ESPN

"It's so similar to what you see with MJ in the later stages of his career. Catching the ball on the pinch post, on the block. When Kobe first into the game, you saw him dribbling a lot. I'm really interested to see how many dribbles he takes in a game, because he's simplified it so much. He catches the ball, he don’t waste dribbles. One to three, and he's scoring or doing something... He's always in the gym, obviously, but the funny thing about Kobe, and people don't realize this, he'll be practicing left-handed shots or over-the-backboard shots. Then, the shots that he was practicing prior to the game, he'd make the shot in the game, then wink at you."

More Evolution of Kobe Bryant:

• Phil Jackson
• Sean Elliott
• Gilbert Arenas
• Mike Dunleavy
• Caron Butler
• DeShawn Stevenson
• Keith Bogans
• Gregg Popovich
• Antonio McDyess
• Kurt Rambis
• Ron Artest
• Steve Smith

--Caron Butler was teammates with Kobe Bryant during the 2004-05 season.

"I've been watching his footwork. His footwork is great. The way he gets the ball and where he gets the ball with his footwork, it's tremendous. He’s already "cheat code," because I think he's the best player in the NBA. But every year, I've never seen an NBA player besides him, every year, he brings something new to his game. One year it was ball handling. Next year, it was the "Michael Jordan" mid-range turn around jump shot. Then he had his knee surgery and he got his dunking back. Every year, he brings something back. It's exciting to see a player like that."

More Evolution of Kobe Bryant:

• Phil Jackson
• Sean Elliott
• Gilbert Arenas
• Mike Dunleavy
• Caron Butler
• DeShawn Stevenson
• Keith Bogans
• Gregg Popovich
• Antonio McDyess
• Kurt Rambis
• Ron Artest
• Steve Smith

--DeShawn Stevenson has played in Utah, Orlando, and Washington over his 10 NBA seasons.

"I remember one time, I think I was with the Magic, in the first quarter he probably had 20, 25 points. I was guarding him, and there wasn't nothing I could do. He's walking across half court, taking one or two dribbles, pulling up and shooting threes. I mean, that's cold. He hit one or two threes where he walked across the court and shot it. A step or two behind the regular three point line. Just shot it. A guy like that, once he's rolling, he's rolling."

More Evolution of Kobe Bryant:

• Phil Jackson
• Sean Elliott
• Gilbert Arenas
• Mike Dunleavy
• Caron Butler
• DeShawn Stevenson
• Keith Bogans
• Gregg Popovich
• Antonio McDyess
• Kurt Rambis
• Ron Artest
• Steve Smith

--Keith Bogans, in his seventh NBA season, has built his career on the defensive side of the floor.

"He shoots his threes, he takes it to the hole, he likes the baseline jumpers. But what he does best is he takes what’s given. It’s the sign of a very intelligent basketball player. You see him read games and see how it’s going, see where he’s needed. Sometimes he’ll just defer to everyone else for a while until he sees what’s the weakness in the other team, or what’s available to him, or how people are guarding him or how his team is playing. He factors all these things in and then comes and tries to kick your ass."

More Evolution of Kobe Bryant:

• Phil Jackson
• Sean Elliott
• Gilbert Arenas
• Mike Dunleavy
• Caron Butler
• DeShawn Stevenson
• Keith Bogans
• Gregg Popovich
• Antonio McDyess
• Kurt Rambis
• Ron Artest
• Steve Smith

--Gregg Popovich, head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, coached against Kobe Bryant in the postseason five times in this decade.

"He’s a lot more aggressive now. It’s like he knows now that he can’t be stopped. He’s so much more aggressive now, and what can you do? He’s got you on your heels at all times. Earlier in his career, he was kind of thinking about, okay, I’m gonna get my shot off, but now he thinks the game. He gets everyone involved, and he’s also scoring. Before, he may have thought he was the best… now he knows."

More Evolution of Kobe Bryant:

• Phil Jackson
• Sean Elliott
• Gilbert Arenas
• Mike Dunleavy
• Caron Butler
• DeShawn Stevenson
• Keith Bogans
• Gregg Popovich
• Antonio McDyess
• Kurt Rambis
• Ron Artest
• Steve Smith

--Antonio McDyess entered the league one season before Kobe Bryant, in the 1995-96 season.

"I remember one practice last year, after a game in which he was getting hit an awful lot on his arm on his shots he spent a practice one-on-one with one of the assistant coaches continually hitting him on the arm so he could learn to shoot while he was being fouled at the same time. That's the diligence that he's done every single year, every month, every week. Understanding how he has to play better and overcome any obstacle that's put in front of him, whether it's double teams, triple teams. Understanding where he's being defended on the floor, and how different teams come to trap him. He's always studying and trying to figure out what he can do."

More Evolution of Kobe Bryant:

• Phil Jackson
• Sean Elliott
• Gilbert Arenas
• Mike Dunleavy
• Caron Butler
• DeShawn Stevenson
• Keith Bogans
• Gregg Popovich
• Antonio McDyess
• Kurt Rambis
• Ron Artest
• Steve Smith

--Kurt Rambis, longtime Lakers assistant coach, left Los Angeles to become the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves before the 2009-10 season.

"Last year, he started using the left hand, and it was a great tool. A great tool to have in the tool chest. It works. You need it, it’s necessary, and everybody should have it. But Kobe, he was like Einstein, he was smart enough to work on it. It’s like the guy who discovered peanut butter. The first time I saw it, I was like “wow.” I drive left a lot, but he actually shoots the jump shot with his left."

--Ron Artest, considered one of the best defenders of his generation, joined the Lakers before the 2009-10 season.

"He kind of played fast, which at my age then was much faster than me. He didn’t have to. I think he did things back then where athletically, speed wise, it made the game harder for himself. He really didn’t take advantage of all a guy’s weaknesses, he just played at his pace and played the way he wanted to play. Now you take him, he's still athletic, still very good, and now you add strength, you've added a jump shot, which he's always had but added more range. Now it's scary, he's added a post game... For me, knee injuries forced me to start posting up. There's nothing he's doing that teams are forcing him to do. What he’s doing is choosing to have in his career the longevity and play at a high level. I’ve always said to myself and to other people and friends, if he’d had his post game four or five years ago, this would have been scary. But he didn’t have to, because he did so many other things so well. I think those couple years where the Lakers were kind of down, he was getting beat up a little bit and getting a little frustrated. Now you’re keeping him with this kind of talent around, the longevity for Kobe Bryant, staying at this level, it’s scary for the rest of the league."

More Evolution of Kobe Bryant:

• Phil Jackson
• Sean Elliott
• Gilbert Arenas
• Mike Dunleavy
• Caron Butler
• DeShawn Stevenson
• Keith Bogans
• Gregg Popovich
• Antonio McDyess
• Kurt Rambis
• Ron Artest

--Steve Smith, 14 year NBA veteran, is now an analyst with NBA TV. He battled Kobe Bryant repeatedly in postseason action as a member of the Blazers and Spurs.