Kobe Bryant turned 34 Thursday. (We're assuming he enjoyed a free pancake breakfast at IHOP.)
One of the greatest to lace 'em up, Kobe comes into his 17th season having just finished a tenth of a point off the NBA's scoring title, tossing in 5.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists a night, just to round things out. On the other hand, Bryant's shooting percentage was his lowest since '97-'98, and the advanced metrics weren't kind, either.
He's logged over 50,000 regular season and postseason minutes. He's also driven like nobody else in the league, takes incredible care of himself, and has serious help coming in the form of Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, and Antawn Jamison.
So what to expect from Kobe Bryant this season? We discuss on the latest edition of The Forum.