Kobe Bryant's 10 Greatest Career Accomplishments
We know, we know, the Lakers aren’t seeing their best days. However, that doesn’t stop Kobe Bryant from breaking yet another NBA record.
On Wednesday (Dec. 5) night’s game against the New Orleans Hornets, the Black Mamba became the youngest player to score 30,000 career points—placing him in the company of only Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and Michael Jordan.
It is almost hard to believe that Bryant is only 34 years old—he has consistently broken NBA records as the youngest player to achieve feat after feat, and we’re sure it ain’t over yet. Fighting the ghosts of NBA great’s past, Kobe is still hard at work on possibility being the best.
Let’s take a look back at Kobe Bryant’s Top 10 Moments as a celebration of his latest accomplishment:
Some still revere this as the best/worst mistake in NBA history. Originally drafted as the No. 13 overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, Bryant was the first guard in the league who had been taken out of high school. But what came next would seal his fate forever: the Hornets exchanged Bryant’s draft rights for then Lakers starting center Vlade Divac. We bet someone’s still kicking themselves over that.
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On Wednesday (Dec. 5) night’s game against the New Orleans Hornets, the Black Mamba became the youngest player to score 30,000 career points—placing him in the company of only Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and Michael Jordan.
It is almost hard to believe that Bryant is only 34 years old—he has consistently broken NBA records as the youngest player to achieve feat after feat, and we’re sure it ain’t over yet. Fighting the ghosts of NBA great’s past, Kobe is still hard at work on possibility being the best.
Let’s take a look back at Kobe Bryant’s Top 10 Moments as a celebration of his latest accomplishment:
10. Draft Trade- June 26, 1996
Some still revere this as the best/worst mistake in NBA history. Originally drafted as the No. 13 overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, Bryant was the first guard in the league who had been taken out of high school. But what came next would seal his fate forever: the Hornets exchanged Bryant’s draft rights for then Lakers starting center Vlade Divac. We bet someone’s still kicking themselves over that.
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9. Youngest Slam Dunk Contest Winner in NBA History- 1997
Back in ‘97, Kobe was still the youngest player to ever play in the NBA. And at 18, he rocked the rim at the 1997 Slam Dunk contest with a between-the-legs banger as stars like Kevin Garnett and Brandy lost their minds. Taking home the trophy that year also made him the youngest player to accomplish that feat.
8. Youngest Starting All-Star in NBA History- 1998
Throughout his career, Kobe has been crowned as the youngest player to join the company of the greats, but in 1998 he did just that -- literally. The NBA All-Star game is the NBA’s shining moment for player camaraderie, and at just 19 years old, Bryant started in a game with Michael Jordan, Reggie Miller, Karl Malone and David Robinson.
7. Portland Double OT- 2004
If you don‘t give Kobe credit for anything else, at least admit that he comes through in the clutch. Battling the Portland Trailblazers in the final game of the 2003-2004 regular season, Kobe hit his first buzzer-beater 3-point shot to tie the game and send it into overtime. Then, as the game had gone into double overtime and was all tied up with one second left, Kobe launched a 3-point fade away that would earn the Lakers the tight win.
6. Fifty-five on Jordan- 2003
Whenever any NBA player faces the G.O.A.T. Michael Jordan, anything worth noting, will be noted. For Kobe, these moments are more than notable, however -- they are the passing of Jordan’s blazing torch. In his first match-up against MJ in 1997, Kobe was still a newbie, and though he scored 33 points, the Bulls handed the Lakers a win by 21 points. But in 2003, the student became the teacher as Kobe dropped 55 on the Washington Wizards.
5. First Lakers Championship in 12 Years- 2000
“Bryant, Game Six.”
Recovering from an ankle injury that would put him out in the only Finals game he has ever missed, Kobe Bryant helped the Lakers win their -- and his -- first NBA championship in 2000. The series did not contain any of his finest hours, but he proved himself a necessary factor on the team; Shaq could not have done it alone.
4. First NBA MVP Award- 2008
The phrase “a long time coming” is the only one that comes to mind when you realize Kobe Bryant wasn’t awarded the NBA Most Valuable Player Award until 2008. Even with the hype and slew of previous successes, Kobe still had to wait his turn to officially be the league’s head honcho. Upon the news, he admitted that he was unsure about ever receiving the honor. Now he can scratch that off his “things to do” list.
3. Eighty-one point game- 2006
Call him a chuck if you wish, but the bottom line is this: Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in one game -- only to be outdone by the great Wilt Chamberlain. In what some hail as a leader simply taking the reigns, the Black Mamba caught fire against the Toronto Raptors back in 2006, after scoring only 26 points in the first half. Practically stealing the entire fourth quarter show, Bryant scored 28 of the team’s 31, leading the Lakers to 122-104 victory.
2. Championship Three-Peat - 2000, 2001 and 2002
If you were not a fan of the Laker dynasty between 2000 and 2002, you probably hated Kobe Bryant. Probably one of American sports’ greatest duos, Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal ruled the NBA for three seasons straight, sweeping the New Jersey Nets in the 2002 NBA Finals for their third -- and sadly, final -- championship together. It was the LA franchise’s first and only achievement of the three-peat since the coining of the phrase by Pat Riley in 1988
1. Winning Olympic Gold- 2008 and 2012
It is one thing to be the best in the country, and another thing entirely to be the best in the world -- the USA Men’s Basketball team learned that the hard way when they brought home bronze in 2004. But in 2008, Kobe Bryant would finally defeat Spain and earn Olympic gold alongside Dwyane Wade in Beijing. What’s even better is he accomplished the feat again this past summer in London, earning him Dream Team status with Wade, Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony.
