“I’d rather give those guys credit,” World Peace said. “They put in the work. Nobody’s making shots for them. Nobody’s playing defense for them. It’s all on those guys.”

At the same time, World Peace, ever the contrarian, argued that his younger teammates had benefited from having been around Bryant, to having borne witness to his intergalactic stardom.

“They had a chance to see what it takes to be great,” World Peace said.

That may be true for some of the team’s more experienced players. But for others, like Clarkson, Randle and D’Angelo Russell, what did they really see of Bryant? Once he announced his impending retirement, he never practiced. He was a ghost at shootarounds.

In fairness, his body had been so ravaged by injuries that he struggled to get up and down the court. But that did not prevent Bryant from assembling one of the most gluttonous seasons in N.B.A. history. He averaged 17.6 points a game while shooting 35.8 percent from the field and 28.5 percent from 3-point range. At visiting arenas, the team’s postgame departures were often delayed by endless processions of well-wishers and local dignitaries.

For the bulk of his career, Bryant had been known for his work ethic. But by last season, those days were long gone. He conserved what he could of himself for games. As he described it at the time, he felt that he owed it to his many fans across the country to show up at their arenas and play one last time, somehow making the ultimate show of ego sound selfless.

If last season was all about Bryant, his younger teammates suffered because of it. Their growth stagnated, with their roles reduced to bit parts in the Kobe Show.