StaTuesday: Kobe Bryant’s career against the Bucks

Kobe Bryant’s legacy in the NBA didn’t intertwine much with the Milwaukee Bucks.

After all, the Los Angeles Lakers and Bucks compete in different conferences and never met more than the scheduled two regular-season games per year.

But that changed a bit after his retirement.

Bryant took a special interest in Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and invited him to a private workout before the start of the 2018-19 season.

Antetokounmpo was thrilled for the opportunity. Like millions of other kids, he had idolized Bryant on the court while growing up, so it was truly a dream come true. You know the story by now: Antetokounmpo arrived to the workout three hours before Bryant to make sure he’d make a good impression.

The Bucks star shared details of the workout in an interview with Jim Paschke in 2018.

Back to Kobe’s career.

In the 32 games he played against the Bucks, Bryant averaged 24.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists per contest while shooting 43.3% from the field and 32.6% from 3-point range. Those numbers are pretty close to his career averages of 25.0, 5.2 and 4.7.

Bryant’s first time squaring off against Milwaukee was on Dec. 18, 1996 when he was an 18-year-old rookie still trying to prove his worth on a veteran Lakers team. Bryant played just eight minutes and didn’t attempt a single shot but tallied three rebounds, one assist and one block.

Three months later, Bryant was starting for Los Angeles. And when the Bucks played the Lakers on March 26, 1997, Bryant went off for 19 points, four assists and two steals.

Bryant’s first 20-point game against the Bucks occurred in his fourth NBA season, as he scored 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting on Jan. 12, 2000. He dropped 30+ points on Milwaukee for the first time during a thrilling matchup between a pair of one-loss teams Nov. 27, 2001. The Lakers beat Milwaukee 104-85 that evening, rising to a 13-1 record and dropping the Bucks to 9-2.

Bryant’s biggest performance against the Bucks came on March 24, 2006. Bryant drained five 3-pointers and went a perfect 14-for-14 from the free-throw line for 43 points. It was his only 40-point game against Milwaukee. Of his 32 games vs. the Bucks, Bryant logged 11 games with 30+ points and 24 contests with 20+ points.

Milwaukee went 8-24 in those games against Los Angeles when Bryant was on the floor.

Via a tweet back in 2017, Bryant predicted that Antetokounmpo would win an MVP award. He doubled down on that call last summer by congratulating Giannis on his MVP award and stating “Next up: championship.”

My man….M.V.P. Greatness. ???? Next up: Championship. #MambaMentality https://t.co/dhZTFI1Aam

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) June 25, 2019

It’d be the perfect way to honor his hero’s legacy.