Saturday, January 29th, 2011 at 7:51 pm  |  73 responses

Kobe Bryant: Moving On Up

After passing Olajuwon, Bryant is now eighth all-time in points scored.

Eighteen months ago, we declared Kobe Bryant the 12th greatest player of all-time. While we’re currently reassessing that number (you’ll know what we’re talking about in the not-too-distant future), Bryant’s busy climbing the career scoring list. As of Friday night, he’s now recorded the eight most points all-time. ESPN LA has a full write-up:

Bryant’s breakaway dunk with 3:29 remaining in the first quarter gave him 13 points for the game, passing Olajuwon’s 26,946 career points for eighth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

Bryant finished the game with 38 points on 13-of-27 shooting, but the Kings won 100-95 despite coming into the game with a 4-16 road record.

“It’s obviously a huge honor,” Bryant, a 15-year veteran, said after Friday’s loss. “I’ve been playing for a while and these milestones mean a lot.”

…

Bryant is one of just three guards in the all-time top 10 along with Michael Jordan (third; 32,292) and Oscar Robertson (10th; 26,710).

“Typically big men have been known to kind of dominate the ball and the bigs that are on that list are obviously the all-time greats,” Bryant said. “I guess there’s a couple little guys that are feisty.”

…

The next players in Bryant’s path are Elvin Hayes at No. 7 (27,313), Moses Malone at No. 6 (27,409) and former teammate Shaquille O’Neal at No. 5.

Now in his 15th season and clearly no longer a pup, enjoy KB24 while you still can.

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  • http://ballislife.com Stephon

    My main man KB! If he stays healthy he can pass ABdul-Jabars record.

  • http://nba.com gp23

    I think he will get to 4th all time. And then he will retire.

  • http://360special.blogspot.com/ dev0

    If Kobe can average 25 points per game for the next 457 games (5 1/2 seasons), he can pass Kareem… if Kobe’s still doing this at 38 he’s officially not human

  • http://slamonline.com The Black Rick Kamla

    dev0 they don’t count playoff totals?

  • http://slamonline.com The Black Rick Kamla

    lol @gp23….I figure thats the idea

  • http://www.pablasso.com pablasso

    @The Black Rick Kamla: no

  • JWIZZ

    i reckon he would’ve wanted the win against the kings more though.

  • Josh

    Mamba is a bad man. His accomplishments are all very well deserved.

  • S_kemp

    I’d say his two remaining goals are to get another ring and to pass shaq on the all time scoring list. I dont think he can do either but it’ll be fun to watch him try…

  • http://www.kb24.com The Seed

    Kobe has been top 10 all time for a while now, so Slam was off anyway eighteen months ago. Kobe is top 5 to me and will be behind only one person in the end, MJ.

  • 2KInsider

    It is amazing how much Kobe has accomplished without ever being considered the #1 player during any season he has played. Even his MV season, many said LeBron and CP3 were better.

  • JTaylor21

    Still not better than Hakeem. Career and talent wise.

  • whoooo!

    i know Kobe’s talent is top 5 all-time, but i still dunno about his generation. most supreme talent of his generation, for sure. but Shaq was the most dominant, and transformed the game in its own right, and was 14x all-nba. and then TD… all-nba and all-defense every single year since he came into the league (13x), and 50 wins last year was the LOWEST of his career. are all 3 of them top-10 all time?

  • KB8toSG8

    @JTaylor21……… Yeah. Please teach me through your infinite wisdom how Kobe is not better than Hakeem talent wise ( When Kobe can play on both the perimeter and the post )AND career wise ( 2 rings vs 5 rings )

  • burnt_chicken

    @KB8toSG8: you only need to watch one playoff series against David Robinson to know why.

  • Pugz

    Mamba will finish fourth on all time scoring just to best shaq and will retire with 7 rings, one more than MJ, and retire as the second best to ever play the game. TWO FOUR.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Jay

    What pisses me off the most is the league black balled AI so he wouldn’t make these lists if AI were still in the league he would be chasing so many scoring milestones like Kobe he would probably be around 9-11th by now. Sucks to see him get black balled.

  • http://www.walshsportsblog.com Kevin

    AI essentially blackballed himself by not accepting that his skills had declined. Teams only put up with his selfish nature when he was scoring in bunches over the years.

  • EJ

    Everybody knows Kobe is better than Hakeem. I’m a big Hakeem and Kobe fan, Kobe is better. He’s the second most complete player of ll time. The thing that separates him and MJ the most, is shot selection. His skill set is nearly the same, he just takes too much bad shots, and doesn’t pass enough at times.

  • Joe

    Top 5 all time.

  • Martey

    @EJ Scottie was a more “complete” player than Jordan. Jordan was a better scorer and had more “drive” as people like to say, which is an intangible. Anyways most people in this section are basically children of the Nike Nineties so without Jordan, Kobe and now Lebron, there is no NBA.

  • http://bassbesteck.wordpress.com Bassbesteck

    Scottie Pippen >> Kobe

    yeah I said it…

  • KB8toSG8

    @burnt_chicken

    Your point being???

    Still doesn’t change my view. You’re talking about his post game. I’m talking about the all-round game.

  • HAMMER

    Who woulda thought he’d reach this point after his airball fiasco n utah. Congrats to KB8!

  • Joe

    Bassbesteck = Scottie Pippen.

  • http://slamonline.com AllBall

    Hammer, Kobe probably did.

  • JTaylor21

    Second most complete player my a**. People nowadays are prisoners of the moment. You do know that Hakeem was the greatest two-way player of all-time which means he was as great on the offensive end as he was on the defensive end. Kobe can’t be that since he hasn’t played defense since 2004. The Dream all day long.

  • markymark

    co-sign jay. bring back the answer!

  • http://slamonline.com AllBall

    Jt, why don’t you like Kobe?

  • The Charles

    For me Hakeem will always be my number one Center (Sorry Shaq, Wilt, Bill). In his FIRST championship you can say that he single handedly carried the team to the top. You can’t say that about Wilt, Bill, Shaq and even Kobe. His second banana during that time is probably Kenny Smith, Vernon Maxwell maybe? Think about it. I maybe wrong as well

  • http://www.facebook.com/joe.l.brewer3 BlackPhantom

    JTaylor, c’mon now why do you have such a fierce Kobe hate?

  • http://www.facebook.com/joe.l.brewer3 BlackPhantom

    I mean really “hasn’t played Defense since 2004″ Really?

  • JTaylor21

    AllBall, I don’t hate the man, I just despise those who think he’s better than a guy like Hakeem. I can make a legitamate case for Hakeem as the greatest center ever which puts him into Top5 greatest player convo but you would be hard-pressed to find a sane individual who can make the same case for Kobe being the best SG of all-time. Kobe is one of the 20 greatest players ever but he’s not better than a guy who dominated so many other greats.

  • http://slamonline.com AllBall

    I’m not into the history like some of you guys are, so i’ll defer on all things pre 2000. You do dislike Kobe, though, lets be honest lol. Your still my boy.

  • EJ

    Scottie more complete than MJ? Just that Scottie got more rebounds and assists doesn’t make him a more complete player. MJ and Kobe are guys who have “mastered the game”. You name a move or a shot, and they can do it. MJ and Kobe have the most complete skill sets in history. And remember, stats don’t = skills.

  • http://www.facebook.com/joe.l.brewer3 BlackPhantom

    Co-sign EJ

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Hakeem needed MJ to retire for him to win rings.
    And if Jordan hadn’t retired twice, he’d be number one on the all-time scoring list.

  • http://slamonline.com The Ambassador

    KOBE “BEAN” BRYANT IS A TOP TEN PLAYER OF ALL TIME!!!
    BOOK IT WHOA!!!!

  • http://Philosophervision@blogspot.com The Philosopher

    He’s not better than The King, either…

  • James aka…

    Kobe will pass shaq next year, assuming his decline is slow and steady as it’s been, and he’s not injured for a large chunk of time. He’s 1600 points behind shaq and he scored 1900 last year. In 5 gams, he’ll pass MJ for total regular season games played.

  • http://www.redraidersports.com Nicolas Fleming

    Just think what would have been if Kobe had been able to play his first few seasons. That would have also meant that he would have had to stay on the Hornets and who knows what would have been, but it is not outside the realm of possibilities to think that if Kobe started and had major minutes in his first two seasons that he could have averaged 20 ppg in both of those seasons. oh stats have frivolous you really are…

  • dfortruth

    Congratulations Kobe, keep up the good work. The race is not to the swift, nor to the strong; but those who endure to the end.
    Love Hakeem, and love Kobe, they give the game their best.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Coney Islander

    Shout out to MJ for giving birth to Kobe. ;o)

  • http://www.need4sheed.com Tarzan Cooper

    Enigmatic, thats fuccn stupid. Hakeem played in the west. Mj lost to the magic in 95. Dont try to change history to fit your opinion. Also, second yr hakeem almost beat celtics in the finals. Mj never beat lakers or celts when then were in their primes. U know 91 lal were way on the downside. If hakeem had and kind of second option early(clyde) he wouldve had more, but he did what he did. And won two. ….. Jtalyor is rightt, hakeem was easiy the best center of all time, and best two way player of all time.

  • El Black Mamba

    Kwame brown > Hakeem

  • dfortruth

    Watching to Lakers and Boston, Kobe is going nuts. I have a knew name for Pau and its Mr. Softy.
    Why don’t Phil Jackson use his bench players?
    Ron looks like he is lost. I don’t blame you Kobe get your points.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Co-sign Tarzan Cooper. Disagree with JTaylor though.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Disagree with JTaylor on Kobe being a bad defender… It is debatable whether or not Kobe is better than Hakeem. But they play completely different positions so it’s not a very good argument in the first place.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    No offense, but Bulls fans tend to think Mike never came back in ’95 and that he never averaged over 30 a game in the playoffs when they lost in 6 to a better team…

  • http://www.slamonline.com zoom

    There is NO ONE ON PLANET EARTH who roots against Kobe the way I do. I mean, no one. He is easily my least favorite NBA player of all time. I hate him even worse than I hated Reggie Miller in the 90′s. I’d rather eat dirt than to see him win anything….BUT, that arrogant lil d*ckhead is a top three greatest player of all time…There I said it. Now I can go vomit.

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