Kobe Bryant is the best basketball scorer never to go to college. When you consider how many of the NBA’s greatest players went right from high school to the pros, that’s impressive.
Bryant got an early start on a career in which he has won three NBA championships, two scoring titles and one MVP award. He went from Lower Merion High in Pennsylvania to the Lakers in 1996 as an 18-year-old first-round draft pick, although the Charlotte Hornets selected him, then traded him to Los Angeles. By his second season, he was a starter in the All-Star Game.
The son of former NBA player Joe Bryant, Kobe combined with Shaquille O’Neal to win those three rings in 2000, 2001, and ‘02. But it wasn’t until O’Neal was traded to Miami that Bryant became a dominant player and unstoppable scorer.
In fact, Jerry West, the Lakers’ all-time top scorer before Kobe came along, believes Bryant could hold every points record before his career ends.
“He’s a Picasso in basketball shoes, absolutely—one of those once-in-a-lifetime players,” West said, comparing Bryant to a great artist. “Kobe is the ultimate closer in the game. In all sports you seem to have people who play at a high level when it’s important. You don’t see anyone do it like him today, you really don’t.”1
As Bryant climbed toward the top 10 in scoring, he had an incredible 81-point night against Toronto and also had games of 65, 62, and 60. Through his MVP season of 2007–08, Bryant had 24 games with at least 50 points.
The 81-pointer is second only to Wilt Chamberlain’s magnificent 100-point performance in 1962. It brought a phone call from Magic Johnson that was a special moment for Bryant.
“For him to just call me and tell me what a great game it was and how proud of me he is meant more to me than the 81 points,” Bryant said. “That meant more to me than even the game itself because I idolized him as a kid.”2
Bryant has done his scoring in many different ways. He is good from three-point range and deadly from inside the arc. He’s one of the best drivers in the game, which means he also often gets fouled as he goes to the basket. And he’s an excellent free-throw shooter.
When the game is on the line, Bryant is as good as any of the NBA’s great scorers. It doesn’t matter how many defenders try to stop him, Kobe Bryant will go after his shot. And usually make it.
