NBA legend Kobe Bryant was reportedly blocked from breaking the single-game NBA scoring record by his coach when the Los Angeles Lakers star scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in January 2006.
On January 22 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 points in one game. His incredible total is the second-most points scored in an NBA game in league history behind the iconic Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 100 points against the New York Knicks in 1962.
Against the Raptors, Bryant led his team to a remarkable comeback victory by going 28-for-46 from the field and 7-for-13 from beyond the arc. As a result, the late Lakers star cemented his name in the history books forever.
Former Lakers champion John Salley recently suggested Bryant could have actually surpassed Chamberlain’s historic performance. He believes the then-Lakers head coach Phil Jackson purposefully benched Bryant in order to maintain the legacy and longevity of Chamberlain’s record.
“I didn’t agree with something Phil Jackson said to me,” Salley told NFL legend Shannon Sharpe on his Club Shay Shay podcast. “I said, ‘Phil, Kobe had 81. No matter what you do, he was about to get 104.’ They would’ve kept feeding him the ball.
“The other side would’ve been like, ‘Don’t hurt him.’ But, there would’ve been clearouts, and Kobe would’ve got 104. He goes, ‘Well, some records need to stand.’ And I was like, ‘Wow.’ He goes, ‘He’s No. 2. He doesn’t need to be No. 1.'”
Bryant played 42 of a possible 48 minutes during the clash against the Raptors. With 4.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Lakers already up 122-104, Bryant was removed from the game for the last time.
Bryant has a passionate fanbase who idolise the Lakers legend - and they will certainly be irked to hear Salley’s claim. Whereas Chamberlain was repeatedly fed by teammates to feast on inside shots during a blowout win, Bryant created his own shot on numerous occasions as the Lakers trailed at half time by 14 and didn’t pull away until the fourth quarter.
In January 2006, Bryant also became the first player since 1964 to score 45 points or more in four successive games, joining Chamberlain and Baylor as the only players to do so. For the month, Bryant also averaged 43.4 points per game - the eighth-highest single month scoring average in NBA history as well as the highest for any player other than Chamberlain.
Ultimately, it seems unlikely that Jackson would purposely sabotage Bryant’s chances of setting such an iconic NBA record. The duo worked together for years and enjoyed much success, spearheading a Lakers NBA championship three-peat alongside Shaquille O’Neal from 2000 to 2002.
Since that epic performance in 2006, not many have come close to matching Bryant’s 81-point total. Bryant himself actually scored 65 points in the following year against the Portland Trail Blazers while Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker dropped 70 against the Boston Celtics in 2017.
