Kobe takes over right away, scoring a game-high 12 points in the opening quarter. Game 1 of the 2001 Western Conference Finals. Kobe stats: 45 points, 19-35 FG, 19 rebounds A 21-year-old Bryant cooly took over, knocking down a pair of clutch jumpers to keep Indiana at bay and the rest is history. With 2:33 left in overtime, O'Neal fouled out. The Lakers had not yet won a championship and if the Pacers won Game 4 to even the series, who knows what may have transpired. And maybe it was a begrudging form of respect.īut if you're making a list of the greatest Kobe Bryant playoff games, it's hard to start anywhere else but Game 4 of the 2000 NBA Finals. This is the game that Shaq knew Kobe was the real deal. Kobe stats: 28 points, 14-27 FG, 6 points in final 2:00 of OT The 2001 NBA Finals and the All-Star Game in Philadelphia come to mind.īut Kobe's best game against the 76ers came at home during the 2005-06 season when he dropped 48 in a duel with Allen Iverson. Kobe stats: 48 points, 19-29 FG, 7-7 3-pt FG, 10 rebounds This game delivered Kobe his fifth and final ring. Also underrated? The fact that he finished with 15 rebounds, five more than anyone on the Celtics.
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Bryant scored 10 points in the final frame (eight of them from the free throw line) to help will his team to a second straight title. He certainly had others where he shot the ball better.īut while "6-24" may have become somewhat of a running joke, it's impossible to deny the importance of this game in Bryant's overall legacy as a champion. He had others where he scored more points. OK so maybe this isn't Kobe's best game against the Celtics. Kobe stats: 23 points, 6-24 FG, 15 rebounds So instead, I'm rolling with a March game against LeBron James and Dwyane Wade when he finished with a game-high 33 points in a tight win against the eventual NBA champs. That's certainly more memorable but Kobe's about winning. Some might go with the Christmas Day game against Shaquille O'Neal in 2004 when Bryant scored 42 in a loss. Down one with the ball in his hands in the closing seconds. In a January "home" game for the Clippers who entered with a better record, Bryant went off for 50 points including 40 in the second half to lead the Lakers back from a double-digit deficit.
That team snapped a streak of 12 straight losing seasons and with the Lakers still searching for solid ground in the post-Shaq era, the Clippers had an opening to steal some LA shine. Kobe stats: 50 points, 17-41 FG, 8 assists, 8 rebounds His only 40-point game against the Bucks came in that season when he finished with 43 including 12 in the fourth quarter in a dramatic 5-point win. Remember that magical 2005-06 season? The one where Bryant averaged a scorching 35.4 points per game while torching all comers on a nightly basis? And he just shot it.Kobe stats: 43 points, 12-26 FG, 14-14 FT We were talking about his all-world ability to knock down elbow jumpers, when he suddenly had a flashback: “Do you remember Lakers versus Phoenix, a playoff game in 2006? Kobe. Still, as bleak as this year has been, this is not the Kobe Bryant we will remember.ĭuring the preseason, I went to Staples Center to interview Chris Paul. If those guys play as long as Bryant, they will retire in 2035. Kristaps Porzingis was 1-year-old and Karl-Anthony Towns hadn’t even had a birthday when Kobe made his debut. But his NBA career started the same autumn that Bill Clinton was elected to his second term in office. Over the next few months, recency bias may be very unkind to Bryant. On the one hand, it’s unsurprising to see aging scorers start to slip on the other, it’s always alarming to see someone as iconic as Bryant slip so far so fast. That’s one of the saddest charts I’ve ever made. If shot charts could talk, this one would apologize:
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