Two weeks later, he made his sixth game-winning shot of the season, against the Toronto Raptors. On January 22, 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 factors in a 122–104 victory towards the Toronto Raptors. In addition to breaking the previous franchise document of seventy one set by Elgin Baylor, Bryant's 81-point game was the second-highest point total in NBA history, surpassed solely by Chamberlain's 100-point sport in 1962. Whereas Chamberlain was fed repeatedly by teammates for inside shots in a blowout win, Bryant created his own shot—mostly from the outside—in a game which the Lakers trailed at halftime by 14 and did not draw back till the fourth quarter.

"Not dangerous for the seventh-best player in the league", mentioned Bryant, referring to a preseason ESPN ranking of the NBA's prime gamers. It was the sixth time in his career he scored 40 or more factors in 4 straight games, a feat exceeded solely by Chamberlain . At the 2012 NBA All-Star Game, Bryant scored 27 factors to pass Jordan as the profession scoring chief within the All-Star Game. He sat out the season finale against Sacramento, foregoing the chase for a potential third NBA scoring title, having wanted 38 factors to surpass Kevin Durant. The Lakers had been knocked out of the playoffs by Durant and Oklahoma City in the second round of the playoffs, losing in five video games in what would be Bryant's last playoff look. The highway to the Finals would prove lots more durable than the record run the Lakers had enjoyed the earlier yr.

He was just the third player in NBA history to average forty factors in a calendar month, which he accomplished four times. Bryant was voted the league MVP in 2008 and led his group to the 2008 NBA Finals as the first seed in the Western Conference. In the 2008 Summer Olympics, he gained a gold medal as a member of the us males's basketball staff, sometimes referred to as "The Redeem Team". He gained another gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

In that same month, Bryant additionally grew to become the first participant since 1964 to attain 45 factors or extra in four consecutive games, becoming a member of Chamberlain and Baylor as the only gamers to take action. For the month of January, Bryant averaged forty three.4 points per sport, the eighth highest single month scoring common in NBA historical past and highest for any participant other than Chamberlain. By the tip of the 2005–06 season, Bryant set Lakers single-season franchise information for most 40-point video games and most points scored . He gained the league's scoring title for the first time by averaging 35.4 points per game, changing into just the fifth player in league history to common a minimum of 35 in a season.

But still filling the sports activities world, the world, with deep function. The August 2023 issue of Sports Illustrated features The Power List, the definitive index of the 50 most influential figures and forces who drive the sports activities world, on and off the field and courtroom. For extra on The Power List’s Icons and Leaders, like Kobe Bryant, click on right here.

But perhaps Bryant’s most mythological second got here in how he responded to a potentially career-altering damage. But being a “great friend” is one thing I will never be. A great pal will call you daily and bear in mind your birthday. I’ll get so wrapped up in my shit, I’ll never remember that stuff. And the people who find themselves my pals perceive this, and they’re usually the same method. But the sort of relationships you see in movies—that’s impossible for me.

The group was signed by Sony Entertainment, but the firm's ultimate aim was to get rid of the group and have Bryant report on his personal. The label wanted to capitalize on Bryant's youth and NBA fame. In the summer time of 2003, the sheriff's office of Eagle, Colorado, arrested Bryant in reference to an investigation of a sexual assault grievance filed by a 19-year-old resort worker.

Kobe Bean Bryant(August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball participant. In 2008 and once more in 2016, ESPN ranked him the second-greatest capturing guard of all time after Jordan. In 2022, to commemorate the NBA's 75th Anniversary The Athletic ranked their top seventy five players of all time, and named Bryant as the 10th greatest participant in NBA history, the second highest shooting guard on the record, behind only Jordan. Players including Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, and Derrick Rose known as Bryant their generation's model of Jordan. The Press-Enterprise described Bryant as "perhaps the greatest Laker within the group's history".