It’s been a tough and trying year for future NBA 1st ballot Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant as he has gone through his share of Dwight Howard drama, continuous coaching changes, and injuries to not only himself, but teammates Pau Gasol, Howard, and Steve Nash.
Last night, playing on essentially one leg, Bryant came within a rebound of compiling a triple-double(19 points, 14 assists, 9 rebounds), in helping his Lakers remain in the hunt for the 8th and final Playoff spot in the Western Conference, besting the Sacramento Kings 103-98.
More importantly, with 7:55 remaining in the 2nd quarter, Kobe pulled up and connected on a free throw line jumper, helping him pass the legendary Wilt Chamberlain for 4th on the NBA’s all time scoring list.
Kobe has always been linked in some way to the “Big Dipper” as he once broke Wilt’s Pennsylvania high school scoring record 17 years ago and ranks 2nd to Chamberlain in NBA history, scoring 81 points in a single game.
He now trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, and Michael Jordan all time in points scored. At age 34, many wonder if Kobe can somehow remain potent enough to pass not only MJ and the “Mailman”, but catch former Lakers great Kareem before his playing days are over…
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
