The late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant had an unforgettable prime. When he was at the top of his game, he was a menace for almost every team out there. Additionally, opposing defenders felt helpless when trying to stop the Mamba. Such were his abilities during the prime of his career.
Although he won the first three NBA Championships during the early days of his career alongside Shaquille O’Neal, he was still a raw player at the time. Bryant was truly refined as an NBA superstar and was considered the face of the league from the late 2000s to the early 2010s.
Particularly during the time period of 2008-2013, he was simply unstoppable. Even Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant agrees to this. During the aforementioned time span, Bryant and Durant faced off against one another regularly.
Those matchups gave fans value for the huge bucks they spent on tickets. Anyway, speaking of the time, Durant revealed how it was to defend prime Kobe Bryant in a podcast with JJ Redick.
“Yeah Kobe had a, I want to say 2008 to like 2013, it was no defense for him. … It’s like extra help or just full-out double.”
(starts at 50:40)
Unfortunately in 2013, Kobe tore his Achilles and his playing style changed. Even when he returned to play, he wasn’t the same dominant Bryant that fans watched for years and fell in love with his game.
Regardless of how his career ended, his prime years were simply one of the best that we have ever seen in NBA history.
In conclusion, it is great to see Kevin Durant praise Kobe as fans always love seeing one NBA legend showing respect to another. Bryant once talked about why Kevin Durant was the hardest player to guard for. him.
As we mentioned, both superstars have shown immense respect for each other’s game over the years. We hope to hear more of Kobe’s stories from Durant and other NBA legends from time to time.
