James Joyner notes a remarkable sports story from last night: Kobe Bryant Scores 81 Points in Win Over Raptors.
That is impressive, to say the least. But I must confess that every time I see all this scoring from Kobe (he has scored 40 points several times this season), it makes me think he got his wish by getting rid of Shaq–he’s it in LA at the moment.
The question becomes, can he lead his team to the playoffs as an almost one-man show?
Kobe is amazing, but someone has to ask the Roger Maris/asterisk question. Last night, 21 of Kobe’s 81 points were scored on 3-point shots. What happens if on some night he scores 101 points, beating Wilt Chamberlain’s record, but his total includes, say, 15 3-point baskets? Under the rules that were in effect in Wilt’s day, that would have been worth 86 points, not 101. I wonder how the NBA would handle it. Probably, their marketing department would insist that the league do nothing to detract from the luster of the big event, leaving Chamberlain, with only the one, absolutely unbreakable record of 20,000.
Comment by X — Monday, January 23, 2024 @ 7:19 am
SO are you now going to invalidate, as well, every record that took place after the 24 second clock was instituted? After all, the people before that didn’t have the clock and therefore had less shots in a game? All records should be reset to where they stood at 1955. After all, one coudl say that the 24 second clock had at least as much of an effect on the game as the 3 pointer.
After all, WIlt’s game took place after the 24 second clock was introduced. Shouldn’t _he_ have an asterick next to his name?
I don’t like Kobe, but get real.
Comment by Ryan — Monday, January 23, 2024 @ 12:05 pm
By the way, that means at the very least we have to eliminate the top 23 scoring games of all time and put astericks next top them. .because they ALL Occured after ths shot clock was introduced.
Comment by Ryan — Monday, January 23, 2024 @ 12:20 pm
Simple answer, he can’t.
Comment by Talmadge East — Monday, January 23, 2024 @ 4:14 pm
Quite likely, indeed, that Kobe can;t make it to 101, but 48 hours ago, we porbably all would have agreed that he’d never top 80.
The point above regarding the 24 second clock is well taken. I would say that the NBA record book certainly should distinguish scoring records that were achieved prior to and after the shot clock was put into effect.
In fairness, too, there’s no question that scoring 101 points by a combination or “regular” and 3-point baskets would be a remarkable feat, arguably just as remarkable as Wilt reaching 100 with a combination of free throws, 5-10 foot jumpers, and dunks.
Still, part of the difficulty of scoring 100 is managing to make enough shots during the allotted 48 minutes of play, and the 3-point shot definitely makes that easier. So on balance, I’d still give Kobe an asterisk, at least in my hypothetical example.
I’m not sure there’s any sport in the 20th Century that changed its basic, fundamental rules as drastically as pro basketball. Our grandparents would easily recognize football, baseball, and hockey as the same sports that they watched during the 1950s. The NBA, on the other hand, would look like an entirely different game.
Comment by X — Monday, January 23, 2024 @ 8:34 pm
Love him or hate him that was a remarkable display of athleticism.
Leave Shaq out of the equation. Give the man the respect he deserves for this extraordinary individual accomplishment and move on.
Comment by Kobe Apologist — Tuesday, January 24, 2024 @ 6:52 pm