Kobe Bryant transcended the game of basketball after entering the NBA in 1996

Posted by seestyle on August 8th, 2022

Kobe Bryant transcended the game of basketball after entering the NBA in 1996.

The Lakers legend provided highlight after highlight up until his retirement in 2016, with staggering point hauls.

Tragically, the five-time NBA champion and 2008 MVP and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna died in a helicopter crash on Sunday.

Following his sudden pa sing, welook at Bryant's five greatest games with the Lakers, where hespent his entire 20-year career.

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65 points:March 16, 2007 vs.PortlandTrail Blazers

Against the Trail Blazers at Marvin Harrison Jersey Staples Center,Bryant came close to reaching the career-high81 points he had recorded just over a year earlier. The superstar guard lit up the Blazerswith 65 points as the Lakers won 116-111. Bryant shot 23-of-39, including 11-of-12 from the free-throw line, while he also made eight 3-pointers.

Nate McMillan coached Portland that day and following Sunday's heartbreaking news, the-now Indiana Pacers coach told reporters: "I've seen it firsthand. He Donald Brown Jersey lit us up and I remember, he was shooting threes and just on fire, and we had him in a trap, deep corner, he had nowhere to go, should have pa sed the ball. He's facing his bench and he just turns and shoots it and it goes in. He really became like Michael Jordan , in the sense that when you watched him play, could he do it again? Could he create that magic again in the fourth quarter? And he did."

Kobe and his court!

STAPLES Center (@STAPLESCenter) 61 points:Feb. 2, 2009 vs. New YorkKnicks

Madison Square Garden hosted one of Bryant's greatest performances almost 11 years ago. At the world-famous arena in New York, the Black Mamba posted61 points a venue record for a visiting player Bobby Okereke Jersey against the Knicks, who lost 126-117 to the Lakers. On 19-of-31 shooting, Bryant finished with three a sists and one block. He scored 34 points in the first half alone en route to the record, which was matchedby Houston Rockets star James Harden in 2019.

"Tonight was one of the nights he kind of showed why he's going to go down in history," Lakers teammate Lamar Odom said after the game.

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62 points:Dec. 20, 2005 vs. Dallas Mavericks

Three quarters were all that Kobe needed to embarra s the Mavericks. Bryant outscored Dallas 62-61 at the end of the third quarter in Los Angeles as the Lakers eased to a 112-90 victory. The Mavericks were one of the best teams that season, going on to reach the NBA Finals before succumbing to the Miami Heat. However, the Mavericks were schooled by the unstoppable Bryant, who shot 18-of-31 from the field and 22-of-25 from the free-throw line. He sat out the entire fourth quarter.

"It was just one of those nights," Bryant told reporters as he reflected on the game in 2016. "Yes Carson Wentz T Shirts I could have scored 80 points that night . It sounds funny to say, but yes, I could have."

10 years ago today, scored 62 through 3 quarters... outscoring Dallas 62-61!

NBA (@NBA) 60 points:April 13, 2016 vs. Utah Jazz

Bryant bid farewell to basketball in the only way he knew how, with an exclamation mark.It was a true Hollywood good-bye as Bryant capped a career,spanning two decades, by scoring 60 final-game points in a 101-96 victory over the Utah Jazz at Staples Center.Bryant drained 23 points in the fourth quarter, posting his first 50-point game since February 2009.

"It's hard to believe it happened this way," Bryant, who played 42 minutes and took attempted a career-high 50 shots, said. "I'm still shocked about it. The perfect ending would have been a championship. But tonight was me trying to go out, play hard and try to put on a show as much as I po sibly could. It felt good to be able to do that one last time."

81 points:Jan. 22 Jacoby Brissett T Shirts , 2006 vs. Toronto Raptors

The highlight of a stellar career and the night Bryant threatened to surpa s Wilt Chamberlain. Kobe played 1,346 NBA games but he was well and truly in the zone against the Raptors, scoring 81 points just 19 short of Chamberlain's legendary 100-point outing in 1962.

Bryant produced 48 minutes of pure brilliance to Malik Hooker Jersey lead the Lakers past the Raptors 122-104. It was a display of efficiency as Bryant's outburst featured a 60.9 shooting percentage from the field and 53.8 per cent from beyond the arc.

"Not even in my dreams," Bryant said. "That was something that just happened. It's tough to explain. It's just one of those things."

Almost as memorable as the feat itself, late SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott's read of the highlight package from Bryant's 81-point game is held up as one of the greatest ever.