Ranking Kobe Bryant’s 3 best performances in NBA All-Star games

It is no surprise that Kobe Bryant put on a show when the lights were the brightest. He lived for the big moments and to outperform every All-Star in the league on the same night was an opportunity he would never let go.

The late great is the recipient of four NBA All-Star Game MVP awards, a trophy that is now named after him. The Black Mamba has 18 All-Star selections, tied for second all-time with LeBron James and one behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record (19).

Bryant used to love participating in All-Star games because the best talent in the league was on the floor all at once. He loved the competition those games provided but hated the fact that the All-Star games were steadily turning into a gloried display of scoring with minimal defense.

Bryant appeared on the Knuckleheads Podcast in 2019 and spoke on the matter:

"I think the All-Star game in general needs a little revamping because it used to be competitive. Fans want to see the best pick-up game in the world. They don’t want to see you running up and down doing all this crazy stuff."

He added:

"They want to see what happens when you get this collection of best basketball players on the planet and they play and they go head up against each other.... I always loved competing in them, I didn’t lose many of them."

Kobe Bryant's performances weren't a result of no defense or showboating, but rather hard-fought buckets against the best talent in the world.

Despite receiving 18 selections, he played in only 15 of those games due to injury and even walked out of the 2008 edition after playing just three minutes.

Bryant is second all-time in total All-Star game points with 290. He was a starter in every single game he played, including the 1998 edition when he was just 19 years old. The former LA Lakers superstar is still the youngest player ever to get selected for an NBA All-Star game.

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What were Kobe Bryant's best All-Star games in his career?

Kobe Bryant won four All-Star game MVPs in 2002, 2007, 2009 and 2011. He dropped 30+ points in three of them except the 2009 edition when he shared co-MVP honors with his former teammate Shaquille O'Neal.

During his prime years, Bryant was arguably the best show in sports. Fans from around the world would hope for the Black Mamba to catch fire and drop buckets from all over the floor.

On that note, let's take a look at three of his best All-Star games over the course of his career.

[Note: The 2009 game was excluded because he scored fewer points and shared the ASG MVP award with another player.]

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#3 2002 All-Star Game, Philadelphia

Kobe Bryant celebrates his All-Star Game MVP award in 2002.

This was Kobe Bryant's fourth career All-Star selection, but he was already a two-time NBA champion by then. At just 23 years of age, his confidence was through the roof and he was ready to upstage any star player.

Bryant dropped 31 points, five rebounds, five assists and a steal in 30 minutes of playing time. He did so on 12-of-25 shooting from the field while making all seven of his free throws. He, surprisingly, didn't make any of the four three-pointers he attempted.

Bryant was from Philadelphia and this game was a homecoming for him. He was excited to play in front of his home crowd but the fans in the arena booed him. The LA Lakers played the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2001 NBA Finals. That was arguably one of the biggest reasons why he was booed as the Lakers picked up a comfortable 4-1 series win.

He said after the game:

"My feelings are hurt man, I'm just out there trying to play and have a good time and my feelings are hurt being from Philadelphia."

Nevertheless, he went head-to-head with Michael Jordan and earned his first All-Star Game MVP trophy that year. The Western Conference won the game 135-120 against their Eastern counterparts.

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#2 2007 All-Star Game, Las Vegas

Kobe Bryant celebrates during the 2007 NBA All-Star Game [Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal]

Kobe Bryant won his second All-Star Game MVP trophy in this game after dropping yet another 31-point game.

He did so on slightly better shooting splits compared to his earlier performance in the 2002 All-Star game. Bryant shot 13-of-24 (54.2%) from the field, including 3-of-9 (33%) from three-point range, and made both his free throws.

This was Kobe Bryant's first season after changing his number from #8 to #24 as part of a major rebranding of his image. He put on a show in front of the Las Vegas fans with reverse dunks and tough fadeaways in a brilliant performance.

Incredibly, Bryant had six steals in this game, which is his All-Star career-high. He also grabbed five boards and dished out six dimes, all in 28 minutes. His Western Conference team won the game 153-132 in a 21-point blowout against the East.

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#1 2011 All-Star Game, Los Angeles

Kobe Bryant in action during the 2011 NBA All-Star Game

Kobe Bryant put on another show for the ages in front of his LA Laker fans at Staples Center. He dropped an All-Star game career-high 37 points in 29 minutes with a flurry of scintillating moves.

Bryant seemed to recognize that this match would be his final All-Star game in Los Angeles and he didn't want to back down in front of anyone. He went toe-to-toe with LeBron James, who had 29 points, and carried the Western Conference to a 148-143 victory.

By doing so, he earned his fourth and final All-Star Game MVP trophy.

Kobe Bryant dropped 37 points on 14-of-26 (53.8%) shooting from the field, including 2-of-7 (28.6%) from downtown and made seven of his eight free throws. He also grabbed an All-Star career-high 14 rebounds along with three steals and as many assists.