In what is now an era heavily dominated by point guards and even dubbed as ‘the golden age’ of the position, a large chunk of the 2000’s was instead run by volume-scoring shooting guards. The likes of Dwyane Wade, Ray Allen, Vince Carter, and Tracy McGrady are all examples of the explosive off-guard prototype but the two icons of this prolific era, are undoubtedly MVP winners Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers.
While both had differing play styles, Bryant and Iverson are regarded as two of the most heartless killers the NBA world has ever seen, absolutely dismantling their opponents defenses night after night, frequently en route to a 30+ point performance. Ever since the guards were drafted twelve picks apart in the 1996 lottery, the two have been subject to years of comparison, though it’s clear Kobe got the last laugh with his five championship rings.
Despite Kobe sustaining a higher level of success throughout his playing career winning wise, Iverson was the one who got the better of him in a 1999 matchup that saw the Georgetown product drop 41 points and tally 10 assists right on Kobe’s head.
In response as only Kobe would, the Lakers legend studied Iverson like an absolute madman, doing everything he could in his power to try and contain the electrifying force that was AI, something the NBA hadn’t quite figured out yet. Following from Kobe Bryant’s piece in The Players Tribune:
Working harder wasn’t enough.
I had to study this man maniacally.
I obsessively read every article and book I could find about AI. I obsessively watched every game he had played, going back to the IUPU All-American Game. I obsessively studied his every success, and his every struggle. I obsessively searched for any weakness I could find.
I searched the world for musings to add to my AI Musecage.
Kobe’s no-nonsense approach to the game and undying drive to get better in any way possible is well-documented. The 18-time All-Star will do whatever it takes and his killer mentality is considered second only to the greatest of all-time himself, Michael Jordan. After putting in hours towards figuring out how to slow down the 6’0″ dynamo known as Allen Iverson, Bryant finally got his opportunity to put what he’d relentlessly worked at to the test:
On Feb 20, 2000, in Philadelphia, PJ gave me the assignment of guarding AI at the start of the second half. No one knew how much this challenge meant to me…
When I started guarding AI, he had 16 at the half. He finished the game with 16.
Revenge was sweet.
But I wasn’t satisfied after the win. I was annoyed that he had made me feel that way in the first place.
I swore, from that point on, to approach every matchup as a matter of life and death. No one was going to have that kind of control over my focus ever again.
It’s clear that the embarrassment the skinny kid from Lower Merion High School was subject to on that fateful night when Allen Iverson dropped 41 on him shaped the mindset he held for the rest of his career. When it came to outworking their opponent, nobody could ever touch Kobe. From that point on, Bryant was hellbent on outworking every individual in the league, and now he has some major hardware as a result of his obsessive work ethic.
You can read more about the Kobe-Iverson matchup as told by Bryant himself here.
