On December 20th, 2005, Kobe Bryant scored 62 points in three quarters of play versus the Dallas Mavericks. Bryant shot 18-of-31 from the field, 4-of-10 from the three-point line, and 22-of-25 from the free-throw line. Bryant’s 62-point total is the third highest scoring game of his career.
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November 28th, 2008 at 10:54 am
That season Kobe was the best player in the league BY FAR. He put up one of the top-five best individual seasons ever and carried a grossly mediocre Lakers team to 45 wins and a playoff berth.
I am not a Kobe Bryant fan. But I am still pissed off he didn’t win the MVP Award that year. He deserved it 100%.
Instead, the NBA and its writers chose the highly likable, good-for-the-league Steve Nash. But damn if Kobe didn’t deserve it.
In the game highlighted above, he scored 62 through three quarters as the 13-11 Lakers beat the 17-7 Mavericks. The Mavs would go on to the Finals.
He single-handedly CARRIED the Lakers that year. As good as Nash was, he still had a strong supporting cast. One could even argue Boris Diaw’s amazing Phoenix debut saved the season following Amare Stoudemire’s season-ending injury. In 70 starts that year, Diaw averaged 14 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.4 assists on 53% shooting. In his 70 starts, the Suns were 49-22 (.690). In the 11 games he came off the bench, they were 5-6 (.454). He was HUGE.
Despite having the second most first place votes, Kobe finished not only behind Nash but also LeBron and Dirk. Nash ran away with the award. I came to the conclusion these subjective awards are just as worthless as All-Star appearances.
Kobe was the best player in the NBA that year… and it wasn’t even close.
November 29th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
I think Kobe deserved it that season too. I still can’t believe the Lakers started Smush Parker and Kwame Brown for two seasons.
I also agree that Diaw was a big part of Phoenix’s success that year. He’s very talented, he just hasn’t been consistent the past few seasons.
January 23rd, 2012 at 12:52 am
[...] He wasn’t certainly ballin’ on this day! Check out the vid…. Kobe Bryant: Ballin’ [...]