Kobe Bryant is taking better shots, so of course he’s making more of them

The Lakers legend is actually taking shots he can make right now, and naturally, he’s shooting a better percentage.

Dec 16, 2015, 6:43 PM UTC

Kobe Bryant is finding a way to reinvent himself. He's never going to rediscover the bounce and touch that turned him into one of greatest players of all time, but improved shot selection has Bryant improving his play as of late.

Step one was to stop launching too many contested three-pointers. That decision has, predictably, turned out to be a good one. Over his last six games Bryant is taking 5.5 three-pointers per game, a significant drop off from the 7.9 he was attempting in the 16 games before that. Not coincidentally, his percentage from deep has risen from 22 to 33. His overall field goal percentage has climbed, too, from 30 to 41 percent, which has allowed his scoring output (16) to remain the same despite him taking fewer shots.

This new-found approach was on full display Tuesday night in the Lakers' impressive 113-95 home win over the Bucks. Bryant finished with 22 points on 7 of 15 from the field and connected on three of his seven three-pointers. He also dished out six assists for the second straight game.

"I wouldn't say [Kobe is] backpedaling, but he's kind of stepping to the side a little bit and letting them have a little bit more say in what they do out there," Lakers head coach Byron Scott said afterwards, via ESPN Los Angeles. "There's a lot of times in the game where he just kind of defers to those guys."

Bryant is now taking more shots in rhythm and within the natural flow of the offense. He's taking nearly two fewer pull-up three-pointers per game, according to NBA.com.

But the deep ball isn’t the only area where Bryant has been better of late. The majority of his shots are still jumpers, but over the last six games, fewer have come off multiple dribbles and with defenders draped all over him. The change has paid off. Bryant’s percentage on attempts classified by NBA.com as mid-range shots and jump shots are up more than 10 percent over the last six games.

“I just relax and just teach,” Bryant said Tuesday night, via ESPN. “If the plays are there, I take them. Whatever is in front of me, the play, I make it. If there’s an opportunity I see to teach, I do that. I’ve been able to find a balance in doing both and I feel very comfortable in doing that right now.”

Bryant hasn’t completely abandoned the long contested attempts inside the arc. This is bad shot selection.

But that he’s taking fewer of them certainly is a development the Lakers should be happy about. It has yet to translate into wins -- Los Angeles had dropped its last six games before improving to 4-21 with its win on Tuesday -- but the Lakers have begun to resemble a professional basketball team. It’s a small step, for sure, but a step nonetheless.