We know that Kobe Bryant knows that he thinks he’s still among the best NBA players the game has to offer. That’s not surprising in the least bit. He thought he was the best player on the court when he came into the league at 17. But when players voluntarily say that Bryant is still elite at 36-years-old, it makes me think that the Lakers are at least somewhat delusional. This is what newest Laker Brandon Bass had to say.
“…we have arguably the best player in the game still,” Bass said. “When he is healthy he is a monster still. If he is healthy he’s right up there with the best players in the league, that’s LeBron or whoever the best players in the league are. When Kobe is healthy, 19 years in the game he is still elite.”
I’m going to go out on a limb and say Bass watched no Laker games on his own accord last season. Bryant channeled his inner-2006 Kobe and put up as many shots as he could last season, when he was healthy, on his way to a 47.7 true shooting percentage (ouch). We’ll have to see if he lets the role players touch the ball this year, but that would require passing it to them first.
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