Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors the other day. That feat puts him only behind Wilt Chamberlain for most points in a single NBA game. In 1962, Chamberlain, then a member of the Philadelphia Warriors (now the Golden State Warriors, not the Philadelphia 76ers), scored a hundred points against the New York Knicks and established one of sports' most enduring, seemingly unbreakable records.
Kobe Bryant's unbelievable performance against the Raptors changes all that. Used to be that the notion of anyone breaking Wilt's record was unthinkable. Now, however, Kobe has everyone who has ever played or watched a basketball game think again.
The Game (as we shall now call it) begs the following questions:
Was Kobe's feat really that big a deal?
Yes. Says Vince Carter: "Eighty-one is 81, I don't care if you're playing summer league, pickup, Playstation - it's a lot." I play a lot of NBA Live. 81 is hard to get, even on an imaginary court. So Kobe's 81 point-game is a big deal, and is worth all the hype.
Was Toronto's defense really that bad?
Yep. Watch the highlights. The Raptors' opponents average 102.7 points a game on 48.9% shooting. Only the Seattle Supersonics play worse D. According to the Detroit Pistons' Chauncey Billups, the Raptors didn't even double-team Kobe, despite Raptors' coach Sam Mitchell's claim that Toronto "threw everything" at Kobe. Well, Bryant scored 81. Guess you know who gave the more objective assessment.
Is Kobe really that good?
Kobe leads the NBA in scoring, and has carried an untalented LA Lakers team on his shoulders all season long. The result is a 22-19 record. If the playoffs were held today, the Lakers would qualify. So yes, he really is that good.
Is this Kobe guy better than Michael Jordan?
Maybe Kobe is a better scorer, but that's debatable. Actually, you can look at all the different aspects of their game (ball-handling, passing, clutch shooting) and have a debate on your hands. Defense, however, is one department that Jordan beats Bryant hands-down. Kobe plays great off-the-ball defense, gets in the passing lanes, and is good for 1.33 steals a game. Jordan did this, plus, he shut people down. People forget that Jordan is the only player to win both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season (1988).
There are also the intangibles. Jordan was in his sixth year in the NBA when the Bulls won their first championship, and he already exhibited great leadership and the ability to make his teammates better. Kobe has yet to prove he can lead a team (glaring at teammates when they make bonehead decisions doesn't count) or make his supporting cast better (Lamar Odom ain't no Scottie Pippen, but that guy has skills), so until then, the answer is NO.
How does Kobe's performance compare to Wilt's? Or to the other great scoring performances?
There are those who say Kobe's performance was better than Wilt's because the latter was a freak-a giant at a time when most NBA players reached his shoulders. There are those that say that the fact that Kobe scored on jumpers and a host of other acrobatic moves makes his feat more impressive than Wilt's. I don't buy that. A hundred is still a hundred. Besides, Wilt didn't have the three-point shot, or free throws to help.
As for the other 70+ scorers-Elgin Baylor (LA Lakers), David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs), and David Thompson (Denver Nuggets)-all these were done during the regular season. Both Davids scored 70+ in the last games of the season, to jack up their scoring averages to win the scoring title, so these games had little meaning.
Jordan's highest-scoring regular-season game was 69-against the Cleveland Cavaliers. But this was hardly his most impressive scoring game. Jordan holds the record for most points in a playoff game. He scored 63 points against a Boston Celtics team that featured Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, Larry Bird, Danny Ainge, and Dennis Johnson-all future Hall of Famers. What's even more amazing is that Jordan did this in the Boston Garden, against a team which had lost only one game at home in the regular season (an NBA record), a team that would go on to become NBA Champions.
Kobe has yet to reach the playoffs without Shaq. He may break the record for most points in a playoff game, but for him to really make an impression, he'd have to do that against a great NBA defensive team like the San Antonio Spurs.
Can Kobe score over a hundred points in a single game? Will he?
Yes, he can. One of the consequences of expansion is the watering down of talent in the NBA. There are so many mediocre teams with players that couldn't defend their own shadows if they wanted to (i.e., the Atlanta Hawks, the New York Knicks). There also teams that are an injury or two away from mediocrity; take away the stars on some teams (i.e., the Houston Rockets, the Philadelphia 76ers), and what you get are terrible teams that could be whipped by a good NCAA team. So it's just a matter of time.
Kobe Bryant's unbelievable performance against the Raptors changes all that. Used to be that the notion of anyone breaking Wilt's record was unthinkable. Now, however, Kobe has everyone who has ever played or watched a basketball game think again.
The Game (as we shall now call it) begs the following questions:
Was Kobe's feat really that big a deal?
Yes. Says Vince Carter: "Eighty-one is 81, I don't care if you're playing summer league, pickup, Playstation - it's a lot." I play a lot of NBA Live. 81 is hard to get, even on an imaginary court. So Kobe's 81 point-game is a big deal, and is worth all the hype.
Was Toronto's defense really that bad?
Yep. Watch the highlights. The Raptors' opponents average 102.7 points a game on 48.9% shooting. Only the Seattle Supersonics play worse D. According to the Detroit Pistons' Chauncey Billups, the Raptors didn't even double-team Kobe, despite Raptors' coach Sam Mitchell's claim that Toronto "threw everything" at Kobe. Well, Bryant scored 81. Guess you know who gave the more objective assessment.
Is Kobe really that good?
Kobe leads the NBA in scoring, and has carried an untalented LA Lakers team on his shoulders all season long. The result is a 22-19 record. If the playoffs were held today, the Lakers would qualify. So yes, he really is that good.
Is this Kobe guy better than Michael Jordan?
Maybe Kobe is a better scorer, but that's debatable. Actually, you can look at all the different aspects of their game (ball-handling, passing, clutch shooting) and have a debate on your hands. Defense, however, is one department that Jordan beats Bryant hands-down. Kobe plays great off-the-ball defense, gets in the passing lanes, and is good for 1.33 steals a game. Jordan did this, plus, he shut people down. People forget that Jordan is the only player to win both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season (1988).
There are also the intangibles. Jordan was in his sixth year in the NBA when the Bulls won their first championship, and he already exhibited great leadership and the ability to make his teammates better. Kobe has yet to prove he can lead a team (glaring at teammates when they make bonehead decisions doesn't count) or make his supporting cast better (Lamar Odom ain't no Scottie Pippen, but that guy has skills), so until then, the answer is NO.
How does Kobe's performance compare to Wilt's? Or to the other great scoring performances?
There are those who say Kobe's performance was better than Wilt's because the latter was a freak-a giant at a time when most NBA players reached his shoulders. There are those that say that the fact that Kobe scored on jumpers and a host of other acrobatic moves makes his feat more impressive than Wilt's. I don't buy that. A hundred is still a hundred. Besides, Wilt didn't have the three-point shot, or free throws to help.
As for the other 70+ scorers-Elgin Baylor (LA Lakers), David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs), and David Thompson (Denver Nuggets)-all these were done during the regular season. Both Davids scored 70+ in the last games of the season, to jack up their scoring averages to win the scoring title, so these games had little meaning.
Jordan's highest-scoring regular-season game was 69-against the Cleveland Cavaliers. But this was hardly his most impressive scoring game. Jordan holds the record for most points in a playoff game. He scored 63 points against a Boston Celtics team that featured Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, Larry Bird, Danny Ainge, and Dennis Johnson-all future Hall of Famers. What's even more amazing is that Jordan did this in the Boston Garden, against a team which had lost only one game at home in the regular season (an NBA record), a team that would go on to become NBA Champions.
Kobe has yet to reach the playoffs without Shaq. He may break the record for most points in a playoff game, but for him to really make an impression, he'd have to do that against a great NBA defensive team like the San Antonio Spurs.
Can Kobe score over a hundred points in a single game? Will he?
Yes, he can. One of the consequences of expansion is the watering down of talent in the NBA. There are so many mediocre teams with players that couldn't defend their own shadows if they wanted to (i.e., the Atlanta Hawks, the New York Knicks). There also teams that are an injury or two away from mediocrity; take away the stars on some teams (i.e., the Houston Rockets, the Philadelphia 76ers), and what you get are terrible teams that could be whipped by a good NCAA team. So it's just a matter of time.
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