Ranking Kobe Bryant’s 5 best games of his NBA career
By Jason Parker
No. 5 – Kobe drops 62 points in just three quarters vs. Mavericks in 2005
It’s been no secret throughout his career with the Lakers that Kobe Bryant isn’t a fan of passing the ball. In the past, Bryant has made comments alluding to the fact that his teammates weren’t good enough to get the ball when they were on the court.
In this December 20, 2005 game against Dallas, Bryant didn’t record a single assist in the time he spent on the court…but he made up for that stat with one that was even more important: he dropped 62 points in less than three quarters of action.
Bryant shot 18 for 31 on the night in just 32 minutes of action before being pulled for the entire fourth quarter by then head coach Phil Jackson. If Bryant had been able to play in that fourth quarter (using simple math), he could have dropped another 20 points and had his highest career total be in this game and not later in his career (and later on this list).
The post-Shaq era in Los Angeles led Bryant to feel he needed to do everything on his own…and with nights like this once nearly 11 years ago, it’s hard to blame him for thinking that way.
Next: No. 4 - Game One of 2009 NBA Finals