Watch Kobe Bryant's magic moments on the basketball court as he hangs up his boots
The NBA legend played his last professional game at the All Stars Game on Sunday.
American basketball legend Kobe Bryant finally bowed out of the National Basketball Association after playing his last All-Star Game in Toronto on Sunday. It marked the end of an era for the NBA – after Michael Jordan, Bryant was one of the defining stars of American basketball.
There were uncountable moments of magic in a glittering career. But one of them stood out – in January 2006, while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant scored a massive 81 points all by himself against the Toronto Raptors (video above). the second highest individual points tally in a game after Will Chamberlain's 100 points in Philadelphia Warriors' 169-147 win over the New York Knicks in March 1962.
Incredibly, this wasn't the first time Bryant had done something so extraordinary. A month before the 81-pointer game, Bryant played only three quarters of a game against the Dallas Mavericks, scoring an astonishing 62 points, with 30 of those points coming in only one quarter. He single-handedly outscored the Mavericks, who could score only 61 points themselves.
Despite a long-running feud with fellow Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal, the two could do magic together when they wanted, as evidenced by this iconic alley-oop pass from Bryant to Neal in the final of the Western Conferences final in 2000 against the Portland Trail Blazers.
It wasn't just in the NBA though that Bryant excelled in. He led the United States basketball team to gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. His performance in the 2008 final displayed his skills – 20 points and six assists to ensure the gold.