11/24/2023 0 Comments 2008 western conference finalsThose numbers were good enough for Howard to earn an All-Star nod as well as a spot on the All-NBA First Team. He was arguably the best center in the league that season, as he averaged 20.6 points per game while also leading the league in blocks (2.9) and rebounds (13.8) per game in 79 appearances. He spent the first eight seasons of his pro career with the franchise and averaged 18.4 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game in 621 total regular-season games played in Orlando (620 starts).Īrguably Howard’s best season with the Magic and of his NBA career came during the 2008-09 season. Howard is best known for his time as a member of the Magic, the team that drafted him in 2004. Most recently, Howard averaged 6.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in 60 games with the storied Lakers franchise during the 2021-22 regular season. The 6-foot-10 big man has played for seven teams - the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Charlotte Hornets, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers and Washington Wizards - across his 18 seasons in the NBA. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft after playing high school basketball at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. “The 37-year-old has expressed to interested teams this offseason that he is in shape and ready to enter his 19th NBA season to contribute in any form for a franchise,” Shams Charania and Anthony Slater wrote. Howard has allegedly told NBA teams interested in him that he’s in shape and ready to contribute to a franchise. It’s this playoff that cemented Byant’s legacy as an all-time great.One of the more accomplished big men of this generation - Dwight Howard - is reportedly set to meet with the Golden State Warriors next week.ĭwight Howard will meet with the Warriors, per /iOaZqamZIY The 2008-2010 West was inundated with contenders and MVP-caliber talent, yet Bryant ceased to waver. He is justly lauded for winning back-to-back championships with the Lakers, but seldom do you hear anyone revere him for his dominance over the Western Conference. Moreover, he played all-world defense on players such as Manu Ginobili, Carmelo Anthony, and two-time MVP Steve Nash.īryant proved that he didn’t require another top-five player to dominate the Western Conference – let alone the entire league. Throughout these West Finals, Bryant averaged 32.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 6.1 assists on near 50-40-90 shooting splits. Finally, Bryant defeated the powerhouse Phoenix Suns team during the 2010 West Finals. He beat a prime Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets in six games in 2009, all while averaging 34 points. In 2008 he gentlemen swept the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. Kobe Bryant’s Western Conference Finals competition – and performances – encapsulate the difficulty of this run. This run also made him the only player in league history to score 600-plus points in the playoffs in three consecutive years.Īlthough 50-plus wins is a solid benchmark for respectable NBA competition, it certainly is not the tell-all of a good team. Precluding his stats from the Finals, Bryant averaged 30.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.6 assists during this venture through the Western Conference. Kobe’s Dominance Tolga Adanali/Getty Images He played legitimate title contenders in nearly every series. Kevin Durant was the league’s leading scorer with 30.1 points per game and was second in MVP voting.Ĭouple all that with the fact that Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to three consecutive Western Conference titles and back-to-back championships it merely highlights the daunting challenges he faced just reaching the Finals. On the contrary, their eighth-seeded counterpart Chicago Bulls would have missed the playoffs by nine games in the West.īryant and the Lakers played that Thunder team in the first round of the 2010 playoffs. The eighth-seeded Thunder would have slotted in at fourth in the East. For context, in ’08, the ninth-seeded Atlanta Hawks had 37 wins, while the ninth-seeded Golden State Warriors would have locked the fourth seed in the East by five games. It’s unfathomable that both the ’08 and ’10 Western Conference playoffs consisted of all eight teams having 50-plus wins. In turn, the Lakers’ first-round matchup against the Utah Jazz in ’09 would be their only time facing a non-50-win team in three straight playoffs. The Western Conference playoffs from 2008-2010 saw only two sub-50 win teams – the ’09 Hornets (led by Chris Paul) and Jazz (led by Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer). The Western Conference he dealt with was one of the most competitive of all time. However, Bryant’s road to prosperity during this run is what sets it apart from other championship campaigns. From 2008-2010, Kobe Bryant won two NBA championships along with two Finals MVPs.
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