For a few hours on Sunday, the world seemingly stopped. Kobe Bryant’s death, along with that of his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others in a helicopter crash, is one that transcends basketball. It transcends sports. One of the most recognizable figures in the world, everyone knows Kobe Bryant, making the tragedy all the more shocking.
As more details come out and tributes occur, the weight of the loss will feel raw for the foreseeable future. Whether you loved rooting for or against him, Kobe’s basketball greatness is unquestionable. In honor of the original number he wore with the Lakers, here are his eight best moments on the court, that maybe put a smile on your face in what is among the darkest days in NBA history:
8) 2008 Olympics:
Kobe didn’t play for Team USA in the prime of his career. In fact, his first game with the US came in 2007, over a decade into his career. So when he went to the 2008 Olympics as a 30-year-old, he was still in his prime, but playing alongside the next class of superstars in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and others.
Still, the gold medal game proved who was still the best. In closing out the 118-107 victory against Spain, Bryant scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, finishing the game with 20 in all in helping the Redeem Team win gold.
7) April 13, 2016:
With the Lakers long-eliminated in a franchise-worst year, the season finale was the sending off for Kobe, and the day was a chance to rewind back to his prime one final time. His 60-point game against the Jazz was the near-perfect sendoff to cap a 20-year career for one of the NBA’s greatest.
6) Dec. 20, 2005:
In the first decade of his career Kobe had done a lot of things: won three titles, been a three-time All-NBA First Teamer and a six-time All-Star. But he’d never hit 60 points until December 2005 – and then he did it in three quarters. Against a Dallas team that would go on to the Finals later that year, the score through three was 95-61. More aptly put, though, it was Kobe Bryant 62, Dallas 61.
With the large margin, Kobe sat the fourth quarter, but it setup an even bigger night a month later.
5) March 2007:
Kobe won a pair of scoring titles in his career, in 2006 and 2007, the latter of which he put up a stretch for the ages. It started on March 16, when he scored 65 points, including nine in overtime, to beat Portland. Two nights later, a 50-point effort in a victory over Minnesota. Then on March 22, another 60-point effort came in a win at Memphis. The very next night, he put up 50 against New Orleans.
He became the second player ever – along with Wilt Chamberlain, to score at least 50 points in four straight games. The streak ended when he only scored 43 against the Warriors.
4) April 14, 2004:
Ruben Patterson, who spent a decade in the league, including five years with Portland, called himself the “Kobe Stopper”. He couldn’t live up to the name late in 2004, with the Lakers trying to secure a division title. First, he hit an insane off-balance three over Patterson to force overtime. Then in double OT, he hit another buzzer-beater off an inbound with a hand in his face to win it 105-104.
3) 2000 NBA Finals, Game 4:
With the Lakers up 2-1 in the Finals against the Pacers, Game 4 in Indiana went to overtime tied at 104. Then with 2:33 left, Shaquille O’Neal fouled out with LA’s lead sitting at three. For the duration of OT, the game belonged to Kobe, who missed Game 3 with an ankle injury. He scored 22 points after halftime, including six of the final eight points in OT. And his tip-in with five seconds left all but secured the 120-117 win. Two games later, LA clinched the title.
2) 2000 Western Conference finals, Game 7:
The three-peat almost didn’t get off the ground, with the Lakers trailing the Blazers by 15 with 10:28 to play. After coming all the way back, it was Kobe who put the dagger into Portland’s hearts. He gave LA the lead with free throws with 1:34 remaining, then drained a jumper with a hand in his face to go up 83-79.
Then, perhaps the defining image of the Shaq/Kobe era, Bryant found O’Neal on an alley-oop that Shaq finished with one hand, mind you, to all but wrap up a comeback for the ages. Kobe finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four blocks.
1) Jan. 22, 2006:
Amidst five championships, two Finals MVPs, 18 All-Star games and countless other accolades, an otherwise lazy Sunday became the defining moment in a historic career. Kobe’s 81-point performance against the Raptors, turning a 14-point halftime deficit into an 18-point victory, is one that will live on forever. The second-highest scoring performance in league history, he did it on 28-of-46 shooting, making 18-of-20 free throws, and scoring 55 of the 81 in the second half.
The game perfectly defines Bryant’s career: breathtaking, must-see television, a little one-man show-ish, sure, but undoubtedly legendary.
