Kobe Bryant moved into third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list on Sunday, passing Michael Jordan in Minnesota
Five championships, two Finals MVP’s, and 16 All-Star appearances just weren’t enough. Kobe Bryant has never settled for anything, and he will continue not to settle for mediocrity.
Okay, maybe he does settle for something — contested mid-range jumpers — but that’s been in his blood since he watched Michael Jordan play in the 1980’s. Growing up in Italy and being a basketball brat at a young age, Bryant envisioned success in his future, somewhere on any NBA court he could get his sneakers on.
Little did he know, he would grow into adulthood with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Little did he know, he would eventually pass his idol for third all-time on the NBA’s career scoring list.
Bryant religiously watched game film of Jordan as he grew up, from age seven to 17. For those 10 years, he modeled his game after No. 23, installed all of Jordan’s on-court moves, tactics, and personalities that he needed to be the next legendary shooting guard.
Before Kobe had scored his first NBA point, he already had countless hours studying the temperament of Jordan. That’s what should never get lost, as he learned to approach every aspect of the game the same way a 6-time champion did.
Now, 32,293 points later, Kobe’s reminding you more of his mentor than ever before. He’s aging even better than Jordan did, playing 197 more games thus far in his career … and that number will only rise between now and summer 2016.
Jordan released a statement on Bryant passing him on the scoring list shortly after.
"“I congratulate Kobe on reaching this milestone. He’s obviously a great player, with a strong work ethic and has an equally strong passion for the game of basketball. I’ve enjoyed watching his game evolve over the years, and I look forward to seeing what he accomplishes next.”"
When Bryant talks to the media, he’s speaking with the utmost honesty, candor, and sensitive words that illustrate his passion for basketball. Just like Jordan.
When he indulges in tactical conversations about the game and all of the offensive nuances, he’s eloquent and forthright about how he plays. Just like Jordan.
Even if you look at their games side-by-side, it’s frightening how similar they are in their mid-30’s. Jordan, when he learned that his athleticism was limited and he needed to play more from the outside, adopted a reliable turnaround jumper that became unstoppable. He developed moves that would shake defenders free in a matter of seconds, even as he aged and didn’t take care of his body as well as he could have.
Now, it’s Bryant that’s surprising everyone at age 36. When Jordan retired from the game for the second time, he was 34 years old. He never was able to win a title after age 34, and never averaged 24 points per game after 34.
Two years over that mark, Kobe is shoving Father Time down to the ground, and stomping on it with bloody murder. He’s screaming at Father Time just as bad as he’s cursing at his teammates and general manager. He’s putting Father Time on hold for another year, because he wants to do something nobody else ever has: have a prolific 19th season full of superstardom.
No player in NBA history has ever averaged 15 points per game in their 19th season. The closest was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who averaged 14.6 points per contest during the 1987-88 year. Karl Malone averaged 13.2 points per game for just half a year (42 games) during the 2003-04 season.
Bryant, to top everyone, is currently averaging 25.4 points per game in his 19th year. That’s a whole 10.8 points more than the next player, as he’s blowing the record out of the water.
In terms of totals, Abdul-Jabbar’s 19th season ended with him scoring 1,165 points through 80 games. If Bryant plays 82 games this season, he’ll be on pace to score 2,082 points. The gap in those historical seasons would be nearly unbreakable.
It’s certainly fitting how he’s attacking his 19th season, since his entire mentality as a youngster was always “to beat everyone.” This is the same kid that walked up to Jordan in 1999 and said “You know I could kick your *** one-on-one.” He was never scared to get too ahead of himself.
Does Bryant passing Jordan on the All-Time scoring list mean anything drastic? Does it mean he’s better than Jordan?
Nobody in the past, current, or future will ever be better than Michael Jordan. You can call it unfair to the career of future athletes all you want, but it’s the cold hard truth.
After all, it did take Bryant 197 more games to reach the scoring mark of 32,292 points. In terms of an 82-game season, 197 games is approximately 2.4 seasons extra that Bryant needed. Enough with all of the “It took him four more seasons than Jordan,” because it really didn’t when you proportion the amount of games. That’s what you need to pay attention to.
But, it does mean that Bryant has escalated over Jordan in one crucial area. Longevity, the overused word when you’re discussing No. 24.
There’s no way Bryant reaches Karl Malone (36,928) or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) to move up more on the list in the next two years. He’s been vehemently expressing how much he would like to hang up the purple and gold jersey after 2015-16. He would like to go out on top, not being labeled as the 40th best player in the current pool of stars.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about this guy, however, it’s that counting him out is the opposite way to go.
People counted him out when he deemed himself as the next greatest player to lace up at shooting guard. We witnessed him live up to his own expectations.
Now, for once, he’s showing that a Black Mamba can rise above Air Jordan in just one aspect. Since scoring is the main thing swirling around Kobe’s mentality, there’s no way he can downplay it anymore.
Let the smile show for Kobe. After 19 years, he deserves it.