Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant has had more than a few interesting games throughout his decorated career. After all, he played 20 seasons in the league, so there were definitely a number of unforgettable performances from the Black Mamba during that span.
Today we take a look at some of the most intriguing games Kobe ever played from the perspective of the box score. Some of these may not necessarily be his most outstanding performance, but it will likely pique one's curiosity when looking at the stat line.
November 3, 1996: NBA debut
Stat line: one point (0-of-1 shooting), one rebound, one block, one turnover in six minutes played
The Lakers snagged Bryant in the 1996 NBA Draft 13th overall (via a draft day trade deal with the Charlotte Hornets). He was a highly-touted prospect coming out of high school who had a ton of potential, but at that time, he was still raw.
Case in point was Bryant's NBA debut. Kobe did not take the basketball world by storm by any means. As a matter of fact, he didn't even play in LA's first game of the season. He made his debut in the Lakers' second game, logging a meaningless six minutes. That was actually pretty much the story throughout his rookie campaign.
December 20, 2005: 62 in three
Stat line: 62 points (18-of-31 shooting), four three-pointers, eight rebounds, three steals in 33 minutes played
Fast forward nearly a decade later and Bryant has now evolved as the best scorer in the entire league at that time. If you're having any qualms accepting this fact, then just take a look at his stat line from December of 2005. Kobe absolutely torched the Dallas Mavericks in that game, logging 62 points on a highly-efficient 58.0% shooting. The best part here is that he did this in just three quarters and 33 minutes played. The game was so out of hand than then-Lakers head coach Phil Jackson didn't even bother playing his superstar in the fourth period. To this very day, folks can't help but wonder how many points Bryant would have tallied if he played in the final period.
January 22, 2006: 81
Stat line: 81 points (28-of-46 shooting), seven three-pointers, 18-of-20 from the line, six rebounds, two assists, three steals, one block in 42 minutes played
Kobe definitely caught wind of all the what-ifs from his 62-point gem, so barely a month later, he decided to quell any and all doubts about his full scoring potential.
This resulted in a mind-boggling career-high 81-point performance against a hapless Toronto Raptors side who literally could do nothing to stop Bryant on that evening (we're looking at you Jalen Rose). This game was much closer than the Mavs matchup, as the Lakers actually had to come from behind in this one.
To this day, Bryant's 81 points remain to be the second-highest scoring tally in a single game in the history of the NBA — second only to the great Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point effort in 1962.
May 19, 2010: Career-Best Dimes
Stat line: 21 points (8-of-19 shooting), one three-pointer, five rebounds, 13 assists, one block, two turnovers
Let's not sugarcoat it — many people consider Kobe to be a ball hog. It is worth noting, however, that he actually averaged 4.7 assists throughout his career, which isn't all that bad.
On certain occasions, though, Bryant turned into somewhat of a playmaker. There is no better example of the same than when he dished out a career-best 13 dimes in May 2010. This was in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the Phoenix Suns. Interestingly, Kobe achieved this feat playing against Steve Nash — one of the greatest point guards of all time.
The Lakers won that game, and ended up winning the series in six games. They advanced to the Finals to face off against bitter rivals, the Boston Celtics, who they defeated in an epic seven-game series en route to back-to-back titles and Kobe's fifth and final championship.
April 13, 2016: The Last Dance
Stat line: 60 points (22-of-50 shooting), six three-pointers, four rebounds, four assists, one steal, one block
There was only one way Kobe Bryant was going to end his career, and it was in true Kobe Bryant fashion.
On April 13, 2016, on his last ever NBA game, Bryant dropped a cool 60 points to help his side to a victory against a formidable Utah Jazz side. Bryant had a point to prove, and prove it he absolutely did.
The only downside of this stat line is the fact that he needed a whopping career-high 50 attempts (including 21 from distance) to reach 60 points. Kobe took nearly 60% of the 85 shots the entire Lakers team attempted that evening. Needless to say, he really, really wanted to make a mark on that evening.
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