VIDEO: Kobe Bryant Knows How To Use The Backboard

Kobe and the Lakers ended up losing the battle, and playing second fiddle to Jeremy Lin, but there was a pretty super highlight play to be had. Kobe Bryant didn't make use of the intended purpose of the backboard, I think, but he still managed to turn nothing into something spectacular.

Kobe was hemmed in by a double-team, stuck at the top of the key after picking up his dribble. He somehow found a way out of the trap, though, slipping the two players and finding a sliver of space. Still, he had no shot and no real pass at that moment.

Instead, he did something a bit off the wall and threw the ball off the backboard to himself. In one move, he caught his own pass, volleyed it out to Pau Gasol and watched as the Lakers' big man buried the shot. It was quite impressive!

See, it wasn't all Linsanity! (Ok, maybe it was).