau Gasol. Bryant was denied his first championship since 2002 with O’Neal. The Lakers dropped their first two games despite Bryant leading the Lakers in scoring with 24 and 30 points, respectively.

The Lakers roared back to take the third game 87-81 thanks to 36 points from Bryant. The Celtics pushed the lead to 3-1 in Game 4, but the Lakers used 25 points and five steals from Bryant to steal the fifth game 103-98. In the final game, Bryant scored 22 points in a blowout loss 131-92. For the series, Bryant averaged 25.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.7 steals in 43.0 minutes per game. That included shooting 40.5% from the field, 32.1% from three-point range, and 79.6% from the free-throw line.

2001 NBA Finals

NBA Finals Series Result: Lakers vs. 76ers 4-1

Allen Iverson scored 48 points in the first game to lead the 76ers to a win. It looked like Iverson was going to pull a Shaq from 2000 by winning MVP and Finals MVP. However, the Lakers rattled off four consecutive wins. That included two strong games from Bryant to get the ball rolling. Bryant led the Lakers to a 98-89 victory in Game 2 with 31 points. He followed that with 32 points in a 96-91 win in Game 3.

Bryant took a backseat to O’Neal in the next two games in scoring. Bryant did contribute nine assists in the 100-86 Game 4 victory and then tied with Fox to lead the team in assists (6) in a 108-96 victory in Game 5. O’Neal took the Finals MVP Award with 33.0 points, 15.8 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks in five games. Both O’Neal and Bryant averaged over 45 minutes of playing time. In Bryant’s 46.8 minutes per game, he averaged 24.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks.

2002 NBA Finals

NBA Finals Series Result: Lakers vs. Nets 4-0

It was the third year in a row that the Lakers secured an NBA championship. With a three-peat in lock, Bryant and O’Neal reached the legendary status of the likes of the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics. Bryant drew the assignment of guarding Jason Kidd. Despite Kidd finishing with a triple-double in the first game, the Lakers won Game 1 with a score of 99-94. Bryant led the team with six assists. The second game featured a monster game from O’Neal with 40 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists in the 106-83 victory.

The third game saw Bryant take back over. In the 106-103 win, Bryant led the way with 36 points. In the final game, Bryant led the team with eight assists, while O’Neal scored 34 points and 10 rebounds in the 113-107 victory. Bryant had a great Finals with a line that anyone would love to average. Bryant averaged 26.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.8 blocks in 43.8 minutes. That included shooting 51.4% from the field, 54.5% from three-point range, and 80.6% from the free-throw line. With that said, O’Neal won his third consecutive Finals MVP Award by averaging 36.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.8 blocks while shooting 59.5% from the field.

2009 NBA Finals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRJjfmuKLRs

NBA Finals Series Result: Lakers vs. Magic 4-1

The series solidified that Bryant was capable of winning a championship without O’Neal. In five games, the Lakers handled the Magic, who made an improbable run in the Eastern Conference. Bryant erupted for 40 points and eight assists in a 100-75 opening win. He followed that with 29 points and eight assists in the team’s 101-96 victory in Game 2.

The Magic stole the third game despite Bryant scoring 31 points and eight assists in the 108-104 loss. Bryant then scored 32 points and eight assists in the team’s 99-91 overtime win in Game 4. The team closed out the series 99-86, with Bryant leading the way with 30 points and five assists. Bryant captured the Finals MVP Award by averaging 32.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game. Bryant shot 43.0% from the field, 36.0% from three-point range, and 84.1% from the free-throw line.

2010 NBA Finals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85nBQ_AoRwk

NBA Finals Series Result: Lakers vs. Celtics 4-3

When the Lakers closed out this series, it was a career night for Bryant. The greatest Finals ever played by Bryant was when he led the Lakers past the Celtics in a seven-game series in the Finals. With two of the heavyweights of the NBA pinned against each other, Bryant was a prime reason the Lakers went back-to-back. Bryant led the Lakers to a 102-89 victory in Game 1 with 30 points and six assists. The Celtics took the second game 103-94. The Celtics kept Bryant in check while Pau Gasol led the team with 25 points. Bryant returned to form with 29 points in a 91-84 victory in Game 3.

The Celtics tied the series 96-89 despite 33 points from Bryant. In the fifth game, the Celtics took the advantage by pushing past the 38 points scored by Bryant by taking the score 92-86. However, the Lakers took the last two games. Bryant recorded 26 points in the 89-67 victory in Game 6. In the final game, Bryant shot 6 for 24 from the field but scored 10 of his 23 points in the final quarter to lead the Lakers to the 83-79 low-scoring game. Bryant won his second Finals MVP Award by averaging 28.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.1 steals, and 0.7 blocks. He shot 40.5% from the field, 31.9% from three-point range, and 88.3% from the free-throw line. 

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