Heading into the 2014-15 NBA season, there were questions about how Kobe Bryant would play after two season-ending injuries at this stage of his career. Despite the poor shooting percentage, the five-time champion is averaging 23.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists in his return.
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While the Los Angeles Lakers are struggling with a 12-26 record and near the bottom of the standings, Kobe’s jersey ranks fourth among the most popular NBA jerseys from October-December 2014 according to NBA.com:
1. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
2. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
3. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
4. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
5. Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
6. Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
7. Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks
8. Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
9. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
10. Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
11. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
12. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
13. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
14. James Harden, Houston Rockets
15. Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
With the return of LeBron James to the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was expected that he would have the most popular jersey in the NBA. While Kevin Durant has been one of the top-selling jerseys these past couple of seasons, Stephen Curry’s popularity has increased as he is the leading vote-getter in the Western Conference for the 2015 All-Star game.
After playing major minutes to start the season, Kobe has rested five of the past 10 games. With the shooting guard trying to figure out how to recover following games, it will be interesting to see if head coach Byron Scott will be able to limit him to 32 minutes moving forward.
[divide]Lakers Players Reactions To Damian Lillard