Life Without The Mamba Not As Bad As Previously Thought
Legend status.
That's what Kobe Bryant rose to during his 20 year NBA career. He was an integral part of five Laker championships to go along with his litany of individual awards and accolades. The "eye test" would scream to us that we have not seen a player quite like this until you go back to watch film of the Chicago Bulls in the 1990's. "The greatest player since Michael Jordan" is no longer on the floor playing the game he loves at a level most of will never reach even in our most lucid of dreams; instead he has moved on to the next phase of life.
For years it was wondered how much longer Kobe would play; or perhaps rather, how much longer would The Mamba's body allow him to remain competitive and hold up under a grueling 82-game schedule. After the crowning championship days of the 2009 and 2010 seasons, life as a Laker seemed to go down hill very quickly. Losses in the second round of the playoffs in following back-to-back years and a disappointing first round knockout in the 2012-2013 season were the last images of Kobe and the Lakers in the playoffs.
It has been a tough stretch since. As of today, the Lakers have won a total of 74 games from the start of the 2013-2014 season through 18 games into 2016-2017 campaign. However, early on in the quest for a 2017 NBA Finals Championship the Lakers are sitting right at .500 (9-9). Young talent has seeped into the organization through recent draft picks (Julius Randle - 7th overall (2014), D'Angelo Russell - 2nd overall (2015), and Brandon Ingram - 2nd overall (2016)) and it is beginning to show. Randle is coming off a triple-double in a November 15th match-up with the Brooklyn Nets and Russell is second on the team in points (16.1 ppg) and first in assists (4.8 apg). The Lakers currently post five players averaging 13+ points per game.
With the addition of first year head coach Luke Walton, the Lakers look to be on the rise as opposed to being in a strict rebuilding mode which was the fear whenever Bryant decided to hang up #24 for good. In a quiet fashion, the Lakers have stockpiled a fair amount of talent to build around. The core of Randle, Russell, and (hopefully) Ingram should lead the Lakers into the next several seasons with a mantra of hope and a feeling of "soon to come."
