Kobe Bryant: Do you think he will become...............

SanctionII

................. the NBA's all time leading scorer [maybe even breaking the 40,000 point barrier] by the time he retires?

Last week he moved into 8th [or maybe even 7th] place on the list, passing Hakeem The Dream.

If he does, you could put an asterisk by his name since he skipped college and thus extended his NBA career for 4 extra years. If Kareem Abdul Jabbar had skipped college and played in the NBA right out of high sschool he would have probably had 45,000 or more points.

Further, if Kobe does take over first place ahead of Kareem, who would be likely to bump Kobe out of first place?

larryallen73

I don't think it deserves an asterick. It is what it is. Someone else could beat him and that somebody would be Kevin Durant!

hhmag70

My guess is no, he will hang it up befor taking the #1 spot.

PowderedH2O

Karl Malone was a mortal lock to break that record and he fell short. I feel less confident in Kobe. But if he does it, more power to him. He earned it.

vladguerrero

i sure hope not...

hammered

To have a shot at the record, he's gonna have to start passing less and shooting more...

jdip9

Kareem could just sit on the block and launch the unstoppable sky hook.

It's a lot harder for a swingman like Kobe to maintain the same quickness and explosiveness once he gets past 35 (he's already lost some of it) that he needs to get a lot of his points. Plus, he has averaged 36 minutes per game in his career, and if you strip away his first two seasons, when he was a teenager, it's closer to 38 mpg. He cannot continue to play those kinds of minutes if he wants to contend for a title every year. He averages 33 mpg this season, which is probably what he'll average moving forward, if not less. This if the 5th season in a row that his average ppg has trended lower, I just can't see that reversing...it'll take him 6.5 years minimum, and we haven't even talked about injuries yet.

Of course, all that goes out the window if Kobe wins a 6th title to tie Jordan. It would fit Kobe's character completely at that point to say "screw the team now, I'm launching 40 shots a game to break Kareem's record!"

Mickey71

Kobe's good enough and determined enough to do it.....the problem is games played/injury. Even if you don't like Kobe, it's hard to ignore the fact of how driven he is. He does seem to have the iron will of Jordan. Malone would have done it; but a late knee injury robbed him of the chance. Kareem's record is safe for awhile. I can't see Durant lasting for 18 years at a high level. I think Lebron had a chance; but is now on a good team...so he will not be averaging 30-32 anytime soon.---Just my 2 cents.

SanctionII

MJ may have come close to breaking Kareem's scoring record if he had not taken essentially two seasons off to play baseball.

MJ played three years of college ball and took two years off to play baseball. If he had gone to the pros out of high school and not played baseball, he would have broken the record.

I expected Karl Malone to break the record, but unfortunately he got hurt and had to quit one or two seasons earlier than he probably wanted to.

LeBron is one who, if he remains injury free and if he remains the go to guy for scoring, will stand a great chance to break Kareem's record.

One thing that is interesting is that the record, to my understanding, only includes points scored in the regular season. Playoff points do not count (or are counted separately).

Hallco

He is going to need a whole bunch more 81 point games to get to Kareem.

Ahmanfan

Kobe said the other day that his knee is 'essentially bone on bone'. In addition to 15 regular seasons, he's play the equivalent of 2 more season of playoff basketball. Kobe's mind could get him there , but his body will not.
John

bman90278

No matter where Kobe finish's he doesn't deserve an asterisk for his points or stats. That is just plain silly!

Keep in mind that it's not about his age right now, it's about all of those minutes logged in on his body. Right now you can easily add several more years to his age because of all the playoff games and Olympic games he has played. Add those extra games and he's already played several extra seasons. Add in his worn out knee and that makes it even worse for Kobe.

Tabe

<< <i>If he does, you could put an asterisk by his name since he skipped college and thus extended his NBA career for 4 extra years. If Kareem Abdul Jabbar had skipped college and played in the NBA right out of high sschool he would have probably had 45,000 or more points. >>


An asterisk? Sure, if you put one next to Kareem's record first. No zone defense in Kareem's era. Heck, hardly any DEFENSE in Kareem's era.

Kobe won't get to 38500 but, if he does, he's certainly earned the record.

Tabe

DIMEMAN

I like Kobe......but he is NO Micheal Jordan! Period!

Garabaldi

He justs needs to shoot the ball more.

Mickey71

Did someone mention Dantley and Kobe in the same sentence....what?

Garabaldi

I can see Rolando Blackman, but not Dantley.

bman90278

<< <i>Did someone mention Dantley and Kobe in the same sentence....what? >>



That is funny sh i t!!!!!!

bman90278

<< <i>I like Kobe......but he is NO Micheal Jordan! Period! >>



There will never be another Jordan, but when its all said and done, Kobe deserves to be in the same category as a Jordan. It's safe to say there have only been a handful of players that had similar championship traits like Jordan had.

Coinstartled

Doubtful.