There wasn’t much for the Los Angeles Lakers to celebrate in Sunday night’s 112-95 beatdown at the hands of the Houston Rockets, but Kobe Bryant gave the home fans a reason to smile.
Bean became the second all-time leader in career assists for the Lakers, passing his idol Jerry West.
With that assist, Kobe Bryant passes Jerry West for 2nd all-time in Lakers history. #NBAVote Tune In đź“ş @TWC… https://t.co/rqV9Ftk4Tr
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 18, 2016
Given his long-standing (and well-earned) reputation as a volume shooter, Kobe says he’s extremely proud of his latest entry in the record books.
Kobe on becoming No. 2 on Lakers' all-time assists list: "It means a lot. It's an accomplishment I'm really really proud of."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 18, 2016
Kobe: "You have to be able to make plays & make passes so the defense fears you as a passer. If you don't, you can't score 40 or 50 points."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 18, 2016
Kobe called Pau Gasol the best passer he has ever played w/
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 18, 2016
Per the LA Daily News:
The 37-year-old Bryant eclipsed former Lakers player and executive Jerry West (6,238) for second place on the franchise’s list after throwing a pass to Lou Williams with 6:09 left in the second quarter. That play highlighted Bryant’s enhanced facilitating role where he posted five points on 2-of-5 shooting and nine assists in 24 minutes. Bryant only trails former Lakers guard Magic Johnson, who has 10,141 career assists.
“You have to keep the defense honest,” said Bryant, who has 6,244 career assists. “You’ve got to be able to make plays and make passes to have the defense fear you as a passer. If they don’t, you can’t score 40 points, you can’t score 50 points, because they can just load up on you. So you’ve got to be able to be feared as a passer.”
Bryant’s become mostly feared as a scorer, obviously. He remains the Lakers’ all-time scorer with 33,054 points, a mark that also ranks third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Bryant posted a franchise-record 81 points on Jan. 22, 2016, a mark that only trails Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game in 1962. Bryant has logged 50-point games 19 times. He has posted 60-point games in three other instances. […] “I dish. It’s on them whether they make it or not,” Bryant said of his teammates. “It’s not rocket science to me. If I handle the ball and I penetrate, I can find guys pretty easily and pass the ball pretty well. It’s nothing new.”