Did Kobe Bryant ever get swept in the NBA playoffs?

Despite his successful career, here is each time Kobe Bryant got swept from the NBA playoffs.

Did Kobe Bryant ever get swept in the NBA playoffs?

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant was a legendary player for the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe Bryant played 20 seasons for the Lakers, winning five championships and making the NBA Finals seven times. ‘The Mamba’ had elite scoring skills and a winning mentality. He led the Lakers to 3 consecutive NBA Finals from 2008-2010. Despite all the success, he had moments of failure as well.

Bryant’s team was swept in the NBA playoff on three separate occasions. All three times have a different story to it. Once, he was the young star. The other time, he was a superstar and a champion in the league. Find out more details about the sweep Kobe Bryant faced in his career.

1998 – Young Kobe Bryant got swept by the Utah Jazz

In 1998, Bryant was still amongst the Lakers’ rotation as he was just a 19-year-old who had joined the league straight out of high school. Bryant only averaged around 20 minutes a game in those playoffs.

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John Stockton (L) and Kobe Bryant (R) (via Instagram)

The lifelong Lakers star put up around 8 points a game as the Utah Jazz swept them to make their first-ever NBA Finals. However, if the Lakers had won that series, it would have been Michael Jordan, Bryant’s idol, facing the Lakers in the NBA Finals.

1999 – The San Antonio Spurs swept Kobe Bryant on their way to the championship

In the 1999 playoffs, Bryant had a much more significant role on this Lakers roster as he had blossomed into 19.9 points per game scorer in the regular season while playing 38 minutes a game. Moreover, he featured in all regular season games.

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Kobe Bryant in 1999 (via: X)

Bryant maintained his scoring numbers in the playoffs at 19.8 PPG but got swept in the second round by the eventual NBA champions, the San Antonio Spurs. This started a long rivalry between the 2000s and 2010s between these two Western Conference tyrants.

2011 – The Dallas Mavericks ended hopes of a three-peat for Kobe Bryant

In 2011, the Los Angeles Lakers were on the back of three consecutive Finals appearances from 2008-2010, including championships in 2009 and 2010. Bryant was very close to achieving another three-peat, but Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks stood in the way.

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Kobe Bryant after losing to the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 (Via: New York Post)

The Lakers were the #2 seed that year, while Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks were the third seed. They met in the second round of the playoffs. As a shocking result, Nowitzki led the Mavs to sweep the Lakers in what would be Bryant’s final playoff appearance in his career.

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