Kobe drops 60 on Jazz to conclude NBA career
The plan was to have Kobe Bryant go out on his own terms Wednesday night, and that's precisely what happened. Bryant scored an almost-unbelievable 60 points on a career-high 50 shots, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 101-96 win over the Utah Jazz in the final game of his 20-year NBA career.
There will be no hardware for the Lakers this season, but the finish was as Hollywood as it gets for one of the league's all-time greats. Bryant scored 17 of L.A.'s last 19 points, but then dished off to Jordan Clarkson for a dunk with four seconds left.
Kobe scored 15 points & had 1 assist in the final 3:01 of the game. Brought the Lakers from down 10 to up 5. pic.twitter.com/vje3VObKIa
— Darius Soriano (@forumbluegold) April 14, 2016
Kobe becomes the oldest player in NBA history to score 60 points in a single game and finishes his career with six performances with 60 or more points - second only to Wilt Chamberlain. He ends his playing days third on the all-time points list.
| NBA all-time scorers | Points |
|---|---|
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 38387 |
| Karl Malone | 36928 |
| Kobe Bryant | 33643 |
Bryant, the noted volume shooter, surpassed his previous career high of 47 shots, taken in a loss to the Boston Celtics on Nov. 7, 2002.