1. Kobe Bryant 81 Points Against the Toronto Raptors
Nearly a decade later and the Toronto Raptors are still sore from the whopping Kobe Bryant placed on them from January 22, 2006.
Can't make this up. I'm actually told that the Raptors higher ups ruled against showing Kobe's 81 point game in tribute video.
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) December 8, 2015
In the second greatest scoring performance of all time, Kobe Bryant had 81 points on 61 percent shooting, 54 percent from downtown and 90 percent from the free throw line.
Over an eight game span, starting four games before this game and ending three games after, Kobe was averaging an astounding 44.1 points per game, on 47 percent shooting.
For a visual representation of Kobe’s night, just take a look at his shot chart.
Kobe's 81 point shot chart pretty nuts pic.twitter.com/n7QF1nON1r
— Mutiple Sources (@ericdyee) December 11, 2015
These days, much is made of Stephen Curry‘s ridiculous efficiency from anywhere on the court, but this shot chart is not to shabby either. As shown above, in his prime, Kobe could beat you from anywhere on the hardwood, just look at all that green!
The Los Angeles Lakers entered the second half down by 14 points, but Kobe erupted for 27 points in the third giving the Lakers a 91-85 lead at the end of three, and scored 28 more in the fourth quarter alone.
In 2013, Kobe even reminisced on his performance saying that he could have scored 100.
Watching the game now, the easy shots I missed, I could of had 100 pts! #countonkobe
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) January 22, 2013
Despite scoring 30 points or more in over half of his games in the 2005-2006 season, Kobe Bryant was slighted as Steve Nash took home his second MVP trophy that season. What a shame.