When Kobe Bryant entered the league he was just a 17-year-old kid, but he made a huge impact. While Allen Iverson walked away with the rookie of the year award, people were buzzing about the young teenager in Los Angeles.
Kobe produced a number of awesome highlights in his rookie season and the official NBA Youtube page posted a video highlighting Kobe’s best moments as a rookie:
You won’t see any of Kobe’s post game wizardry in this highlight reel as young Kobe used his athleticism to soar over opponents. The fact that the first highlight is a beautiful assist to Nick Van Exel is ironic since so many people still believe Kobe doesn’t pass the ball.
You also saw numerous defensive plays as Kobe had to make an impact on that side of the ball first with Shaq, Van Exel, and Eddie Jones handling the primary scoring duties. I am personally partial to the number five play as poor Antoine Carr literally stumbled into a Kobe poster and Kobe’s killer crossover on Mark Davis in the number three play.
But it is awesome to see the evolution as Young Kobe was a pure athlete while older Kobe use an array moves and an exceptional post and midrange game. One thing is for sure, whenever Kobe steps on the floor, he is going to put on a show.
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