Happy 5th Anniversary, 81 Points!

Forum Blue and Gold has put up a blog post which highlights the different comments of sports writers about the historic event that happened 5 years ago: the day when Kobe Bryant came out to play, scoring 81 points to grab the second highest scoring effort in NBA history, behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100.

And it is amazing to see how much have changed over 5 years. During those times, we saw Kobe Bryant in his peak, in his freshest and healthiest state a season after the "break-up" with Shaq. But then, we have seen a struggling Laker team that relied on Kobe and Phil's coaching NOT to win the finals, but to just make it into the playoffs. Five years after that, things have changed. While Kobe now has knees wrapped in ice and fingers with special splints, his team has carried the load for him, and as of now, they stand still at second place in the Western Conference rankings, still fighting for a third straight championship.

Just to let us remember and relish the moment, F Yeah Lakers came up with a wonderful blog post comparing Kobe's 81 point performance to Phil's 100, which says:


And quoting them:

Basketball is more than scoring, so I hasten to call either of these the greatest, true basketball performance ever, but they’re certainly the most impressive displays, and without question, the greatest offensive displays of basketball ever. So which is better?

There’s no easy vote, here.

A few things catch my eye.

1. 19 more points is a serious number. Advantage Chamberlain
2. Kobe shooting 61%, as a guard, including 19 jumpers, is astounding. Wilt was shooting layups the entire game, guarded by 6’6” Center, Dave Budd (27 mins), and 6’11’ Center, Darall Imhoff (20 mins). Serious advantage Kobe.
3. Wilt had no chance at shooting a 3-point shot, as they were not in existence, but he probably wouldn’t have taken one anyways. Advantage Kobe.
4. Wilt understandably took more free throw attempts, as a big man down-low playing predominantly amongst defenders, but making 88% of them? That might be the most impressive stat in his box score. Chamberlain was a career .511 FT shooter. Advantage Wilt.
5. Chamberlain played 6 more minutes, in a game that he admitted got wild at the end. The Knicks also gave up a ton of points that season to every team. Advantage Mamba.
6. Wilt, as a center, has the same amount of assists as Kobe the guard, and even though blocks weren’t recorded, I feel safe in assuming Wilt had more than Kobe’s singular rejection. Advantage Wilt.
7. 25 rebounds? Despite being the tallest player on the court, and sometimes by a good healthy margin, rebounding takes a toll on the body. Advantage Wilt.
8. With natural evolution, both of the game and the human body, scoring today is more challenging, with deeper benches and more young, talented, athletic defenders. Serious advantage, Kobe.

No matter how you vote, what’s important is that Kobe’s given us the chance to compare.

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This might not be a good comparison, because the rules of the game and the situation was altogether different. Perhaps the closest comparison we can make is Jordan's 69 points in an overtime game against Cleveland (but then, a lot of people do not want to make that because Jordan is doctrinally incomparable). But then, FYL's last line is important and noteworthy: it gave us the chance to compare.

The post-Jordan era has been on a run in the last years, and their finish line is to at least resemble Jordan's monster performance and henceforth bring back the glory days of the NBA, and nobody has done it and reached it closer than Kobe Bryant. Numerous records, multiple titles, and a continuously evolving game despite being hampered down by injuries, and that is what we call passion.

And once again, to remember this single event, here's the NBA video of the "Kobe counter," highlighting all the baskets that led to the performance of the decade: