Kobe Bryant collected plenty of records during his honored career, becoming one of the best players ever to do it. One of his impressive records happened between 2008 and 2010, where Kobe won the same number series against 50-win teams as other Lakers legend did in his career.
Bryant and Magic Johnson are probably the best two Lakers of all time after giving everything to the purple and gold, winning five titles each with the franchise. In three years, Kobe probably got an edge over Magic when he beat the same amount of 50-win teams in the West as the point guard did during his entire career.
Redditor “DarkPriestScorpius” compared Kobe’s Lakers team during his last three trips to the NBA, noting that Bryant emulated what Magic did in his career from 2008 through 2010.
Kobe’s Lakers:
2007-08: Won 4-0 against Denver Nuggets (50-32) in 1st Round
2007-08: Won 4-2 against Utah Jazz (54-28) in 2nd Round
2007-08: Won 4-1 against San Antonio Spurs (56-26) in WCF
2008-09: Won 4-3 against Houston Rockets (53-29) in 2nd Round
2008-09: Won 4-2 against Denver Nuggets (54-28) in WCF
2009-10: Won 4-2 against Oklahoma City Thunder (50-32) in 1st Round
2009-10: Won 4-0 against Utah Jazz (53-29) in 2nd Round
2009-10: Won 4-2 against Phoenix Suns (54-28) in WCF
Magic Johnson’s Lakers:
1979-1980: Won 4-1 against Phoenix Suns (55-27) in Semifinals
1979-1980: Won 4-1 against Seattle Supersonics (56-26) in WCF
1982-1983: won 4-2 against San Antonio Spurs (53-29) in WCF
1984-1985: Won 4-1 against Denver Nuggets (52-30) in WCF
1987-1988: Won 4-3 against Dallas Mavericks (53-29) in WCF
1988-1989: Won 4-0 against Phoenix Suns (55-27) in WCF
1990-1991: Won 3-0 against Houston Rockets (52-30) in First Round
1990-1991: Won 4-2 against Portland Trail Blazers (63-19) in WCF
As this Redditor explained, the West was the weaker conference in the 80s. They got a lot better when the 90s arrived, but the Lakers took advantage of their superiority over rivals, beating them with extreme ease.
The West in the 1980s was seen as the weaker conference since all of the top level teams who won over 50 games each year resided in the East and played each other over and over such as the Celtics-Sixers, Sixers-Bucks, Celtics-Bucks, Celtics-Pistons later on, etc.
However, when you look at some of the Lakers teams that made it to the Final, the road was wide open for them:
The 1983-1984 Lakers beat the 38-44 Kings in the first round, the 43-39 Mavericks in the second round, and the 41-41 Suns in the WCF before losing to the Celtics in the NBA Final.
The 1986-1987 Lakers beat the 37-45 Nuggets in the first round, 42-40 Warriors in the second round, and the 39-43 Sonics in the WCF before beating the Celtics in the Final.
The 1987-1988 Lakers beat a 31-51 Spurs team in the first round en route to the final.
Yet, Kobe had to go through fire to make it to the NBA Finals after his split with Shaquille O’Neal.
Kobe beat the most 50+ win teams in the playoffs lmao can’t ignore the fact the East was weak his whole time in it pic.twitter.com/6kOcyGDY8r
— Big Wallet (@nittiSPIFFEDyou) December 28, 2019
He did it three seasons in a row, beating highly competitive rivals in the process. Of course, this doesn’t mean Magic didn’t earn his status as one of the greatest Lakers ever, but it shows the differences in terms of competition.
