ESPN has continued on with their Summer Forecast series. So far, this has not been too kind to the Los Angeles Lakers. They were predicted to finish 12th in the Western Conference with a 30-52 record. Additionally, Carlos Boozer was predicted to be the worst newcomer in the NBA.
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On a brighter note, Kobe Bryant continues to chase history as he is fourth on the NBA’s All-Time Scoring List, trailing Michael Jordan by only 592 points. ESPN’s Summer Forecast voted with 74.1 percent believing Bryant will finish third all-time, and 20.4 percent saying he’ll climb all the way to second.
Being only 592 points behind Jordan, Bryant could very well pass him this season assuming he is healthy. ESPN Stats and Info broke down exactly when Bryant could pass him:
If he averages 20 points per game, he could pass Jordan on the scoring list around the 29th or 30th game of the Lakers season. Those games happen to be at the Chicago Bulls on Christmas Day and at the Dallas Mavericks the next day.
Passing Jordan on the all-time scoring list in Chicago would definitely not endear Bryant to the legion of Bulls and MJ fans who consider him to be the best player in the history of the NBA.
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The possibility of surpassing Karl Malone, however, is far less likely especially if Bryant was to play only in these last two seasons. He would need to average nearly 32 points and play in all 164 possible games to pass Malone.
Kobe, for his part, seems solely focused on proving the prognosticators wrong and leading the Lakers to the playoffs this season, but that will be a tough task.
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