Kobe Bryant's 81-point game
Kobe Bryant scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors.
On January 22, 2006, Kobe Bryant scored 81 points for the Los Angeles Lakers in a 122–104 victory over the Toronto Raptors. At the time, it was the most points scored since the NBA–ABA merger and the second-most in a single game in NBA history. The performance occurred during Bryant's 2005–06 season, in which he led the league with 35.4 points per game, the highest average since Michael Jordan's 1986–87 season.
Quick Facts
- Home
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Visitor
- Toronto Raptors
- Home total
- 122
- Visitor total
- 104
- Date
- January 22, 2006
- Arena
- Staples Center
- City
- Los Angeles, California
- Attendance
- 18,997
Facts from the source article.
Background
Kobe Bryant and the Lakers had won three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002, and Bryant was marketed as a potential successor to Michael Jordan. His image suffered after a 2003 sexual assault accusation, which was seen as a factor in his feud with Shaquille O'Neal, leading to O'Neal's trade to Miami after the 2003–04 season. Former coach Phil Jackson, who stepped down after the Lakers' loss to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals, called Bryant "uncoachable" and "selfish" in his book The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul. In 2004–05, without O'Neal, Jackson, or Derek Fisher, the Lakers missed the playoffs for the first time since 1993–94, with Bryant missing 16 games due to injuries. Entering 2005–06, Bryant was at a career crossroads, still recognized as a top player but on a team with little championship chance. Jackson returned as coach, citing a desire to work with a more mature Bryant. The Lakers finished 2005 with a 15–14 record. On December 20, 2005, Bryant scored 62 points in three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks, outscoring them 62–61; Jackson rested him in the fourth quarter, and Bryant declined to re-enter, saying he would "get it another time." Jeanie Buss, Lakers vice president of player personnel, was reportedly angry at Jackson for not letting Bryant play the fourth quarter. The Lakers entered the January 22 game against the Raptors with a 21–19 record; the Raptors, after a 1–15 start, were 14–26, boosted by Chris Bosh.
Game report
On January 22, 2006, much of the American sporting public focused on the NFL's AFC and NFC Championship Games. The Lakers broadcast faced a scheduling conflict: lead play-by-play announcer Joel Meyers was calling the NFC Championship Game for CBS Radio. Filling in was FSN West pre- and post-game host Bill Macdonald, calling his first NBA game. Spero Dedes handled radio play-by-play on KLAC 570 with former Laker Mychal Thompson. The Lakers had lost two straight: an overtime road loss to the Sacramento Kings, in which Bryant scored 51 points, and a blowout defeat to the Phoenix Suns. Prior to that, the Lakers had been a season-high four games over .500 after a home win against Shaquille O'Neal and the Miami Heat on January 16. The game was the second at Staples Center that day, following a Clippers win over the Warriors. The Lakers started Smush Parker, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Kwame Brown, and Chris Mihm; the Raptors started Mike James, Jalen Rose, Morris Peterson, Chris Bosh, and Matt Bonner. Courtside celebrities included Andy Dick, Joe Walsh, and Chris Rock, who was interviewed during the second quarter. In the first meeting that season on December 7, Bryant had a season-low 11 points, and the Lakers won 102–91.
Legacy
Three years later, on February 2, 2009, Bryant scored 61 points at Madison Square Garden, setting a record for most points there, surpassing Michael Jordan's record that had stood for twenty-two years and ten months. That record was later broken by Carmelo Anthony on January 24, 2014. A statue of Bryant holding up one finger, as he did when leaving the 81-point game, was unveiled in Star Plaza outside Crypto.com Arena on February 8, 2024, accompanied by a sculpted box score. Bryant was the sixth Lakers player and seventh team employee honored with a statue there. He died on January 26, 2020, in a helicopter accident. On August 2, 2024, a statue of Kobe and his daughter Gianna was unveiled. On the game's twentieth anniversary in 2026, Nike reissued the shoes Bryant wore. On March 10, 2026, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo scored 83 points, surpassing Bryant's 81 for most points since the NBA–ABA merger.
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