ONE can’t count the times Kobe Bryant was on the winning end of “good defense, but better offense” plays.
This throwback video posted by OLDSKOOLBBALL (@Oldskoolbball1) on Twitter showed one of those times in a regular-season game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks in the 2011-12 NBA season.
The play started with Bryant, then 33, gathering from the left corner in the face of Renaldo Balkman’s solid defense. His path to the baseline blocked, Bryant flaunted his footwork by crossing over to his right, then stopping with a left-foot jab step, before finishing his move with a turnaround jumper.
Balkman, then 27 and in his second tour of duty with the Knicks – and last year in the NBA, still recovered after Kobe’s jab step, and even managed to put a hand up on the shot attempt, only to be frustrated after the Black Mamba’s shot found the bottom of the net.
You can only wonder if there's any way Balkman - or any other defender - could've defended Kobe better.
One thing’s for sure: this slow-motion video will be on loop on your screens.
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