Kevin Durant

Kobe Bryant has emerged as the league's leading scorer at 26.9 points per game. The Lakers guard has put up the most efficient numbers of his career through nine games, shooting 53.1% from the field, 41% from three-point range and 91.8% from the line. Bryant recently overtook Houston Rockets guard James Harden, who is a close second at 26.7 points. Harden isn't nearly as accurate as Bryant, with percentages at 44.1%, 25.9% and 83.5%, respectively. Others averaging 23 points a game or more include LeBron James (24.8)

With one whack to the nose, Kobe Bryant gave Scott Brooks a first-hand look at what made the Thunder coach admire the Lakers star so much from afar. Brooks, like any NBA coach or player, has always gushed over Bryant's toughness, longevity, competitiveness and efficient footwork. Those qualities often cause the biggest nightmares for opposing teams when they try to stop the Lakers' star. But when he coached the Western Conference team in the 2012 NBA All-Star game, Brooks gained an extra sense of appreciation for it. Brooks saw varying images of Bryant that left him shaking his head as he processed it all. First, Brooks saw Miami guard Dwyane Wade deliver a hard foul that broke Bryant's nose.

With the Lakers' roster changes pretty much finalized, it's safe now to envision how the team will fare heading into the 2012-13 season. Sure, the Lakers will have to narrow their 14-man roster during training camp, and no one knows what deals leading into the trade deadline could change the NBA landscape. But in the spirit of seeing how things have evolved for the Lakers since the 2012 NBA playoffs ended, this is one in a series breaking down potentially troublesome opponents. Team: Oklahoma City Thunder Lakers' record versus Thunder last year: 1-2 in regular season; lost 4-1 in Western Conference semifinals How Thunder fared last season: Compiled a 47-19 regular-season record (second in Western Conference)

Should Kevin Durant or James Harden show up at your cocktail party, bringing up Dwight Howard's name isn't exactly the best icebreaker. NBC's Jimmy Fallon found that out the awkward way when the two Oklahoma City Thunder stars appeared on his show Monday night. "What do you think of Dwight Howard going to the Lakers?," Fallon asked Durant and Harden in a giddy and excited tone many would hear from Lakers fans. Durant shrugged his shoulders. Harden turned and slightly laughed.

Sitting by himself on the team bus Sunday, Kobe Bryant visualized what was in store for him that day. Team USA would soon play Spain for the gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics, and this pregame ritual is the time Bryant visualizes the game-winning shot or a key scoring spurt he might provide to ensure victory. It also gave Bryant time to reflect on everything that had led up to that point. He knew this would mark his second and last Olympic run. He said without any hesitation that he wouldn't play in the 2016 Games in Brazil, considering that he turns 34 next week and possibly would be retired from the NBA by then.

Below are five things to take from Team USA's 107-100 gold-medal win Sunday over Spain in the 2012 London Olympics. 1. LeBron James deserves team MVP for his performance. For far too long, James faced criticism for shrinking in the fourth quarter after dominating nearly every facet of the game in the previous three periods. That turned on its head in the gold-medal game against Spain, in which he looked fairly passive for the first three quarters. But that all changed when Team USA needed James the most, finishing with 19 points on eight-of-13 shooting, seven rebounds and four assists.

LONDON - It wasn't easy, or particularly graceful until the fourth quarter, but the U.S. men's basketball team finally prevailed in the Olympics final. Kevin Durant scored 30 points as the U.S. defeated Spain, 107-100, in the gold-medal game Sunday at North Greenwich Arena. LeBron James added 19 points and Kobe Bryant had 17 for the U.S., which held a one-point lead going into the fourth quarter. James scored on a dunk and hit a three-pointer as the shot clock dwindled, giving the U.S. a 102-93 lead with 1:59 to play.

LONDON -- Kevin Durant is one of the more polite and accessible stars in the NBA. Thus, it wasn't surprising when he patiently listened to a long-winded question from a foreign journalist asking how the U.S. can win Sunday's gold-medal game against Spain when it's more a collection of superstars than a true national team that trains together for four years. What was mildly surprising was how edgy Durant's answer defending his team sounded. "Not one guy that you named is averaging what we average with our [NBA]

LONDON -- Slowly but surely, NBA players' opinions are coming out about the Dwight Howard trade. After a slew of "no comments" Friday, Team USA players were more open Saturday to analyzing the Lakers' part in the 12-player, four-team deal. "That's what the Lakers do," Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant said. "They have great management and ownership to make those moves come to life. " Is Oklahoma City still the team to beat in the Western Conference? "You never know, but we feel confident about ourselves," Durant said.