Kobe Bryant Fastest to Reach 20,000 Points

Kobe Bryant became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points yesterday. Bryant scored 39 points as he guided the Lakers to a 95-90 win against the lowly New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Bryant also added 11 rebounds and eight assists during his first return to the Garden in almost two years.

Bryant scored a 3-pointer 52 seconds before the third quarter ended, recording 20,000 points and making the score 55-37. Bryant, 29 years and 134 days old, did it at a younger age than legends Wilt Chamberlain (29 years, 134 days) and Michael Jordan (29 years, 326 days).

He said, “This is my favorite arena to play in, so I`m just happy and relieved that I was able to play tonight."

However, it will not be as easy for him to break the record of total NBA career points. With 20,000 points, Bryant is about halfway to Abdul-Jabbar`s career total of 38,387. Jabbar, who started playing in the 1969-1970 season, scored 20,000 points in only nine seasons. Chamberlain, who is ranked 4th with a career total of 31,419 points, broke the 20,000 mark in seven seasons.

Bryant was able to score 20,000 points at an early age because, unlike other players, he turned pro right after graduation from high school. Chamberlain, after his debut, reached 20,000 points in 499 games while Bryant had to play 811 games to score the same number of points. Bryant, who scored 81 points when playing against Toronto Raptors on January 23, 2006 (thus his nickname, “Mr. 81”), is ranked 2nd followed by Chamberlain in terms of scoring the most points in a game.

Bryant’s scoring mark is likely to be broken by “King” LeBron James (23, Cleveland Cavaliers). James has reached total of 9,000 points at the age of 22 years, 352 days, and broke the record held by Bryant (24 years, 127 days) to reach that mark. James also went pro right after graduating high school.

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