By Zachary Smith

Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest players in NBA history, has provided us with many moments in his career.Throughout his twenty year career, Bryant averaged 25.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game. He amassed a record 135-85 during his postseason play. We are going to look at the top five playoff series of Kobe Bryant’s career.

5. 2009 NBA Finals vs. Orlando Magic

After advancing to the finals for the second straight year in a row, Kobe Bryant looked to capture his first championship without Shaq.

From the opening game of the series, Bryant played like he was on a mission. He exploded for his first and only 40-point game in the finals. In four of the five games, Kobe was able to top the 30-point mark as his great performance continued over the course of the series as he averaged 32.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 7.4 assists, with the assists being a career-high for him. Throughout the series, Kobe did whatever it took to get the Lakers the title win, whether it was scoring, finding his teammates, or playing great defense.

Bryant proved in this series that he could win a title without Shaquille O'Neal, as he won his fourth title and his first without the Hall of Fame big man. The Lakers also made up for the previous year, where they were blown off the floor by the Boston Celtics.

4. 2001 Western Conference Semifinals vs. Sacramento Kings

For the second straight year, the Sacramento Kings took on the Los Angeles Lakers and for the second straight year, the Lakers sent the Kings home.

Kobe Bryant took apart the Kings in this matchup, averaging 35 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists on 47% shooting from the field. To make this series more impressive, Bryant took his game to new heights on the road versus the Sacramento Kings. He averaged 28 points per game on 45% shooting in the first two games, but on the road, he averaged a ridiculous 42 points on 49% shooting. He capped off the series with a 48-point, 16 rebound explosion to clinch their second straight sweep. The 48 points at the time was a playoff career-high for Bryant whilethe 16 rebounds remained his playoff career-high.The Lakers would go on to dominate the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.

3. 2009 Western Conference Finals vs. Denver Nuggets

In a rematch of the first round of the playoffs from the year before, the Lakers defeated the Nuggets 4-2 to advance to their second straight NBA finals appearance. 

During this series, Kobe Bryant once again proved to Denver that they have no matchup for him. He averaged 34 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists throughout the series where we saw Kobe was able to get any shot that he wanted no matter which defender was placed in front of him. In all but one game of the series, Bryant scored 30 or more points, including two 40 point games in games 1 and 3 of the series. Bryant’s fourth-quarter performance was great in this series too, as he was able to average double-digit points in the final quarter in every game that was decided by single digits.The Lakers would go on to win their first title in seven years and the first title in the post-Shaq era against the Orlando Magic.

2. 2001 Western Conference Finals vs. San Antonio Spurs

The clash of the titans, the last two NBA champions, the Spurs and the Lakers were set to have an epic matchup in the Western Conference Finals.

The hyped-up series never came to fruition, as the Lakers steamrolled the Spurs to a 4-0 sweep. Kobe Bryant dominated the Spurs #1 ranked defense, as he averaged 33 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists per game on 51% shooting from the field and 35% from the three point line. During the regular season, Bryant averaged 37 points in three games against the Spurs. As soon as the series between the Lakers and Spurs took off, Kobe Bryant was on the attack as he finished with  45 points in the game. Throughout the series, the Spurs did not have any answers for Bryant on the perimeter or at the rim. Kobe was able to do a great job at getting his teammates involved too, as there was only one game during the entire series where Kobe did not have less than 6 assists.The Lakers would go on to win their second straight championship after beating the Sixers in five games.

1. 2010 Western Conference Finals vs. Phoenix Suns

Going for his second straight championship and third straight finals appearance, Kobe Bryant had to go through a familiar foe to get there. The Lakers had played the Phoenix Suns in the 2006 and 2007 playoffs, both series where the Lakers were knocked out by the Suns in the first round. 

Kobe Bryant made sure that history did not repeat itself for a third time, as he was unstoppable in this series. Draining jumper after jumper, Kobe  averaged 33.7 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists as he shot 52% from the field and a scorching 43% from the three-point line in the six-game series. Bryant scored 30 or more in five of the six games against the Suns, including 35 or more in four of those games, and one 40 point game. Kobe capped off the series with a masterful 37 point, 6 rebound performance, which included two difficult jumpers: one over a double team, and the other with Grant Hill in his face.After avenging his prior defeats against the Suns, he managed to avenge another defeat against the Celtics in the finals, where he won the fifth and final championship of his illustrious career.

Zachary is a sports writer for La Tonique.