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Kobe Bryant: 50 Greatest Moments of Black Mamba’s Career

By Maxwell Ogden

Jan 20, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) warms up before the game against the Sacramento Kings at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 20, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) warms up before the game against the Sacramento Kings at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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10. 55 Against MJ

Diehard—and that’s putting it lightly—Michael Jordan fans will rush to the comments section to talk about how old His Airness was during this game. That’s an entirely fair point, which is why this has no impact on his legacy.

Watching Kobe Bryant go at his idol and score 55 points is simply too iconic a moment to downplay.

It was March 28, 2003 when Bryant and Jordan went to war for the final time. The 40-year-old Jordan scored 23 points on 10-of-20 shooting, but that paled in comparison to The Black Mamba’s explosive outburst.

In his final game against the player he idolized and patterned his game after, Bryant went off.

Bryant’s 55 points came on extremely efficient shooting marks of 15-of-29 from the field, 9-of-13 from 3-point range, and 16-of-18 from the free throw line. He played 41 minutes—the same amount as Jordan—and scored in every way imaginable.

This point cannot be stressed enough: in his last encounter with Jordan, Bryant had one of the best games of his career. The mark of the Mamba.

Next: The Streak, Part I

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