5 Legendary performances of Kobe Bryant in NBA Finals

Kobe Bryant is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest basketball players of all-time. A career filled with accolades, he won five Championships in the NBA and was an 18-time NBA All-Star. He currently holds the record for most seasons played with one franchise for an entire career.

Bryant made his mark on the game of basketball and left a strong imprint after playing in the league for 20 years. Kobe was known for his mental toughness and killed the opposition teams at will. With the game on the line, he never shied away from taking the final-shot and always delivered in clutch situations.

The 'Black Mamba' played in front of sell-out crowds for two decades and entertained the fans all over the world with his talent. He always played the game of basketball with utmost sincerity without taking it for granted and had an insatiable hunger for Championships.

The 2-time NBA Finals MVP made it to the finals, seven times in his career and won it all five times. Kobe gave the fans and the entire NBA fraternity, numerous memories on the NBA's grandest stage. Through the course of this article, we look at five legendary performances of Kobe Bryant in NBA Finals.

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#5 28 at Indiana Pacers, Game 4, 14th June 2000

Kobe takes control to defeat Pacers in overtime of Game 4 of the NBA Finals 2000

Stat line: 28 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks on 51.9% shooting

In the 2000 NBA Finals, the Lakers defended their home court successfully winning the first two games and were on road looking to steal one. The Pacers defeated the Lakers in Game 3 in an emphatic fashion and were aiming to win Game 4. However, Kobe and the team had other plans.

Kobe Bryant who missed most of the Game 2 and entire Game 3 with a sprained ankle was back for Game 4. The Pacers started well and had a 10 point lead at the end of the first quarter. However, things changed slowly and Kobe Bryant put on a show scoring 28 points on a 14 of 27 shooting with a field-goal percentage of 51.9. He also pulled down 4 rebounds and 5 assists.

This was a very well fought game that went into overtime. In the overtime, Kobe Bryant took control and scored effortlessly to give a crucial win on the road for the Lakers. Shaquille O'Neal too had a monster performance and dropped 36 points and grabbed 21 boards. Bryant used his court vision to perfection in this game and put on a clinic.

The 5-time NBA champion received high praise for carrying the team on his back after Shaq got fouled out. With Lakers up by one and 5.9 seconds remaining in the overtime, Kobe Bryant put a dagger in the hearts of the Pacers' fans with a reverse-layup putback.

The Lakers went on to win this game, 120-118 and jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the series. They dominated the Pacers throughout the series and went on to win the Championship in six games.

#4 40 vs Orlando Magic, Game 1, 4th June 2009

Kobe went unconscious and scored 40 points in a blowout-win against Orlando Magic

Stat line: 40 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks on 47.1% shooting

After completing the 3-peat in 2002, the Lakers lost in the second round of the playoffs in 2003 and were back again in the finals in 2004. This time, they were facing the Orlando Magic and no one really expected the Magic to compete against a very good Lakers team.

In the Game 1 of the finals, Kobe was at his brilliant best and scored 40 points. He was very efficient on the night and was +25. The 18-time All-Star shot the ball pretty well and went for 16 of 34 from the field. He was 8 of 8 from the free-throw line and the Magic defenders had no answers for Kobe.

Bryant was very efficient from the elbow and made a lot of jumpers from that region. He was very aggressive and bulldozed his way to the rim on a lot of occasions. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers were just too hot to handle for the Magic as they lost this game in a blowout, 100-75.

The LA Lakers went on to win the finals in five games and Kobe Bryant averaged 32.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists in the series.

#3 33 vs Detroit Pistons, Game 2, 8th June 2004

Kobe played lights out and dropped 33 points against the Pistons to lead Lakers to victory in overtime

Stat line: 33 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals on 48.1% shooting

The Los Angeles Lakers were pitted against the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. The Pistons who were a force to reckon with made it to the Finals after fighting hard in the playoffs against some tough opponents.

In the finals, the Lakers had the home court advantage but lost Game 1 by 12 points. Game 2 was a must-win game for the Lakers and Kobe Bryant came up big with a jaw-dropping performance.

Kobe Bryant played lights out and dropped 33 points on a 14 of 27 shooting with a field-goal percentage of 51.9. With the Lakers down by 3 in the fourth quarter and 2.1 seconds remaining, Kobe shot a game-tying 3-pointer over Detroit's Richard Hamilton to send the game into overtime.

In the overtime, he was a man on a mission and willed the Lakers to victory. Shaquille O'Neal too had a brilliant game as he scored 29 points. Kobe got the crowd worked up when he dished out an assist to Shaq in the paint who dunked it down for a thunderous slam.

However, Pistons turned the tables and went on to take care of business without breaking a sweat in just five games. Kobe Bryant averaged 22.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game in this series but barring Shaq, no one else had note-worthy performances in this series.

#2 38 at Boston Celtics, Game 5, 13th June 2010

Kobe went bonkers with 38 points on road but could not get the win

Stat line: 38 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and a block on 48.1% shooting

The Boston Celtics were up against the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2010 NBA Finals. Kobe Bryant and the Celtics were desperate to take revenge of the Finals loss in 2008. After four games, the series was tied at two games apiece and the focus shifted to the Game 5 at TD Garden.

Kobe Bryant who was carrying the team on his back all through the season came up alive once again in Game 5 as he scored 38 points and could not be defended by the Celtics' defenders.

He went for 13-27 from the field with a field-goal percentage of 48.1. Kobe also took a lot of shots from behind the arc and went for 4-10 with a 3-point field-goal percentage of 40.0.

He shot a lot of contested shots over the defenders and made it look effortless. Boston defenders were left scratching their heads as Kobe kept making shots. Barring Bryant, no one showed up for the Lakers and the Celtics successfully defended their home floor.

This series will go down as one of the greatest finals of all-time and the Lakers successfully took revenge after coming back from a 3-2 deficit. Kobe Bryant averaged 28.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game in this series.

#1 36 vs Boston Celtics, Game 3, 10th June 2008

Kobe dropped 36 points and lifted Lakers over Celtics

Stat line: 36 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals on 60.0% shooting

After losing the first two games of the 2008 NBA Finals at TD Garden, the Lakers came back to Los Angeles to protect their home court. Kobe was not very efficient in the first two games and for the Lakers to deliver a strong performance in Game 3, he knew he had to explode.

Kobe dropped 36 points on a 12 of 20 shooting with a really eye-catching field-goal percentage of 60.0. The Celtics defenders had a tough time guarding Kobe as he went for 11 of 18 from the free throw line. Bryant was very aggressive throughout the game as he also had 7 rebounds and an assist.

Albeit the Celtics were leading by two points after three quarters, the Lakers turned the tables in the fourth quarter. With 6:55 left in the fourth quarter, Kobe knocked down a 3-pointer to give the home team the lead, 69-66. Sasha Vujacic provided the much-needed spark off the bench and scored 20 points in the game on a 10-20 shooting.

With Lakers leading by 4 and less than one minute remaining, the Black Mamba delivered the dagger with a pump-fake. Kobe led both the teams in scoring in this series averaging 25.7 points per game but the Boston Celtics had too much fire-power and went on to close out the Lakers in six games.