Top 5 iconic moments of Kobe Bryant's illustrious 20-year career

#3 Being named the 2007/08 regular season MVP

Kobe Bryant with then-commissioner David Stern posing with his MVP trophy

At every MVP acceptance speech, the player receiving the award makes a concentrated effort to explain how important the team was to him being named the MVP. Kobe Bryant did the same, explaining that his MVP award was actually a tribute to how great the Lakers were that season.

Having said that, we all know how Kobe is. Being named MVP is often wrongly taken for being the best player in the league and that was one of Bryant’s goals right from the beginning. So to be named MVP and essentially named the best player in the league, meant a huge deal to Bryant.

During the 2007-08 season, he averaged 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists shooting 46% from the field, 36% from beyond the arc and 84.8% from the charity stripe. The team registered a 57-25 record, the best in the West and eventually went on to face the Boston Celtics in the 2008 NBA Finals.

Although Bryant failed to help his team win the NBA title that year, winning the MVP award meant the world to him. Kobe would later go on to lead the Lakers to back to back titles the following seasons.