When asked on Tuesday night about passing his teammate, Bryant said “It was inevitable.”
The NBA’s top five all-time scorers are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with 38,387 points, Karl Malone in second place with 36,928, Michael Jordan at third with 32,292, Wilt Chamberlain in the fourth spot at 31,419 points and O’Neal at 28,596.
Bryant is threatening the take over the first spot on the list, but he will have to play several more years at a fairly high level. Still, he first has to past O’Neal before putting his sights on Kareem and the other all-time greats on the lists.
Kobe has been on a tear this season and no one expected him to lead the league in scoring at 30.0 points per game. It is safe to say that if he keeps up these numbers, he will rise up on the list much faster than expected.