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Great players find a way to rise above controversy, and Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant was one of them. On this day 16 years ago, Bryant scored 50 points, including 40 in the second half, after the LA Clippers did not allow him to do his pregame shooting routine.
The LA Lakers trailed 55-50 in the first half, and Bryant was slow. That made sense because Bryant could not get warmed up before the game. The Clippers reserved the court two hours before the game. He made only two of his 12 attempts, scoring just 10 points with three turnovers.
The second half was a dominant showing of Bryant’s offensive ability. On 29 shots, he shoting 52%, making six 3-pointers for 40 points with no turnovers. The Lakers won 112-109 due to his second-half dominance.
What made Bryant so special was his ability to just focus on the game. All he wanted to do was dominate that game and his opponents. That's a prime example of his Mamba Mentality.
Kobe Bryant is one of the NBA’s best scorers
Kobe Bryant was one of the NBA’s best players, and a big part of his success on the offensive end. There were very few players who could stand in the way of him getting what he wanted offensively.
In the second half against the Clippers, Bryant showed how good he could be on offense without warming up.
Bryant is fourth on the all-time scoring list with 33,643 career points. He will be in the top 10 in scoring for a long time, as he has 5,000 more points than the person in 10th.
On his way to getting to that point total, Bryant had some incredible individual performances.
The obvious one was scoring 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, which is the second-highest total in NBA history. And in the final game of his career, he scored 60 points, which could be just as impressive. That output came in a special moment, along with him being older and having suffered numerous injuries.
Bryant was one of the best scorers in NBA history and left his mark on the league in several ways. He was an elite scorer, and that facet was such a big part of what made him a great player.
