Vanessa Bryant pays touching tribute to Kobe with powerful throwback to his iconic milestone

Kobe Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, paid a touching tribute to the LA Lakers legend, highlighting his iconic milestone moment from 2006. In January that year, Bryant delivered one of the most incredible offensive performances seen in the NBA, scoring 81 points in a 122-104 win over the Toronto Raptors.

Almost two decades later, his performance remains the second-highest scoring performance in league history, second only to Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game. On Friday, Vanessa Bryant posted a powerful throwback paying tribute to Kobe Bryant and his historic performance against the Raptors.

Vanessa Bryant’s Instagram story

Since Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game, there have been four 70-point performances by Luka Doncic, Damian Lillard, Devin Booker and Joel Embiid. Apart from these, there have been countless stellar scoring displays, but none have gotten close to Bryant’s dominant performance against the Raptors.

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He finished the game with 81 points, six rebounds, two assists and three steals, shooting 28-for-46 and 7-for-13 from 3-point range. Bryant also made 18 out of 20 free throws.

His fans look back at his performance against the Raptors as the best scoring display of the modern era. Fans also joke about him having more points than Chamberlain, since Wilt’s 100-point game was never documented.

Nike set to release a signature shoe honoring Kobe Bryant's 81-point game

Nike is also set to pay tribute to Kobe Bryant by honoring his 81-point performance. Bryant’s signature sneakers have been the most popular among athletes. Now, another model is set to join the impressive lineup.

Nike will release the Kobe 1 Protro “81 Points” in the Spring of 2026. The Kobe 1 was Bryant's first signature shoe with Nike and has only been released twice. The last time the shoe made a return was in 2019.

The last release kept the shoe’s original colorway; it is yet to be seen if the 2026 release will maintain the trend. The Nike Kobe 6 and 5 were in the top 10 most-worn sneakers in the NBA last season.

Earlier this year, Vanessa Bryant worked with the company to release “Mambacita” Kobe sneakers to honor their late daughter, Gigi Bryant, on her birthday. Gigi Bryant tragically died with Kobe in a helicopter crash in 2020.

Edited by John Maxwell