5 Worst Losses of Kobe Bryant's Career
Every great player has bad nights, every championship contending team has bad games. The NBA's 82-game regular season grind is not one for everybody. Even the greats of the game have got it handed to them on some nights.
Also read: Top 10 Regular season scorers in NBA History
Some of these losses come in rebuilding years while some come when the team is potent with talent but just needs to be reminded to wake up. A team that is mentally strong will learn and bounce back from such losses but such a quality is only seen in few special teams.
In a previous edition of worst losses, we took a look at the career of LeBron James, today it's the turn of 5-time champion Kobe Bryant:
5) 35 - Oklahoma City Thunder 120-85 Los Angeles Lakers [December 23, 2015]
The Black Mamba had announced his retirement, just under a month back on Nov. 30, but the championship contending Oklahoma City Thunder didn't go easy on him.
The Thunder needed pretty average games from their stars - Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to blow away the home team. They weren't bad, it's just that the blowout wasn't a result of a herculean performance from either of them. In 27 minutes, Durant put up 21 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. His partner-in-crime Westbrook recorded 23 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals.
The 35-point loss was just a measure of the Lakers' talent or lack thereof. Bryant had an off-game, playing just 28 minutes and putting 19 points and 3 assists on 7-of-22 shooting. The team as a whole shot 36.0% as compared to OKC's 53.7%. The visiting team's starters outscored the Lakers first five 82 to 39, the game was pretty much done there. In the first quarter of either quarter, the Thunder outscored the Lakers a combined 62-32.