When Kobe Bryant had a bad day: Remembering the five biggest shooting

After an illustrious 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant is now widely considered as one of the best NBA players of all-time. Bryant sits third on the league's all-time regular-season scoring list and also led the league in scoring in both 2006 and 2007. The Philadelphia native also captured five titles with the Lakers and took home the MVP award back in 2008.

Bryant was also renowned for his ability to put up huge scoring numbers, and the 81 points he recorded against the Toronto Raptors was the second-most points scored in a single game in league history. Nevertheless, despite being incredibly consistent, Bryant occasionally endured a rare bad game, and here we will look at the worst shooting performances of his legendary career.

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#5 Lakers vs Boston Celtics - April 5th, 2002

Kobe Bryant endured a poor shooting night against the Celtics.

The rivalry between the Lakers and Boston Celtics is well-documented, and Bryant enjoyed plenty of excellent performances against his rivals during his lengthy career. However, back in April 2002, he endured one of the worst shooting nights of his career as he shot just 5-25 from the field during a comprehensive loss.

Bryant managed to finish with 25 points thanks to his accuracy at the free-throw line, but couldn't find any rhythm from the field as he knocked down just 20% of his attempts. Bryant's struggles from the field confirmed just how much the Lakers still relied on the sidelined Shaquille O'Neal - and it wouldn't be until two seasons later that Kobe established himself as the Lakers' number one option.

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#4 Lakers vs Utah Jazz - May 11, 2008

Bryant hauled up 33 attempts as the Lakers fell to the Jazz.

The Lakers entered this Western Conference semifinal matchup with a 2-1 series lead over the Utah Jazz, although Bryant reverted to the worst version of himself as he shot his team out of the contest. Bryant finished with 33 points but connected with just 13 of his 33 field-goal attempts as the Jazz leveled the series.

Instead of looking for the inform Lamar Odam, Bryant often went to his three-point shot - but was only able to knock down one of his ten attempts from deep. Bryant also struggled from the line (60%) and saw two of shots blocked as the Jazz won in overtime.

#3 Lakers vs Utah Jazz - March 18, 2012

Kobe Bryant's shooting delivered a loss to the Lakers despite an excellent Pau Gasol performance

Both the Utah Jazz and the Lakers entered this March matchup with the hope of contending for a playoff spot, and Bryant's shooting struggles handed the Jazz a much-needed win. While Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol combined for 51 points on just 26 attempts, Bryant undid much of their good work by shooting just 15% from the field.

The then 33-year-old connected with just 3 of his 20 field goal attempts and refused to let Gasol and Bynum close out the fourth quarter. Bryant also connected with just one of his attempts from beyond the arc, and 8 of his 15 points came from the free-throw line.

Nevertheless, Bryant did manage to redeem himself four years later as he dropped 60 points on the same opponents in his final NBA game.

#2 Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs - November 14th, 2014

Bryant didn't record a basket until the fourth quarter.

When the Lakers took on the San Antonio Spurs in this early-season matchup, many were questioning if this would be one of the final times that they would get to see Tim Duncan go head-to-head with Bryant. As things turned out, both players would continue playing until 2016, although while Duncan had a night to remember as he reached 25,000 career points thanks to his double-double, Bryant's ongoing decline was visible.

During a miserable night, Bryant scored just nine points, going 1 for 14 from the field. He didn't connect with a field goal until the 4th quarter and went on to throw up a number of bricks as the Spurs pulled away to record a comfortable win. The result meant that the Lakers opened the season with a 1-8 record, and this was the clearest sign yet that Bryant's powers were fading.

#1 Lakers vs New Orleans Hornets - March 31st, 2012

Bryant struggled despite taking on a poor New Orleans Hornets defense

With the 2011-12 regular season winding down, the 32-20 Lakers expected to record an easy win over the NBA's worst defense. The last-placed New Orleans Hornets had won just 13 times and were already in tank mode as they looked to land the first pick of the 2012 draft.

Nevertheless, Bryant missed his first 15 shots as he endured the poorest start to a game of his career. He had previously missed his first 13 shots against the Spurs back in 2010, although Bryant's struggles were even more surprising when considering the opposition.

Kobe eventually knocked down a big three in the final quarter to seal the win, but still finished with just 11 points on 3 of 21 shooting from the field. Bryant finished the night with a shooting percentage of just 14%, and despite the game having little significance, it will go down as perhaps the worst shooting night of Bryant's illustrious career.