Kobe Bryant was among the 8th finalists who were selected for enshrinement to the Basketball Hall of Fame this year.
The announcement was made on Saturday and the induction ceremony is temporarily scheduled for August 29, 2020, at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame headquarters in Springfield, Massachusetts. Along with Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Tamika Catchings, Kim Mulkey, Barbara Stevens, Eddie Sutton, and Rudy Tomjanovic were selected on Saturday in what is one of the most star-studded Hall of Fame Class ever.
Bryant was known as one of the greatest scorers in the history of the NBA. Let us remember the late NBA legend with his 10 greatest games ever:
We all know Kobe could score and that he could hit the three-point basket with consistency. But back when he was a 24-year old in 2003, he shot just 28% from deep during that season. On January 7, 2003, Kobe Bryant went on his best three-point shooting night ever.
Kobe led the Lakers to a 119-98 win over the Seattle SuperSonics and in that game, Bryant broke Dennis Scott’s then NBA record of 11-three point baskets made in a single game with a dozen connections from three-ball. He shot 12-18 from three-point distance, making nine consecutive threes at one point. Overall, Kobe shot 16-28 from the floor in what was his greatest display from downtown. That record has been since shattered Steph Curry (13) then Klay Thompson (14) but this stands as one of Bryant’s best games ever.
The Lakers finished with the best record in the West during the 2008 season and they faced a dangerous Denver Nuggets team in round one of the 2008 NBA Playoffs. This was the post-Shaq era and Kobe’s sidekick here was Pau Gasol. They were up against a Denver team led by Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson, and JR Smith.
Los Angeles took Game 1 but Bryant had a bad night as he shot just 9-26 from the field. He wouldn’t let his team down in Game 2 as he torched the Nuggets with 49 points on 18-27 shooting from the floor. Kobe scored 20 points in the opening quarter and then finished off Denver with 19 points in the fourth period. He also dished off 10 assists in a near-unstoppable effort The Lakers won the game 122-107 and went on to sweep the series.
Shaq and Kobe duo won their first NBA title in 2000 and without a doubt, it was their most special. The Lakers eliminated the Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, and Portland Trail Blazers to make their first NBA Finals appearance since 1991. In the Finals, the faced the Reggie Miller-led Indiana Pacers and won the first two games of the series at home. The Pacers won Game 3 and were poised to tie the series in Game 4.
The 21-year old Kobe Bryant would step for his team, especially after Shaquille O’Neal fouled out in the overtime period. Bryant would finish the game with 28 points, 4 rebounds, and five assists on 14-27 shooting. Those are mediocre Kobe numbers but this was the game where he established himself as a big-time player. Bryant’s follow-up layup with 5.9 seconds left in OT sealed the win for the Lakers.
The Lakers’ 2001 Playoff run is one of the best in the history of the NBA postseason. LA went 15-1 in 2001, with only the Golden State Warriors’ 16-1 record in 2017 better than them. The Purple and Gold swept the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round and won the first three against the Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, and Doug Christie led-Kings. Bryant made sure their rivals didn’t get on board.
With his jump shot going all night long, Bryant shot 15-29 from the field and 17-19 from the foul line to finish with 48 points and a playoff career-high 16 rebounds. The Kings hung tough but Bryant poured in 15 points in the final period as the Lakers won 119-113 and swept the Kings in one of Bryant’s most dominant playoff games ever.
After dropping 48 points on the Kings in his previous game ( please see above), Kobe Bryant delivered another masterful effort. This time around, Bryant put up 45 points against the best defense in the league that season in the San Antonio Spurs. Kobe shot 19-35 from the floor and made only one three-pointer on this special night.
The Spurs were led by David Robinson and Tim Duncan but they were simply no match against a Los Angeles team that was on a mission to become not just a back to back NBA champion but also to become the most dominant playoff team in history of the NBA. Bryant’s 45-points was a playoff-high against the Spurs. The Lakers never looked back and went on to sweep San Antonio.
The Lakers were a mediocre team during the 2007 season as they finished with a record of 42-40 and were only the 8th seed in the Western Conference. But in their final regular-season game, Kobe Bryant showed the world why he was one of the greatest scorers in the history of the game.
This was one of the games where everything was falling for Bryant. He led the Lakers to a 116-111 win over Portland while finishing with a monster 65-point night. Kobe was a ridiculous 23-29 from the field including 8-12 from behind the three-point arc. Bryant added seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals in a classic Black Mamba performance.
On February 2, 2009, Kobe Bryant went to New York’s fabled Madison Square Garden and delivered the highest-scoring game at the Garden at that time. Bryant broke Bernard King’s record by scoring 61 points on 19-31 shooting from the floor and 3-6 from three-ball. The Lakers beat the Knicks 126-117 in what was the 24th 50-point game of Kobe’s career.
Before this game, Bryant’s best scoring game at the Madison Square Garden was 46 points. The Lakers had just lost big man Andrew Bynum to injury but Bryant and Paul Gasol combined for 92 of the Lakers’ total points in that game. Kobe was so good here that the Knicks fans chanted MVP for him.
No doubt, this would have been Kobe’s career night had Phil Jackson let him play the entire fourth quarter. Given the way he was hitting baskets, Bryant could have easily topped 81 points here. However, the game was so out of hand so Kobe didn’t have to play the fourth quarter as the Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-90.
Bryant scored 62 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and had three steals in just 32 minutes of playing time. He outscored the entire Mavs team at the end of three quarters 62-61. Kobe was a remarkable +35 when he was on the floor during that game. I’ve seen players score 50 or 60 but I have never seen a player outscore an entire team after playing three quarters.
Former teammate Shaquille O’Neal challenged Kobe Bryant to score 50 points in his final NBA regular-season game. The Black Mamba responded by putting up a 60-point game in a come from behind 101-96 win over the Utah Jazz. I mean we’ve seen Kobe score more than this several times during his career but this was extra special because this was his last game in the league.
Not only was it his final game, but he was also already playing in his 20th season. Although he shot just 22-50 from the field, Bryant led a furious Lakers rally where he scored his team’s final 13 points in the last two minutes of the game to win the final game of his NBA career. Sure, it wasn’t one of his most efficient nights, but there was no other way to end his Hall of Fame career than a dramatic 60-point game. After the game, Kobe took the mic and addressed the crowd with his famous two words: Mamba Out.
Kobe Bryant will always be remembered as one of the greatest scorers in the history of basketball. On January 22, 2016, he put on the second-highest scoring game in the history of the NBA against the Toronto Raptors. Kobe scored a career-high 81 points on this night in what is his most explosive offensive outburst ever. Bryant’s 81 ranks next only to Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game in the NBA record books.
Kobe scored 81 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, issued two assists, one block and had three steals. What was more impressive here is that he shot 60.3% from the floor on this night. 55 of his 81 points came during the second half of the game where he dismantled the Raptors’ defense. Overall, Kobe shot 28-46 from the floor, including 7-13 from deep, and 18-20 from the free-throw line.
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