People debating Kobe Bryant’s most memorable season may talk about his 2008 MVP campaign, his 2009 or 2010 championship runs or his 2005-06 season, when he averaged more than 35 points per game. While these were all great seasons, Bryant’s most underrated and underappreciated season, all things considered, was the 2012-13 season, in which he willed his team to the playoffs at the age of 34 even as the Lakers battled injuries, coaching changes and a tough Western Conference.

The Lakers were plagued by injuries in the 2012-13 season despite a lineup with great expectations: starters such as Bryant, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard, Metta Sandiford-Artest and Pau Gasol, as well as complementary pieces such as former All-Star Antawn Jamison and sharpshooter Jodie Meeks. This team was expected to compete with juggernauts such as LeBron James’ Miami Heat and Kevin Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder.

Unfortunately, these high hopes were dashed when Nash fractured his kneecap in his second game as a Laker. Howard suffered persistent back issues, and Sandiford-Artest and Gasol began showing their age. As a result, the Lakers turned to superstar Bryant to salvage a season in which injured players missed a total of 176 games.

These injuries, along with coaching changes, seemingly doomed the Lakers. The season got off to a shaky start with a 1-4 record and the firing of then-head coach Mike Brown after just five games. Brown’s replacement, offensive guru Mike D’Antoni, did not bring the Lakers better luck.

The Lakers had their worst start to a season since the 1993-94 campaign, and their 15-21 start was even more glaring considering they had two superstar players and two star players. Their 40-32 record under D’Antoni was disappointing, considering the roster, but even that record was only possible because of incredible outings by Bryant, who proceeded to lead the Lakers to a 25-29 record by the All-Star break.

Bryant’s herculean effort that season was all the more impressive given that he was 34 and that he stepped up to take on so many different roles. Already known for his ability to score in unimaginable ways, Bryant shined by adapting to what the Lakers needed against different teams. D’Antoni put him at point guard and Nash at shooting guard, a choice that raised a lot of eyebrows, considering that Nash is known for passing and Bryant was known for scoring. In a five-game stretch from Jan. 25 to Feb. 1, 2013, Bryant rose to the occasion, averaging 16.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 11.2 assists per game, helping the Lakers go 4-1 during this stretch with impressive wins over teams such as the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.

After the All-Star break, Bryant was still the primary ballhandler, but he also had to do what he did best: score. The Lakers needed to go 20-8 to make the postseason, and the odds were stacked against them, considering that they had gone 25-29 before the break. Bryant spearheaded this effort, averaging 28.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and seven assists in the last 24 games he played while playing about 39 minutes per game. In these 24 games, the Lakers had a 17-7 record, and Bryant put them in position for the playoffs as the seventh seed. Furthermore, in his final seven games, he averaged 45.36 minutes per game, which was astounding for a 34-year-old player. The 2012-13 season was also one of Bryant’s most efficient seasons, as he had the highest effective field goal percentage of his career (50.3) while also posting one of the best field goal percentages of his career (46.3).

Although the season failed to produce the fairy-tale ending everyone wanted, with Bryant’s Achilles tendon tear at the end of the season and the Lakers ousted in the first round of the playoffs, Bryant still put his team in position to make the playoffs in the first place. His perseverance despite the season’s challenges marks it as the standout.

Bryant agreed, noting that during the 2012-13 season, he “was playing the best basketball (he’d) ever played in (his) entire career.”

“I was able to see five, six moves ahead in the game,” he told ESPN, even though it required working “like a maniac.”

Bryant’s killer instinct on the court earned him the nickname “Black Mamba,” but the 2012-13 season explains his other appellation: “Vino,” because he aged like fine wine. Although Bryant has died, the finish of that wine still lingers, with memories of a player whose hustle and talent will remain in basketball legend forever.