According to former NBA player John Salley, Kobe Bryant was en route to breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s single-game scoring record. However, Phil Jackson benched Kobe because the Zen Master believed that “some records have to stand.”
A grain of salt
“I don’t agree with what he told me. I said, ‘Phil, Kobe had 81. No matter what you do, he was about to get to 104. They would have kept feeding him the ball. The other side would’ve been like, ‘Don’t hurt him.’ There would’ve been clearouts. Kobe would’ve got 104,’” Salley said.
“‘Well, some records have to stand,’ Phil said. I was like, ‘Wow.’ He’s number two; he doesn’t need to be number one,” Salley continued.
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Salley’s story about Kobe’s 81-point game seems outrageous—he also claimed that the NBA wouldn’t allow LeBron James to be the all-time scoring leader. The entire NBA celebrated James’ milestone when he broke it. Even Adam Silver was in attendance to help with the little ceremony.
So Salley’s comments about Phil Jackson and Kobe should be taken with a grain of salt. Perhaps he was just trying to stir up things.
Kobe’s 81
It’s a perfect time to talk about the great 81-point game by Kobe Bryant. He didn’t do it just for kicks or to forge his name in the record books forever. Bryant had to carry the offensive load since he didn’t have a solid supporting cast then. No one had the talent to put the ball into the hoop and so Bryant did all the work himself.
A few years after Kobe’s iconic game, Devin Booker — a player who’s often compared to the Black Mamba — dropped 70 points. While the milestone was celebrated, it isn’t in the same ilk as Kobe’s 81.
After all, Booker and the Suns lost 130-120 to the Boston Celtics. Also, Book’s teammates were feeding him the ball, pushing him to pile on as many points as he could. Kobe and the Lakers did not engage in such antics. They were trying to win the game, not break records. And that makes Kobe’s performance extra special.
JOHN SALLEYKOBE BRYANTWILT CHAMBERLAINPHIL JACKSONNBALOS ANGELES LAKERS
BY VIRGIL VILLANUEVA
Virgil joined Basketball Network in November 2021 and has been writing mostly about old-school topics from the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s.
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