The plan was to have Kobe Bryant go out on his own terms Wednesday night, and that's precisely what happened. Bryant scored an almost-unbelievable 60 points on a career-high 50 shots, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 101-96 win over the Utah Jazz in the final game of his 20-year NBA career.
There will be no hardware for the Lakers this season, but the finish was as Hollywood as it gets for one of the league's all-time greats. Bryant scored 17 of L.A.'s last 19 points, but then dished off to Jordan Clarkson for a dunk with four seconds left.
Kobe scored 15 points & had 1 assist in the final 3:01 of the game. Brought the Lakers from down 10 to up 5. pic.twitter.com/vje3VObKIa
— Darius Soriano (@forumbluegold) April 14, 2016
Kobe becomes the oldest player in NBA history to score 60 points in a single game and finishes his career with six performances with 60 or more points - second only to Wilt Chamberlain. He ends his playing days third on the all-time points list.
| NBA all-time scorers | Points |
|---|---|
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 38387 |
| Karl Malone | 36928 |
| Kobe Bryant | 33643 |
Bryant, the noted volume shooter, surpassed his previous career high of 47 shots, taken in a loss to the Boston Celtics on Nov. 7, 2002.
