Kobe A Choker? from ESPN

Shelton: Blown Away

Since the end of the Lakers' 3-peat in 2002, they have put up little resistance in elimination games. One constant in all of this is Kobe Bryant. Shaquille O'Neal was still in the purple and gold for two of those defeats, but Bryant has been a part of all five of their flameouts and he has often been very "un-Kobe like."

2003: After the Spurs survived in Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in the conference semifinals. The Lakers had a chance to send it to a seventh game with a win at the Staples Center. Instead, they lost 110-82. Kobe had 20 points, six assists and seven turnovers on 9-for-19 shooting from the floor.

2004: In Game 5 of the NBA Finals, the heavily favored Lakers saw their season end in a 4-1 loss to the Detroit Pistons. The final score of that one was 100-87 with the Pistons leading by as much as 28 in the fourth quarter. Kobe went 7-for-21 from the field with 24 points and 4 assists.

2005: Didn't make playoffs

2006: The Lakers pushed the second-seed Suns to the brink in the first round, leading 3-1. However, the Suns battled back to take the last 3, including Game 7 in a rout 121-90. Kobe did have 24 points but 23 of those came in the first half. In fact he only took three shots in the second half.

2007: The Lakers faced the Suns again but this time the Suns didn't take long to win, eliminated LA in five games. The Lakers battled hard in Game 5, losing "only" 119-110 despite being down 16 in the fourth quarter. Kobe had 34 points on 13-for-33 shooting from the floor with one assist and six turnovers.

2008: The Lakers were blown off the floor in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, losing 131-92. The 39-point loss was the largest margin of defeat in a clinching game in NBA Finals history. They trailed by as many as 43 points in the fourth quarter. Kobe had 22 points, one assist and four turnovers on 7-for-22 shooting from the floor. Only 11 of those points came after the first quarter, including zero in the fourth quarter.