It’s no secret that NBA players who grew up in Los Angeles during Kobe Bryant‘s prime years with the Los Angeles Lakers looked up to the five-time NBA champion. Brandon Jennings is one of those Los Angeles natives that has shown his love for Kobe’s game over the years and did so once again on Saturday.
Jennings took to Twitter to talk about how Kobe dominated the competition back in 2006:
06′ Kobe Bryant nobody on Earth could Guard Him.
— BRANDON JENNINGS (@BrandonJennings) July 19, 2014
The current Detroit Pistons point guard also tweeted out Kobe’s stats from the 2005-06 NBA season:
35.4/5.3/4.5 Stats #06Kobe
— BRANDON JENNINGS (@BrandonJennings) July 19, 2014
Kobe was on a mission to prove that he was the best player in the NBA and determined to step out of Shaquille O’Neal‘s shadow during his incredible stretch in 2006. Even though the Los Angeles Lakers had players like Jordan Farmar, Lamar Odom, and Andrew Bynum on the roster, the team was still a few years away from acquiring Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies.
Needless to say, the Lakers weren’t considered serious threats in the Western Conference with Steve Nash‘s Phoenix Suns and Tim Duncan‘s San Antonio Spurs being the cream of the crop in the West.
Despite a mediocre roster, Kobe gave it his all on a nightly basis and as a result, dominated the competition while setting milestones and becoming a role model for future NBA players like Jennings.
Along with torching the league for 35.4 points per game, Kobe also scored 62 points in three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks and followed that up with 81 points a month later. Jennings’ assessment of Kobe in 2006 was right on the money. No team or player had an answer for the Lakers star who eventually went on to win two more titles.
