Kobe Bryants 81 points record breaking game!!!

[enesexdreamer]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=260122013

just thought i'd post this historical record breaking moment.

too bad Kobe had to go through that whole rape thing. if he didn't he would be hot shit in the NBA.

GO LAKERS!!!!!

 

[95NSXT]

I haven't scored 81 points in my life. That must be awesome to be that good. Congrats to him

 

[Osiris_x11]

once-in-a-lifetime...

Kobe will break Wilt's record of 100 at some point, after going for 81 today. I hope Phil will let him do it, which I think he might (ala' at odds w/ Jordan?!? ).

It's not even the "rape-thing" that damaged his potential. The court acquitted him on that w/o even closing. It's that he admittedly cheated on his beloved wife. There was a legal-moral connection, he beat the legal rap, but failed the moral one.

 

[FuryNSX]

I think it's the fact that "his" team barely hovers around .500.

Remember, winning championships solves everything.

 

[Understudy]

Kobe is an incredible athlete and phenomenal player. This feat further solidifies his place as one of the best players. That's just an awesome number of points in one game.

However, I still don't think he has the magic and some of the intangibles that MJ did and I don't see him every eclipsing Jordan in basketball stature. Jordan was simply unbelievable and has an indescribable presence on the floor that no one else that I've ever seen has and I've seen many of the best play in person. I've had the chance to meet many different high profile athletes and MJ just has a special feel to him, incredible charisma.

Anyway, congrats to Kobe on the accomplishment and I think in the end his legal and moral difficulties will be all but forgotten (unless he screws up again).

 

[NsXMas]

Kobe will never eclipse MJ.

He is too selfish of a player. MJ was phenomenal, but also helped his teammates in a lot of ways.

When Kobe scores, the rest of his team does poorly. Most of the high scoring games for Kobe results in the Lakers losing.

 

[Simons2k]

First of all congrats to Kobe. 81 points is HUGE! I hope he does go on and break Wilt's record.

I should mention that Wilt scored his 100 points in an era where the 3 point shot didn't exist, -for what it's worth.

Kobe is the Lakers offense, at least right now. Odom is their 2nd best offensive player. To say that Kobe's a ball hog or selfish is incorrect. Who else do you want to give the ball to? The coaching staff decides on how plays are to be run. For now the Lakers have Kobe as their best option. Until the Lakers can put together a team, not full of all stars, but a team that can gel as one, they'll start winning championships again.

Kobe is not MJ. MJ had a gift. He made people around him better. That's true leadership.

81 points is 81 points! Go Kobe!!!

 

[enesexdreamer]

i can totally agree that kobe is no jordan. but pretty dang close, as far as talent and showtime goes.(very entertaining to watch) kobe lacks the leadership and other qualities that jordan has. but as far as basketball skills i'd have to give it to kobe. kobe's style is similar to jordans. fade aways and swager. we dont know if we're seeing his prime,...time will tell. +plus it takes years to build a championship team.

 

[Carguy!]

I have a funny story about Wilt's 100 point game.

I played poker in a local game with a guy who used to play professional basketball and also coached the pistons quite a while ago. He has the distinction of being one of the guys who was covering Wilt during the 100 point game! He actually said it was fixed in that they would play entire minutes without the clock moving! Apparantly the fix was in to get Wilt his 100 point game, do you wonder why there isn't any video of the game?

The final score was: Final: Philadelphia 169 — New York 147 - How many games have this high of a score without overtime?

With the final 46 seconds not even being played because as soon as Wilt got to the 100 mark the fan rushed the court.

 

[NSXLuvr]

I have a funny story about Wilt's 100 point game.

I played poker in a local game with a guy who used to play professional basketball and also coached the pistons quite a while ago. He has the distinction of being one of the guys who was covering Wilt during the 100 point game! He actually said it was fixed in that they would play entire minutes without the clock moving! Apparantly the fix was in to get Wilt his 100 point game, do you wonder why there isn't any video of the game?

The final score was: Final: Philadelphia 169 — New York 147 - How many games have this high of a score without overtime?

With the final 46 seconds not even being played because as soon as Wilt got to the 100 mark the fan rushed the court.

WOW!!! that is an interesting story. I wonder if we can find video of the game

 

[nsxtasy]

81 points is not "record breaking".

And I don't believe that story about Wilt's game. Not with thousands of fans in attendance.

 

[Malibu Rapper]

The 3 point line wasn't around back then but the players of old are also nowhere near as athletic as they are today. Any coach will tell you that. Defense today is more stifling than it was yesteryear as well. Bill Russell could never average a triple double in today's game.

MJ was in an era where he was head and shoulders better than everyone else. I don't think his level of domination would have carried over to the game now. He'd be great in any era, but not as great as he was when he played.

That said, I think this was a pretty good performance. I do think Kobe had 2 other games where he had a better performance but was cut short because they pulled him out the entire 3rd quarter. This year that was against Dallas and he was on fire against Memphis several years ago.

 

[Malibu Rapper]

81 points is not "record breaking".

And I don't believe that story about Wilt's game. Not with thousands of fans in attendance.

81 points is a Laker record so it is record breaking. In addition, Kobe's Laker record breaking free throw streak ended that night at 62, completely eclipsed by his performance.

Many basketball afficianados don't buy the story about Wilt scoring 100 points in a game either. It was a sparsely attended game, no video record, and a really suspect final score. It took Wilt 3 overtimes to score his second highest point total of 78. Whether or not he did score 100 legitimately can be debated as much as the Kennedy assassination. But the evidence IMO suggests that something fishy happened. We'll probably never know.

 

[Osiris_x11]

100 in doubt...

hmmm... So if the 100 points scored in a single game are questionable in that by-gone era, what about his (Wilt's) other notable number: 20,000 scores... :biggrin:

 

[Carguy!]

81 points is not "record breaking".

And I don't believe that story about Wilt's game. Not with thousands of fans in attendance.

It sounded crazy to me, but the more I read about the game and the more I looked into it, it sounded plausable. This friend of mine is in his late sixties and would have no reason to lie to me about the game. His name is Donnis Butcher and I have confirmed that he actually played in the game and coached the Pistons so he has quite a bit of credibility.

 

[wswen]

Pass Kobe Pass. I'm open:biggrin:

 

[AndyH]

The 81 points is not a big deal but his performance was excelent.
28 out of 46 FG = 61% from the field
7 out of 13 3PFG = more than 50%
18 out of 20 FT = 90%....
that is what I call efficiency

There were no 3pointer back in the day but the rule of the game was different. There was also no 3 second violation where a player just stay underneath the basket so his teammate just toss the ball up then he just fly over everyone and dunk it.

 

[LeftLane]

81 points is not "record breaking".

And I don't believe that story about Wilt's game. Not with thousands of fans in attendance.

Ken, that's exactly what I was thinking. Stop creating mini-records to beat. The record is 100 points in a game, so no record here (big deal about the team record).

There's a reason Phil Jackson named his kidney stones "Kobe" - they refused to pass too.

He's a punk thug prima donna. He is not a teammate. Anyone notice the fortune of the Lakers, now that Kobe is the man? I'm so sick of him getting all this adulation. 48 shots in one game? Give me a break.

 

[nsxtasy]

Certainly, this was an outstanding individual performance in an individual game, by one of the stars of our era. No matter what you think of Kobe Bryant as a person, or the Lakers as a team.

The 3 point line wasn't around back then but the players of old are also nowhere near as athletic as they are today. Any coach will tell you that. Defense today is more stifling than it was yesteryear as well. Bill Russell could never average a triple double in today's game.

Maybe.

MJ was in an era where he was head and shoulders better than everyone else. I don't think his level of domination would have carried over to the game now. He'd be great in any era, but not as great as he was when he played.

This is Michael Jordan's era. Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain played in the fifties and sixties; heck, it was way back in the seventies when they were both elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. That was two generations ago. OTOH, MJ has only been retired for three years, and is not yet eligible for election to the Hall. Even if you discount his Wizards playing years, MJ's last Bulls championship was less than a decade ago, and he played against Kobe Bryant when he (MJ) was on the Bulls. That is not a different era.

 

[Malibu Rapper]

This is Michael Jordan's era. Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain played in the fifties and sixties; heck, it was way back in the seventies when they were both elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. That was two generations ago. OTOH, MJ has only been retired for three years, and is not yet eligible for election to the Hall. Even if you discount his Wizards playing years, MJ's last Bulls championship was less than a decade ago, and he played against Kobe Bryant when he (MJ) was on the Bulls. That is not a different era.

The MJ era is 84-98. MJ played with Bird, Magic, Isaiah, Wilkins, Robinson, etc. Yes he did play with some of the current players but that's not the same as playing in this era. The landscape of the league has changed considerably since then. Numerous rule changes and a completely different host of players. If you talk to the oldschool players like Magic, Russell, Kareem, Walton, etc. They will always harp on how hardcore things were back then. Talk to someone like John Wooden and he will openly tell you that every year the players keep getting more athletic and spectacular, you cannot compare players of earlier eras to today. Better defense caused David Stern to make some rule changes because the games weren't high scoring enough, not because the players now cannot score. Then there's always that big debate about who is really more dominant, Shaq or Wilt and Shaq seems to win those debates more often than not. IMO, Shaq would have broken the Stilt.

This day and age, scoring 80+ is a lot different than when Wilt supposedly did it. That's all I am trying to say. Through the years, an accomplishment like that has probably only gotten tougher.

 

[rickysals]

Until he wins a championship w/out Shaq, it's nice, but whoop-de-doo.

Peyton's 49 touchdowns last year didn't mean jack as soon as he lost in the playoffs.

Championships matter... stats don't.

 

[AndyH]

I think championship doesn't mean much because Las Vegas will decide who will win

 

[Malibu Rapper]

Until he wins a championship w/out Shaq, it's nice, but whoop-de-doo.

No one player has won a championship alone and Kobe as much as you hate him has 3 rings already. By the same token, let's see Shaq win a trophy without Kobe. That argument just makes no sense. The NBA now belongs to the Pistons, but thanks for bringing in the Haterade to try to discount a remarkable accomplishment. :wink:

 

[Racerxjling]

How can anyone say it is not an accomplishment? 81 points in a NBA game in any "era" is an accomplishment in itself.

Jeff

 

[transdzn]

Chick Hern was looking down and wearing a smile this big :biggrin: I bet.