Vs. Philadelphia 76ers – Jan. 6, 2006
Kobe Bryant has always had a little more motivation in terms of playing the Philadelphia 76ers considering they are his hometown team as a Philadelphia-based player. Moreover, Bryant and Allen Iverson had some epic duels in the early 2000s that many fans from both sides of the rivalry remember fondly. However, his best game came just a few weeks before he dismantled the Raptors with 81 points as he went off against the Sixers.
Bryant played only 35 minutes in the winning effort, but that didn’t stop him from almost having 50 points on the night. Kobe finished with 48 points to go along with 10 rebounds, two assists, and two steals on the night. What really pushes this game forward in terms of impressiveness is that Kobe shot 19-29 from the floor in that game and a perfect 7-7 from long range. He was just on another level offensively on that night and Philly had no answer.
There are certainly plenty of other games that stand out in terms of Kobe’s illustrious history of playing the 76ers and Iverson, but this game was just monstrous for Bryant in terms of his scoring and rebounding and deserves to be recognized as such.
Next: Vs. Suns