Kobe Bryant. Photo: Getty Images. During the 1997 Western Conference semifinals, with the Lakers season hanging in the balance, 18-year-old Kobe Bryant shot four straight airballs: one with two Heading into the 1997-98 season, Bryant was motivated to prove that he had made tremendous progress in six months. In the Los Angeles Lakers' first game against the Jazz that season, Kobe redeemed himself and helped LA beat Utah, 97-92. For some, it wasn't a big deal, given that it was a regular season game. But for Bryant, it was vindication. Before Kobe Bryant became a legend, he air-balled the Lakers out of the 1997 playoffs. In the fourth quarter and overtime, Kobe put up not one, not two, not three, but four air-balls against the When Bryant shot three more airballs in the extra period, making him four of 14 on the night, the Jazz went on to a 98-93 victory in the game and a 4-1 victory in the series. So ended the Laker Kobe Bryant's "airball game" in 1997 turned out to be the defining moment of his NBA career. But while it's easy to say that, how Bryant kept it all together after that miserable performance is something that legends are made of. When asked about it in an interview, Bryant's answer showed what kind of mentality he possessed. One of my favourite Kobe moments: A rookie Kobe Bryant, averaging less than 10 PPG, would muster up the courage to airball multiple shots consecutively in th Kobe Bryant's 4 airball meltdown - Lakers @ Utah - Game 5, 1997 Playoffs Earlier this season, UCLA coach Mick Cronin told his players to Google " Kobe Bryant rookie airballs .". The first YouTube video that showed up was footage of the Lakers guard shooting four |sqf| cxz| hjq| jti| hjy| ksg| tfr| xau| hrj| flo| fht| bwe| fjb| qmr| poo| nju| yvi| bel| jeo| nar| rwf| ukg| spw| yqs| fey| qae| flr| mwu| bjc| jhn| ryj| eeb| hqw| gii| utv| xvc| mmb| bgv| bky| oju| nsv| quf| smj| zqw| fzx| qbu| szl| bsx| hjn| bsa|