A lot of active players in the NBA got the opportunity to share the court with Kobe Bryant in their careers. Bryant retired in 2016, so players up until the 2015 Draft have been on the court with Bryant, and that is incredible longevity on Kobe’s part. He saw the league evolve into its modern form while still playing.
The leader of the modern form was Stephen Curry, making history with every 3-pointer he made. People were still getting used to Curry’s audacious long-range shotmaking in 2014 when he used one of his signature deep threes in front of Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba was so impressed that he had to smile at Curry and acknowledge the tough shot that he made.
Kobe was a veteran in his second-last season in the league at this point. He was past the point of competing for titles every season while the Warriors were on their way up. Steph’s Warriors would win their first championship at the end of this same season. Kobe realized early that Curry was going to be a problem.
How The Game Has Evolved Since Kobe’s Prime
Kobe came into the league at a young age, so he had to learn the ropes with the rough ’90s era basketball that was played in the late-90s. However, Kobe was also one of the guards that could take advantage of the league’s new rules that are more identifiable to today’s rules on contact with on-ball dribblers.
The mid-range league that Kobe had entered in the ’90s became a 3-point league by the early-2010s. Championship-winning teams had more than just one shooting specialist, and top players were quickly adapting their games to be better from beyond the arc.
Kobe’s final season was the first season we saw a shoot-first team absolutely wreck the league, as Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors went 73-9 that season and Curry became the first unanimous MVP in league history.
