Kobe Bryant is 30 years old. In August, he'll be 31. In basketball years, that's getting pretty high up there, and as a result, the consensus among sports writers is somewhere between "he is not the player he once was" and "he can't continue to play at this level for much longer." The problem? He's been as good as ever, and he shows no signs of slowing down.
The key statistic: In six games, Kobe Bryant took 131 shots; LeBron James took 154, also in six games. Adjusting to account for shooting possessions that ended in free throws, the disparity grows even larger, with LeBron (195) using 32 more shooting possessions than Kobe (163) – an average of 5.3 additional shots per game. Impressed by LeBron's 38.5 points per game? Consider that Kobe sacrificed his own shots to get his team wins, but if he had taken as many shots as LeBron, he would have averaged 41 points per game.
EDIT LINK***
http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2009/6/3/897279/kobe-bryant-at-the-top-of-his-game
