Kobe Bryant scored 19 points on Saturday in a win against the Sacramento Kings, passing Wilt Chamberlain for No. 4 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Bryant hit a pull-up jump shot with 7:55 left in the second quarter to reach 31,421 points for his career , pulling past Chamberlain’s 31,419.
Bryant, started his career with Los Angeles since he was a 17-year-old rookie, thanked the fans for their support throughout his career.
“What a journey,” Bryant said. “It’s been a very, very long journey. I’m certainly extremely appreciative of all the support and the Laker faithful, the ‘Laker Nation,’ from being a 17-year-old kid to a 34-year-old man and all the support they’ve given me throughout my career.”
It meant even more for Kobe Bryant to pass Wilt Chamberlain.
“I remember the first time I met him when I was about eight years old,” Bryant said. “The first thing that struck me was that, the first thing I thought of was he was ‘Bombata’ from [‘Conan the Destroyer’]. That was the most impressive thing to me. He was just such a warm-hearted gentleman and I have nothing but praise for him, obviously. To pass him up is a huge honor, to say the least.”
Kobe Bryant has a chance to make this an even more historic season. After the Lakers stumbled out to an uncharacteristically slow start, Kobe guaranteed that the Lakers would make the playoffs and so far has led the team back into the No. 8 spot.
Since then the team has begun to gel, with Bryant leading the way.
He helped the team even more in Saturday’s game. Kobe Bryant’s 19 points and 14 assists — one shy of his career record — led the team to a 103-98 victory over the Sacramento Kings. The Lakers have now crept a bit higher in the Western Conference, and are in striking distance of the No. 7 spot.
