NBA All-Star Game: Looking back at Kobe Bryant’s best moments

Looking back at three of the most memorable NBA All-Star Game moments for the late Kobe Bryant

As we inch closer and closer to the 69th NBA All-Star Game, it’s hard not to miss Kobe Bryant, a legend of the game and staple of the last 20 All-Star games, who was lost tragically in a helicopter accident a few weeks ago.

And there were many memorable moments when it comes to Kobe Bryant at the NBA All-Star Game. Let’s look back at three of his most memorable moments at one of the league’s brightest stages.

3. Kobe and Shaq win co-MVP awards, 2009

Kobe and Shaq’s on-court relationship was somewhat repaired during the 2009 NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix, in which both players were named co-MVPs of the game. Kobe scored 27 points (with 4 assists and 4 steals) and shared the floor together for the first time with Shaq (17 points, 5 rebounds) since their time together with the Lakers.

It was sight to behold and a moment that will live forever in both Lakers and NBA fans alike. It was the moment when everything fell back to normal in the NBA realm. The fact that Kobe and Shaq were back on the floor at the NBA All-Star Game was everything the league – and its fans – needed at the moment.

2. Kobe Bryant wins MVP in LA, 2011

In 2011 we saw another brilliant MVP performance in the All-Star Game from Kobe Bryant. It was like a home game, as he would put on such a dominant performance in front of a Staples Center crowd in Los Angeles.

Bryant would finish with 37 points, to lead all scorers, and 14 rebounds en route to another MVP award, the fourth All-Star MVP award of his career.

1. A young Kobe wins the Slam Dunk Contest, 1997

Finally, where it all began for one of the best players in NBA history. During the 1997 All-Star weekend. After scoring 31 points during the rookie challenge, Kobe Bryant would win the Slam Dunk Contest as a rookie.

The dunk that won him the award? A sensational between the legs dunk that would dazzle the audience. Kobe Bryant had officially announced himself as the next great player in the Association.

Kobe Bryant would go on to earn his first NBA All-Star Game appearance the next season, his second in the NBA. Kobe would make 18 NBA All-Star Games throughout the course of his career and would win the MVP of the All-Star Game four times.

And while we approach another NBA All-Star Game, it all still feels so surreal. Kobe Bryant’s legacy will live on, and he will never be forgotten as one of the league’s best.