Kobe Bryant, like many NBA superstars, loved to play at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan and put on a big show for the Broadway crowd.
He had some big games there against the New York Knicks, as well as a memorable first All-Star game appearance in 1998, but they all paled compared to his trip there in 2009.
Just two days prior, Andrew Bynum had sprained his MCL against the Memphis Grizzlies. It seemed to mirror his second-ending knee injury the year before, which had also taken place against Memphis, and the incident seemed to take the air out of the Los Angeles Lakers’ collective psyche.
Perhaps to send a message to his teammates and to the league, or perhaps just because it was the Big Apple, Bryant went into super Black Mamba mode that evening of Feb. 2.
He had 61 points on 19-of-31 shooting from the field and 20-of-20 from the free throw line as L.A. defeated the mediocre Knicks, 126-117.
It was the most points any NBA player had ever scored at the Garden, a record that would stand until 2014 when Carmelo Anthony scored 62 points there.
Bryant’s game that evening in 2009 was proof that the Lakers were in good hands with him, no matter who was taking the court as his teammates.
