'Kobe's 81': Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Black Mamba's highest scoring game

On this day, 20 years ago, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, setting his career high and the second-most points in a single game in NBA history, behind only Wilt Chamberlain's legendary 100 points.

Bryant's 81 was also relatively efficient, shooting 28 of 46 from the field (61 percent), raining in 7 threes at 54 percent, and going 18-20 from the charity stripe.

More: 6 crazy details you missed from Kobe Bryant's 81-point game box score

With the departure of his long-term duo partner, Shaquille O'Neal, a couple of seasons prior, it opened the door for the Black Mamba to emerge and take on a more scoring role to lead his team, and thta performances was just one of many for Bryant in 2006, which was his best scoring season, averaging 35.4 points per game while missing only two regular-season games.

Although Bryant has way more historic moments from his legendary career, which includes being a five-time champion, a league MVP, top five in league history in scoring, and many more accomplishments, this game against Toronto in particular continues to have a lasting impact even after two decades.

No other player has exceeded 81 points since; however, many players have come close, especially in today's league, where there are more high-scoring games than the NBA has ever seen.

Many people are wondering who will be the one to reach or surpass the mark, and when you see multiple players known for their scoring ability still not able to do so as the league grows in talent. it shows how rare of a breed of the late great first ballot Hall of Famer was, which is a huge reason why he is still celebrated by many to this day.

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