What was Kobe's best overall season?

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Most fans consider 01-10 his prime, and throw in that 2013 'comeback' year.

Always thought 06-08 was Bean's pinnacle with 2006 probably being his most impressive year. After watching more 03 tapes tho...think I could be selling him short. 2003 was definitely his physical peak. He added 15lbs of muscle, was still quick and had no major surgery done up until that point. Kobe also said himself that it was the BEST version of himself. From an overall standpoint.

[SamuraiSWISH]

2003 - Physical Peak
2006 - Skill Peak
2009 - Leadership Peak

Kobe never had it all built into one definitive season to be honest. You could argue: 2003, 2006, 2008 - 2010, and yes even 2013 rears it's head into the conversation as well. Difficult pick with Kobe.

There is no 91 / 92 Jordan, 94 / 95 Hakeem, 00 / 01 Shaq, 01 Iverson, 03 Duncan, 04 KG, 12 / 13 LeBron, 16 / 17 Curry kind of type moment for Kobe where there is something so definitively put together as a best year.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

2003 - Physical Peak
2006 - Skill Peak
2009 - Leadership Peak

Kobe never had it all built into one definitive season to be honest. You could argue: 2003, 2006, 2008 - 2010, and yes even 2013 rears it's head into the conversation as well. Difficult pick with Kobe.

There is no 91 / 92 Jordan, 94 / 95 Hakeem, 00 / 01 Shaq, 01 Iverson, 03 Duncan, 04 KG, 12 / 13 LeBron, 16 / 17 Curry kind of type moment for Kobe where there is something so definitively put together as a best year.

I think 08 and 03 are his most "complete" seasons. Years where he put everything together. And did everything elite. I get what you're saying though. Kobe wasn't the best scoring or skilled version of himself those years either.

[Phoenix]

I feel like 2003 Kobe playing in 2006 and under those perimeter rules, would have been better than the Kobe we actually got that year. 2003 was the year he rang off 9 straight 40 point games and when he went off on MJs Wizards for 55. He had that scoring ability from 2006 in a younger, healthier and more athletic package. Probably could have still dropped 35 but also played better defense.

[Doranku]

'08. Kobe had the Lakers competing for the #1 seed without Gasol before Bynum went down.

[superduper]

2003 - Physical Peak
2006 - Skill Peak
2009 - Leadership Peak

Kobe never had it all built into one definitive season to be honest. You could argue: 2003, 2006, 2008 - 2010, and yes even 2013 rears it's head into the conversation as well. Difficult pick with Kobe.

There is no 91 / 92 Jordan, 94 / 95 Hakeem, 00 / 01 Shaq, 01 Iverson, 03 Duncan, 04 KG, 12 / 13 LeBron, 16 / 17 Curry kind of type moment for Kobe where there is something so definitively put together as a best year.

You're absolutely right tbh, Kobe definitely had 3 peaks. Each iteration slightly more incredible than the last :applause:

[aj1987]

You're absolutely right tbh, Kobe definitely had 3 peaks. Each iteration slightly more incredible than the last :applause:

You do realize that he's saying Kobe was never a complete player, right? That even Curry and AI were better than his best? ****ing idiot. :oldlol:

[sdot_thadon]

Even though it didn't end with a chip 08 Kobe was my personal favorite to watch. He already had the skill and ability to take over but in 08 he finally found the timing of the game. And i don't want this be misunderstood as a shot at any other year but this was the 1st time i saw him put the mental and physical together and understood perfectly when to assert himself and when to let things roll. It was his most mike like year in my eyes.

[ArbitraryWater]

08

most mature and playoff reliable. put it all together

06-07 a little too up and down, and less advanced of a leader

[Turbo Slayer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QqqjJjaMOk

[Lebron23]

2008 Kobe Bryant

[FireDavidKahn]

2003 - Physical Peak
2006 - Skill Peak
2009 - Leadership Peak

Kobe never had it all built into one definitive season to be honest. You could argue: 2003, 2006, 2008 - 2010, and yes even 2013 rears it's head into the conversation as well. Difficult pick with Kobe.

There is no 91 / 92 Jordan, 94 / 95 Hakeem, 00 / 01 Shaq, 01 Iverson, 03 Duncan, 04 KG, 12 / 13 LeBron, 16 / 17 Curry kind of type moment for Kobe where there is something so definitively put together as a best year.

This is actually a good post. You could take a lot of those names and find seasons where they had 2 of those attributes but all 3 together is rare.

[superduper]

You do realize that he's saying Kobe was never a complete player, right? That even Curry and AI were better than his best? ****ing idiot. :oldlol:

Imagine being this retarded :roll:

[SouBeachTalents]

2008 he damn near pulled off MVP/FMVP/Olympic Gold all in the same year. That'd be my choice as his best year. Even for a guy with 5 rings, '08 was a big missed opportunity legacy wise. Him winning the title/beating the Celtics then having that Gold medal game performance all in the same summer would've been the stuff of legends

[aj1987]

Imagine being this retarded :roll:

Go read his post again, you autistic little turd.

[Indian guy]

Shout out to 12-13

I've been binge-watching that season recently and I had forgotten how good he was that year prior to the ACL injury. Not his best season, but from a physical standpoint, it's the best I've seen him since like 2008. Dropped down to 200 pounds and had that knee procedure done in Germany. Basically came back quicker and jumping higher than he had in years. And his skill level remained as high as ever. I would rank it as one of the 6 best offensive seasons of his career ('03, 06-09, '13).

[ArbitraryWater]

Shout out to 12-13

I've been binge-watching that season recently and I had forgotten how good he was that year prior to the ACL injury. Not his best season, but from a physical standpoint, it's the best I've seen him since like 2008. Dropped down to 200 pounds and had that knee procedure done in Germany. Basically came back quicker and jumping higher than he had in years. And his skill level remained as high as ever. I would rank it as one of the 6 best offensive seasons of his career ('03, 06-09, '13).

yea, but was the worst defender in the NBA

[StrongLurk]

05-06 or 06-07...was definitely the best player in the league those seasons

[Overdrive]

Go read his post again, you autistic little turd.

Swish's post never implied that AI or Curry were better at their best. You should read that again.

08 was his best, but the finals outcome hurt it.

[ShawkFactory]

For me its 03. For all of the "peak" seasons that are generally discussed, they not only required GOAT level play but also needed the chips to land perfectly.

Think about what was going against Kobe that year:

1) Shaq started to actually decline. He was no longer MDE peak Shaq, as Duncan showed in the playoffs. For a team that didn't have much depth at all, it was bad that Shaq wasn't 100%.

2) This is probably the biggest one: A couple other great players had career years to steal the focus away. A lot of the other GOATs in their iconic peak seasons had the narrative on their side that they owned the league. Kobe's 03 coincided withe perhaps the peak of another top 10 GOAT. And then you have TMac, who was already loved by everybody and then just happened to put up maybe one of the 5 greatest individual offensive seasons ever (maybe a slight exaggeration..but very few would have an actual gripe with it).

3) He wasn't 100% in the playoffs. Do they beat the Spurs if he is? Maybe not. Who knows. But many other peak seasons had no injury concerns involved down the stretch. Steph is the only other I can think of.

Put 03 Kobe on the 02 Lakers? I think it's a no-brainer.

08 is a very close second. The Celtics were just too good and matched up too well.

The 08 WCF was easily the best-played series of his career IMO. Better than 01 against them.

[red1]

2008 is peak kobe. he was ready to win that year. the lakers just sucked outside of him and gasol and odom. he needed another wing like ariza and pau needed to grow a few chest hairs.


2009 celtics and lakers would've been an incredible finals if KG didnt injure his knee that year. we were robbed of another all-time series.

[Naero]

If I had to build around any iteration of him? Definitely 2008.

He played the best post-Shaq defense of his career, his athleticism hadn't yet appreciably declined (as it would a year or two later), and his playoffs run—even without the championship—vaulted him several tiers as an ATG. Postseasons like that are why I still consider him a better—not just greater—player than the Hardens of the world, no matter how much the latter might outshine his regular seasons.

Above all was his evolution as a leader. He always led well on the court, but not so much in the lockerroom until that period. He lit a fire under his teammates whenever they were noticeably disengaged; and although it could be chastening at times, it maximized their efforts in the end.

That year's Finals marred it, though, and it's why 2009 was ultimately his most legacy-enhancing season overall. He just had the misfortune of matching up with an all-time-great Celtics team in 2008, and he didn't play well enough to compensate for the talent deficit as he did against the Spurs.

[RRR3]

For me its 03. For all of the "peak" seasons that are generally discussed, they not only required GOAT level play but also needed the chips to land perfectly.

Think about what was going against Kobe that year:

1) Shaq started to actually decline. He was no longer MDE peak Shaq, as Duncan showed in the playoffs. For a team that didn't have much depth at all, it was bad that Shaq wasn't 100%.

2) This is probably the biggest one: A couple other great players had career years to steal the focus away. A lot of the other GOATs in their iconic peak seasons had the narrative on their side that they owned the league. Kobe's 03 coincided withe perhaps the peak of another top 10 GOAT. And then you have TMac, who was already loved by everybody and then just happened to put up maybe one of the 5 greatest individual offensive seasons ever (maybe a slight exaggeration..but very few would have an actual gripe with it).

3) He wasn't 100% in the playoffs. Do they beat the Spurs if he is? Maybe not. Who knows. But many other peak seasons had no injury concerns involved down the stretch. Steph is the only other I can think of.

Put 03 Kobe on the 02 Lakers? I think it's a no-brainer.

08 is a very close second. The Celtics were just too good and matched up too well.

The 08 WCF was easily the best-played series of his career IMO. Better than 01 against them.
:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:

[ShawkFactory]

:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:

Not only that but they played the same position and he had a similarly flashy game.

[SamuraiSWISH]

yea, but was the worst defender in the NBA
Like LeBron from 2017 - 2019? No. Not even close.

[SouBeachTalents]

The 08 WCF was easily the best-played series of his career IMO. Better than 01 against them.
Easily? Nah. You could absolutely argue the '01, '09 or '10 WCF's as his best series instead

[ShawkFactory]

Easily? Nah. You could absolutely argue the '01, '09 or '10 WCF's as his best series instead

01: Absolutely not. Obviously he played great ball overall but there was never even a threat of them losing that series. They were clearly the better team. No difficulty, no adversity. I mean look at what Fisher did.

10: Put up great numbers and had a few back-breaking shots in game 6 I believe. But that was an aging Suns squad that played fast and had almost no defense.

09 you could argue. But again, the Nuggets were weak defensively and Melo wasn't known for his chops in the playoffs.

In 08 the Spurs were the defending champs, obviously played disciplined D and were probably the better team. Lakers in 5

[SouBeachTalents]

01: Absolutely not. Obviously he played great ball overall but there was never even a threat of them losing that series. They were clearly the better team. No difficulty, no adversity. I mean look at what Fisher did.

10: Put up great numbers and had a few back-breaking shots in game 6 I believe. But that was an ageing Suns squad that played fast and had almost no defense.

09 you could argue. But again, the Nuggets were weak defensively and Melo wasn't known for his chops in the playoffs.

In 08 the Spurs were the defending champs, obviously played disciplined D and were probably the better team. Lakers in 5
You can argue '08 was his best series and I wouldn't disagree, but "easily", like it sticks out as being better than the ones I mentioned? Nah, that's where I disagree

[Wally450]

You do realize that he's saying Kobe was never a complete player, right? That even Curry and AI were better than his best? ****ing idiot. :oldlol:

I'm not a fan of Kobe, but I just don't believe that.

[ShawkFactory]

You can argue '08 was his best series and I wouldn't disagree, but "easily", like it sticks out as being better than the ones I mentioned? Nah, that's where I disagree

Well I guess you're taking the term "easily" a little differently than I am.

For me, 08 is at the level where you would have to make arguments for other ones. Not the other way around.

Like if someone asked what Kobe's best playoff series was and you were to start with the 09 WCF and then I mentioned 08..I feel like you then would be on the defensive having to argue your point. In my eyes that makes it pretty clear.

Not easy perhaps, but clear.

[aj1987]

Swish's post never implied that AI or Curry were better at their best. You should read that again.

08 was his best, but the finals outcome hurt it.

I meant as complete players according to him. Let me rephrase. "That even Curry and AI were more complete players than Kobe at his best? "

His definition of complete being skills peak, leadership peak, and leadership peak.

@Wally, of course not. I think AI is extremely overrated. I was never a fan of his. Kobe is a top 9 GOAT. Curry and AI are not even close.

[Whoah10115]

92/93 is by far the best version.

Just as with Hakeem over the following two years, he started off slow but by the end better than ever.

The 93 Finals...beyond the beyond.

To answer question tho...I prefer 2003 Kobe. Most organic of peak Kobe. Just played. Anything from 05-09 is also a peak Kobe. 05/06 a standout season, with 07/08 pretty close and next season just him getting it done.

[Turbo Slayer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlL2LcD3Ppk

Interesting.

[Axe]

Idk why but i miss his last two seasons in the league when the lakers had their first ever two 60-loss seasons in franchise history.