“Kobe Bryant Probably Has One More Hurdle to Clear”: When Lakers Legend’s Stature Was Questioned Ahead of 2010 NBA Finals vs Celtics

In 2008, Kobe Bryant had his first shot at winning the NBA title as the Los Angeles Lakers‘ top dog. He played a critical role in helping the Lakers three-peat as champions between 2000 and 2002, but Shaquille O’Neal was inarguably the team’s main man. Bryant’s first opportunity to prove he could win a title without the former center passed him by as the Boston Celtics beat the Lakers 4-2 in the 2008 NBA Finals.

Bryant redeemed himself by leading the Lakers to the NBA title and winning the Finals MVP in the subsequent season. In 2010, he led LA to another NBA Finals appearance and gave himself the opportunity to surpass O’Neal’s championship tally. However, standing in his and the Lakers’ way once again were the Celtics. The 2010 NBA Finals would be the two teams’ 12th meeting in the championship series. The Lakers were a dismal 2-9 against their arch-nemesis in the NBA Finals.

Before the 2010 Finals, many, including Sports Illustrated writer Lee Jenkins, dubbed the series as Bryant’s ultimate challenge as a Laker. In an iconic column, he wrote that the 2008 NBA MVP could cement his legacy as the greatest player in franchise history if he beat the Celtics in the Finals,

“Although several legends never beat the Celtics in the Finals, Bryant is surrounded by those who did: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tutors the Los Angeles big men, Magic Johnson is part owner, James Worthy hosts pre- and postgame TV shows… They are constant reminders that Bryant probably has one more hurdle to clear to become the Greatest Laker ever.”

Jenkins was right. Of all the Lakers’ icons, only a handful, including Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, could claim they had beaten the Celtics in the Finals. Bryant had the chance to join them or become another name on the list of Lakers greats who couldn’t beat Boston.

Kobe Bryant’s magnum opus

With his legacy on the line, Kobe Bryant went to work against the Celtics in the 2010 NBA Finals. In a low-scoring series, where the two teams combined to breach the 100-point barrier only twice in seven games, the guard averaged 28.6 points, eight rebounds, and 3.9 assists to lead the Lakers to a 4-3 series win and only their third NBA Finals victory over the Celtics in 12 attempts.

The hard-fought Game 7 ended 83-79, with Bryant scoring 23 in the slugfest. In an interview in 2023, he admitted winning that series against the Celtics topped the list of his greatest achievements. He said,

“I got to say beating the Celtics in Game 7 [was the proudest moment of my career]. Because it was the hardest, it was myself, Pau, and players that other teams didn’t want.”

Bryant did it all as a Laker. He spent 20 years with the team, won five titles, was named NBA MVP twice, won the 2008 NBA MVP award, and, most importantly, beat Boston. He’s inarguably the greatest Laker ever, and it’ll be a long time before someone takes that distinction from him.