Tuesday night’s contest between the Lakers and the Jazz was anything but memorable, as it was an ugly game resulting in a Lakers defeat. The game was forgettable for so many reason, especially compared to another April 5th contest between the Lakers and the Jazz.
Tuesday marked the 27 year anniversary of the night Lakers legendary Center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored his 31,421st point, passing former Lakers great Wilt Chamberlain atop the NBA’s all time scoring list. Abdul-Jabbar beat Chamberlain’s record, which stood for 18 years.
Kareem actually broke the record in a rare regular season tilt held in Las Vegas. “Cap” broke the record in grand fashion, by using his lethal sky hook to score over Jazz center Mark Eaton, a moment that will forever live in basketball lore.
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In the 27 years since Kareem hit one of seemingly thousands of his sky hooks, many great players have come and gone yet the record still stands. Dominant players such as Michael Jordan, Karl Malone and Shaquille O’Neal have cracked the top five in the NBA’s all time scoring list, but have not been able to catch the Lakers’ legend.
Abdul-Jabbar wasn’t done yet after breaking the scoring record as he continued to build on his amazing legacy, tallying 38,387 points before ending his historic career in 1989.
The anniversary of Kareem’s record breaking moment begs the question: Can the record be broken?
Perhaps the only man with a shot at catching Kareem is the man who is quickly climbing the list of the NBA’s all time greatest list, none other than Kobe Bryant.
Next: Kobe’s chances by the numbers
The obvious choice for the candidate to threaten Kareem’s record is Bryant for obvious reasons. The main one is the fact that Bryant is quickly climbing the charts on the scoring leader’s list, seemingly passing a legend each and every week.
As of right now Bryant sits in sixth place on the all time scoring list, with the only active player sitting ahead of him being a washed up and often injured Shaquille O’Neal. For this very reason Bryant is the only player who currently has a realistic chance of breaking the record.
Although Bryant is the only legitimate threat to the record at the moment, he still has years of work to do in order to catch Kareem. Bryant currently has 27,705 points to his name, yet still trails the master of the sky hook by 10,682 points.
Bryant seems to be a viable threat but he will need to maintain his high level of play at least to the midpoint of the decade. If Bryant can continue to average somewhere around 25 points per contest and remain healthy, he could seemingly break the record in about five years.
Five more seasons at 25 points per game would seem nearly impossible for most 14 year veterans, but if we have learned one thing from the 14 year career of Bryant it’s that we shouldn’t be surprised by his greatness.
Next: Can Bryant overcome potential barriers?
There are many obstacles that make Kobe’s chances of breaking the record all but a certainty. Bryant’s road to the scoring record is not going to be an easy one, but if anybody can do it, it’s Kobe.
The obvious obstacle for Kobe to overcome is age as he not only competes against other NBA players but also competes against father time. Bryant has maintained his greatness but can he continue to do so for five plus seasons?
Many pundits would argue that he can’t and they would use his decreased athletic ability as evidence. Although his leaping ability has taken a hit as time passes, Bryant continues to evolve as a player, making it very plausible that Bryant could continue to maintain his high level up play even as he approaches his mid-30’s.
Bryant is also the hardest worker in the game, which will prevent a Shaq-like drop off. With Bryant still adding elements to his game even at age 32, the scenario in which Bryant keeps his game up for another half decade is perfectly reasonable.
Another element to factor in is the health of Kobe. For Bryant to break the record in about five season he would have to remain healthy. A task that is easier said than done for many players who are Kobe’s age.
Bryant continues to defy the odds as he has missed only a total of nine games in the past three seasons. That doesn’t mean Kobe hasn’t been injured though, as we have seen Bryant have issues with his knees, ankles and seemingly every finger he has during the past few seasons.
Despite the injuries, Kobe’s competitive nature makes him one of the game’s true iron men, playing in through injuries that would put most players under the knife. Although the injuries continue to pile up, expect Bryant to continue to be a warrior and be on the floor rather than the sideline for most of the end of his career.
There are other obstacles that stand in Bryant’s way, such as a potential lockout cutting short a season, but perhaps the biggest wildcard in this debate is Bryant himself. Simply put, will he want to play long enough to break the record?
With seemingly every accomplishment under his belt, will Bryant want to play long enough to break the record? If Bryant maintains his high level of play this is probable because we all know that Bryant lives for playing the game.
If Bryant slips up though, do we really want to see him continue to play ala Michael Jordan with the Wizards? This will be an interesting dynamic in the chase.
Next: What the scoring record would mean for Kobe
We all know that Kobe is one of the greatest players to ever set foot on an NBA court, but we also know that he is one of the most unappreciated legends of all time. Would the scoring record being added to Bryant’s resume ultimately silence his many critics?
Knowing his critics, probably not as they would find a way to nit-pick his achievement as they normally do (Bill Simmons). Even though it wouldn’t silence his critics, breaking the all time scoring record would certainly validate Bryant’s case as one of the game’s great players.
In the eyes of most, Bryant could retire today and still be seen as one of the top players ever; the scoring record would possibly propel him to being scene as the greatest to ever play.
Most won’t even acknowledge that Bryant is in Michael Jordan’s class, but the writing is on the wall. Kobe is now chasing his sixth championship, which would equal Jordan’s mark. If Bryant were to break Kareem’s record and equal or surpass Jordan’s championship total, what argument would basketball minds have against Kobe being the top player of all time other than theories filled with what ifs?
Kobe’s assault on the NBA’s scoring record would certainly validate his bid for the top player of all time but only time will tell if Bryant will score point number 38,388. Several obstacles stand in Bryant’s way but as we have seen before, no obstacle is too large for this Laker Legend.