
This is how I was originally thinking of it and had written a long ass post about what I was thinking
mid-post wrote:I think people are making this overly complicated; all you have to do is considered what is legal once you've picked up your dribble and are about to shoot the ball or pass it.
The rules on this are literally identical in the post as they are from the perimeter; if you pick up the ball, you are allowed to pivot. But if you have already established a pivot foot (Kobe's left foot) and you're shooting or passing after you've spent your dribble then you must jump off of both your feet (or your pivot foot only) and never off of just the non-pivot when you leave the floor.
Consider the alternative: You're standing behind the 3 point line and you've already wasted your dribble. You jab-step with your right (establishing your left as the pivot). You throw up a pump fake to get the defender off his feet. You can pivot, but you absolutely cannot pick up, hop off of or drag your left foot and shoot off of the right foot. You have to jump off of both feet simultaneously or just your left.
I checked the rules just to make sure I was right about that. Turns out
I was wrong. The way I've seen the rules written (college, high-school
and NBA), as long as you shoot before the pivot foot returns to the floor, you're all good.
You're only limited in that you can't drag your pivot foot.
rulebook on wikipedia wrote:Art. 4. After coming to a stop and establishing the pivot foot:
a. The pivot foot may be lifted, but not returned to the playing court,
before the ball is released on a pass or try for goal
Good move Kobe.