Where Were You… When Kobe Scored 81?
A look back one of the biggest modern NBA achievements — with our staff writer, Nick Andre
I was 7 years old watching Cars, Pixar’s latest kid movie at the time. Basketball wasn’t much of a priority for me in those days. Yeah, I would watch a game here and there, though I wasn’t anticipating much from the NBA on a nightly basis. But one cold January night I would witness a historic achievement for the books — and my basketball world would never be the same.
Luckily, I had my older cousins around who came to visit us that night. NBA League Pass wasn’t around back in 2006. But ESPN was on the TV downstairs with the score at the bottom of the screen. The game wasn’t on, but alerts would pop up during whatever else it was we were watching.
The first time we saw the score, the Raptors were having their way with the Lakers, holding a 16 point lead. Despite the Lakers trailing early in the match up, the one thing we continued to expect was Kobe getting his numbers. If there’s one everyone knows — whether you watch hoops or not — is that Kobe gets his digits. So we continued to keep our eyes on the bottom screen of ESPN — *Bryant: 13 pts*… *Bryant: 18pts*… *Bryant: 26 pts*…
Regardless of how the outcome of the game would develop, we knew that Kobe was on track for a 50-piece special.
At halftime, I heard my cousins discussing defensive adjustments that the Lakers must make to stop the Raps. Although I was a young pup and knew nothing about what they were saying, I still listened and nodded my head in agreement. Plus, I laughed when one of my cousins considered Kwame Brown to be a joke (ask Matt Barnes about that). So going into the second half, we thought we knew what the Lakers needed to do in order to make the comeback. Even then, we certainly didn’t expect history to happen.
When the third quarter popped up, we kept our eyes on the score. We anticipated every time the stats popped up to see if Kobe would continue his rampage. Then, SportsCenter would interrupt to show highlights of the game. They broadcasted Kobe’s fadeaways, dunks, three-point shots, the works.
Eventually, the Lakers did make their comeback, led by an offensive clinic from Bryant. He had 53 points going into the fourth, and anyone who knows him understands there were no signs of slowing him down at that moment.
Late in the fourth, Kobe was up to 70. ESPN finally decided to show the entire game so we could witness history being made. Kobe makes a double pump fake and elevates over Morris Peterson, surpassing Elgin Baylor for most points scored in Lakers history. At this stage, we are all hype. We’ve never seen anything like this happening before. He single-handedly defeated Toronto after being down double digits at the half. The grit and killer commitment to will his team to a victory was one of the most remarkable things I remember now whenever I think about Kobe Bryant. A one man offense.
There’s Wilt’s 100, there’s Jordan’s flu game, then there’s Kobe’s 81 point night. It may have been a regular season game, at I was just a kid, but it is one that will always be memorable going forward. Every now and then I’ll catch a replay of the game on NBA TV to reminisce about the time I witnessed living greatness. From then on, Kobe was forever the guy I looked up to. And now that he has passed away, I will continue to remember that transcendent performance anytime I think of him.
