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It seems fairly close, but maybe not.

He was very good in 08 (easily the best perimeter defender and primary wing stopper on a top five defense, #1 among ALL guards in intraocular's total defensive APM pts), but 01 is easily the best defensive season of his career. +1.3 DRAPM as the primary wing stopper and POA guy is extremely impressive. How many guys are capable of shutting down peak Carter and Iverson? Because he has games from that season where he was doing exactly that.

Primedeion wrote:He was very good in 08 (easily the best perimeter defender and primary wing stopper on a top five defense, #1 among ALL guards in intraocular's total defensive APM pts), but 01 is easily the best defensive season of his career. +1.3 DRAPM as the primary wing stopper and POA guy is extremely impressive. How many guys are capable of shutting down peak Carter and Iverson? Because he has games from that season where he was doing exactly that.

Where did Rick Fox rank in DRAPM in 2001?

I’d rank Kobe’s 5 best defensive seasons as

1.2000 (elite)
2.2001 (elite)
3.2002 (great)
4.2008 (great)
5.2009 (very good)

I think Kobe was a better more experienced defender in 2008 than 2001. Kobe was still a bit raw in 2001 but had more spring in his legs.
Some year in between 2001 and 2008 is probably his best defensive year.

2001 mainly because of energy exerted.

He was a smarter defender in 08 but most data points speak to 01 and it aligns with the fact that he was more willing to lock in given the powerhouse in Shaq who could co er more of an offensive load than what he had in 08.