In 2000, when Kobe Bryant was considered the Los Angeles Lakers' second scoring option behind Shaquille O'Neal, the scouting report on him was simple: Make him earn his points on the perimeter.
That's not to say that "The Black Mamba" wasn't a good shooter, but for his opponents, turning him into one instead of giving him the ability to drive in the paint was the best choice to limit his scoring production. That's according to former Chicago Bulls guard Hersey Hawkins, who revealed the scouting report on Bryack in 2000.
" Oh boy, with Kobe, first of all, you want him to shoot from the perimeter, keep him out there, and give him room so he doesn't use his quick first step to get by you. Get up on him and push him to his left. When he goes to his right, he almost always takes it all the way to the hoop and finishes strong," Hawkins wrote for ESPN in 2000 . "He sometimes has a tendency to shoot the jumper rather than go to the basket and dunking or creating for someone else ."
The lesser of two evils
It makes sense why Hawkins pointed out that opponents should force Bryant into being a jump shooter, given that he averaged 31.9% from the three-point line on 2.2 attempts per game in the 1999-00 season. In the Playoffs, the 21-year-old shot 34.4% from long range on 2.9 attempts per contest.
Bryant's perimeter shot was considered the least efficient part of his game, and even if he was still borderline decent at it, it was better than letting him drive in the paint. Turning Bryant into a perimeter shooter was also one way to ensure the two-time scoring champion didn't get his opponents into foul trouble, and it forced him into being a playmaker on the perimeter, which wasn't his strongest suit.
However, Kobe's ability to make tough shots made the Lakers legend great, and he learned that early in his career. Hawkins also mentioned that opposing teams noticed that by Kobe's fourth year in the league, he had already been given the Michael Jordan role in the triangle offense, and he excelled in it right away.
What made Bryant so difficult to stop was that even though he was considered the Lakers' second scoring option, he had the skills of a first option. Ultimately, that's what made his partnership with Shaquille O'Neal so lethal.
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Then there's Bryant's ability to play defense
For all his offensive greatness, Kobe was also lethal on the defensive end. According to Hawkins , the scouting report noticed Bryant putting more effort on that side of the floor, and it's not a coincidence that it happened in the same year Phil Jackson became the Lakers' head coach.
" You can tell when a guy commits to defense, and what Kobe did to go from last year to this, I don't know what got into him. But someone told him to play defense -- it must have been Phil Jackson ," Hawkins said .
" He has size and quickness, along with great hands. He's one of the few shooting guards in the league who has the quickness to really pressure both two guards and point guards. He does not worry about you going around him. He is tenacious ," he concluded.
By his fourth year in the league, Kobe was already on top of his opponent's scouting report, and teams could only try to limit his production. That alone is why Bryant became one of the best players in the history of the NBA.
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