Kobe Bryant is one the greatest basketball players in history, with the likes of Duncan, LeBron, and Jordan being the only ones to sit beside him on the Mt Rushmore of basketball. The five rings Kobe won during his 20-year stint in the NBA serve to show just how unstoppable the black Mamba was during his hay-day. Out of all of his Championships, the path to the 2010 title is definitely one that set him apart from his peers, as he faced multiple Hall Of Famers on his path to capturing the Larry O’Brien that season.
During his 2010 championship run, the biggest challenge for Kobe came from Steve Nash and The Phoenix Suns. But regardless of the competition, Kobe shone the brightest, as the Lakers took care of the Suns in just 6 games. Appearing on the popular Hoop Podcast, “The OG’s,” a former member of the 2009-2010 Pheonix Suns, Goran Dragic, recalled their tough loss to Kobe and The Suns,
” You know 2010 when we played the Conference Finals versus the Lakers. I really thought we were going to make the finals, but you know, on the other side was Kobe. Oh my God,”
The tone in Dragic’s voice was enough to understand the horror of guarding Kobe Bryant during those Conference Finals match-ups. The Slovenian national even recalled the Suns throwing multiple waves of double and triple teams at the Black Mamba, all of which failed as Kobe continued to score over everyone,
” We would put literally four guys on him and he would not even pass the ball because he knew that the other teammates would not make the shot. He would just shoot over the guys and make everything. It was unbelievable,”
In the end, Kobe walked away from the contest, averaging 33.7 points, as nothing the Suns did seemed to affect the Lakers sharpshooter. Even though Bryant was absolutely tearing up the league at that moment in time, he looked “extra motivated” during his face-off with Nash, with a possible reason being Kobe’s snubbing from the 2005 and 2006 MVP awards.
Kobe Bryant thinks Nash won MVP’s because of his teammates
The MVP award has never been individual, as the emphasis on team success has always been highlighted by voters during the selection process. While an MVP has to be great in his own right, he doesn’t necessarily have to be the best player in the league. A similar situation would happen in the mid-2000s, as the 2005 and 2006 NBA MVP awards were awarded to Steve Nash, a controversial decision to say the least.
While Nash was undoubtedly a great player and an even better floor general, he was certainly not the best player in the league. Even Nash’s former teammate, Kobe Bryant, seems to agree with the popular argument, something he admittedly even told Nash when they were teammates. For Kobe, Nash only won because of the roster in Pheonix, an opinion he wasn’t afraid to air in front of the media,
“I tell Steve, you won MVP but I was playing with Smush Parker…He’s playing with [Leandro] Barbosa. I’m playing with Smush and Kwame [Brown]. My goodness.” Bryant said, per the Los Angeles Times.
The Los Angeles Lakers were undergoing a serious transition during the mid-2000s and that deeply affected Kobe’s chances of winning an MVP award. While Bryant’s numbers were league-best during those seasons, his team missed the playoffs time and time again, making it virtually impossible for him to take home the award. It wasn’t till the Lakers traded for Pau Gasol that they became contenders once again, with Kobe also winning his maiden MVP the year Gasol joined.
