The game will be remembered for a long time for a number of different reasons, and we’re here to remember it from different angles. So below are five videos that are connected with Bryant’s historic effort.
MORE: Looking back at Kobe Bryant’s career milestones
All 81 points Kobe scored
Every. Single. Bucket.
A big takeaway from this video is you realize just how explosive Bryant was in the second half of the game. He had just 26 points at halftime before scoring 27 points in the third and 28 in the fourth, a total of 55 in the second half (the second-most in a half in NBA history).
Stuart Scott doing Kobe highlights
Another sign of the era.
What better way to celebrate Kobe’s 81 than by listening to Stuart Scott recap it?
Kobe’s press conference after
From Bryant:
Jalen Rose on defending Kobe while he scored 81
“We have four days off coming up here, and I would have been sick as a dog if we would have lost this game. I just wanted to step up and inspire us to play well, and it turned into something special. To put on a show like this for the fans here in LA is truly something special. I grew up in front of these people, and now they are seeing me as an older, young man.”
With this performance being so iconic, people can’t help but point out how Jalen Rose was mostly guarding Bryant the entire game. Rose has been mocked for this ever since it happened, so in a video for Grantland (RIP), Rose shared his side of the story.
Jalen and Kobe meet again
In the pilot episode of Jalen Rose’s show “Jalen Vs. Everybody,” the former NBA player invited his pal to make fun of that moment in a glorious scene.
