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It is hard to imagine the NBA without Kobe Bryant. Kobe spent his entire career playing for the purple and gold. With all the issues that he faced over the years, he proved himself to be one of the most diligent students of the game and the most dedicated player this game has ever seen. He always paid more attention to winning and his zeal to win was second to none. Kobe gave his all on the court every single night, and it is that determination that gave him his 5 championship rings.
With 220 playoff games under his belt, Bryant sits at the fourth position in the all-time playoff scorers list. That is probably enough to describe the kind of beast Kobe was come playoff time. We all remember the epic performances that Bryant gave us either as a young and athletic no. 8 or a more experienced and mature no.24.
The 40 plus point games, the game-winners, flying dunks, difficult fade-away jump shots, Kobe for 20 years gave us many memorable performances. When the world needed a new Michael Jordan, he gave us the closest we may ever get. Love him or hate him, he is undoubtedly one of the greatest players to have ever touched the hardwood.
It is almost sacrilegious to select a few from a plethora of epic performances from this great legend. But, we have narrowed it down to his top 5 playoff performances of all time.
#5 45 points in Game 1 Western Conference Finals, 2001
The 2000-01 NBA Playoffs saw the Lakers bulldoze their way through a title and it was because of performances like these that the Lakers were able to set a record-breaking 15-1 run in the playoffs.
The San Antonio Spurs, with the ‘Twin Towers’ of Tim Duncan and David Robinson, entered the series with home court advantage and NBA’s top-ranked defense. Both of the above were left in tatters and the Spurs proved to be no match for the brilliance of Kobe Bryant.
Kobe went on to score 45 points on 16-28 shooting as he torched the Spurs to score the most number of points by a Spurs opponent. He also pulled down 10 rebound in the midst as this epic performance set the pace for the series.
Bryant's performance was so impressive that Horace Grant, a former teammate of Michael Jordan, referred to him as "No. 23."
The Lakers won the game 104-90 as they went onto sweep the Spurs and win back to back titles in 5 games against the Philadelphia 76ers.
#4 40 Points in Game 1, 2009 NBA Finals
We all remember the expression of Kobe Bryant as he walked off the floor with confetti coming down at the TD Garden as the Boston Celtics completely annihilated the Los Angeles Lakers in a series-clinching game 6 which ended with a 39-point thrashing. Kobe Bryant carried that anger into Game 1 of the 2009 NBA Finals and was thoroughly determined to win a championship without the presence of Shaquille O'Neal.
With the game being lob sided, Bryant was required to play just 38 minutes. But even in that timeframe, he racked up 40 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists to go along with 2 blocks and 2 steals while shooting 47 percent from the field. He had a +/- of 25 and was easily the best player on the floor as the Lakers completely decimated Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic in a 100-75 victory.
Kobe Bryant’s performance set the tone for the series as the Los Angeles Lakers went onto win the series in 5 games.
#3 49 Points in Game 2, 2008 NBA Playoffs First Round
As the Los Angeles Lakers locked horns against the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2008 NBA Playoffs, Kobe Bryant produced what might be his most explosive statistical performance in the playoffs in the second game of the series.
Bryant came out all guns blazing with scoring 20 points in the first quarter getting the Lakers off to a good start and never looked back from there. With the Nuggets threatening to close the gap early in the fourth quarter, Bryant scored 19 points in the final seven minutes of the game to hold them at bay.
Bryant ended the game with an amazing 49 points making 18 of his 27 shots (66.7 percent) from the field, and 5 of 9 from beyond the arc tying for the second-best shooting percentage (66.7) of his postseason career with at least 20 attempts.
Bryant’s playmaking abilities were on display as he ended up with 10 assists to go along with 4 rebound. The Lakers ended up winning the game and eventually sweeping the Denver Nuggets.
#2 28 Points in Game 4, 2000 NBA Finals
Kobe Bryant is widely recognized as one of the greatest scorers this game has ever seen. Bryant would have seasons where 28 points would be considered as a subpar night and that is ironically what makes this performance one of the best we have seen in his illustrious career.
The Los Angeles Lakers had not won a championship in almost a decade and were certainly seen as the favorites against the Indiana Pacers in the 2000 NBA Finals. As the Lakers walked into Metropolis for Game 4, nobody was quite sure what to expect from Kobe. Things were slightly perilous as Bryant had suffered an ankle injury in Game 2 and was forced to miss game 3 which the Pacers won.
The Pacers went toe to toe with Lakers in every single minute of game 4. With the score tied at 104 after regulation and with 2:33 left in overtime, Shaquille O'Neal, who had scored 36 points, fouled out. Everybody thought that the Pacers might run away with the game.
But even after playing through pain through most of the regulation, the then 21-year-old Kobe stepped up and scored 8 points including a key putback bucket to lead the Lakers to a 112-118 win. This was an iconic performance which marked the emergence of Kobe Bryant at the biggest stage of the game.
The Lakers with this win took a commanding lead of 3-1 in the series. 5 days later Kobe Bryant would go onto win his first ring as the Lakers were crowned 2001 NBA Champions.
#1 37 Points in Game 6, 2010 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals
Any one of Kobe Bryant’s performances from the 2010 series against the Phoenix Suns can be added to this list. Kobe Bryant has a plethora of 40 plus point games in the playoffs, but the talent that he put on display on this particular night left everybody speechless.
The Los Angeles Lakers entered game 6 with 3-2 series lead and were looking to close out the Phoenix Suns on the road. Kobe Bryant, understanding that they were just one game away from reaching the NBA Finals for a third straight time, put on a performance for the ages.
He hit one ridiculous fadeaway jump shot after another as the Pheonix fans hang their heads in disbelief after every single blow. To add to it, Bryant had a whole laundry list of physical injuries including a messed-up finger and a bad knee that would require surgery in the offseason. This performance summed up the kind of warrior that Kobe was who played through all his ailments to carry his team into the NBA Finals.
Bryant ended the game with 37 points, 24 of which came in the second half. He scored 9 points in the final 2 minutes of play which included an impossible jaw-dropping 23 footer right in the face of Grant Hill with 34 seconds left in the game.
The Lakers eliminated the Suns with 111-103 game 6 victory and went onto win the NBA Finals in a grueling 7 games series against their arch-rivals, the Boston Celtics. The Suns have not returned to the playoffs since then.
