Ten amazing things about Kobe Bryant in honor of his 38th birthday
He was in a Brian McKnight video and his dog is named after a curse in "Harry Potter."
By
Matt Moore
•
2 min read
Kobe Bryant may be retired, but he remains a legend in the eyes of NBA fans.
His birthday is Tuesday and on Wednesday he's being honored in Los Angeles with "Kobe Bryant Day." With so many fans still not ready to say goodbye to the legend, here are 10 amazing things about Kobe Bryant on his 38th birthday.
1. He tore his Achilles, then tried to pull the tendon back up, went out, and hit both free throws before ending his season.
You can't see it in the video, but Bryant told reporters he tried to actually "pull up" the tendon when it tore on him three years ago. Then he went out and after suffering a devastating injury and still shot, and made, his free throws. This remains the most insane thing I've ever seen Bryant do.
2. He pulled off a behind-the-back reverse dunk that may have been better than any poster outside of Vince Carter's Olympic dunk.
The ingenuity, audacity and velocity of this move makes it an absolute 10 out of 10. Judges unanimous. Shut it down, let's go home.
3. One year he averaged 40 points per game over the span of a month. Yes, it was February, but still, in 2003, he pulled this off. I was so amazed when I found this out that I had to actually go see it for myself on Basketball-Reference. Sure enough:
4. Bryant scored 38 or more 168 times in his career. That is an absurd number, even if it just randomly uses his age as a benchmark. Allen Iverson only did it 119 times, and he was more of a chucker than Bryant. In nine seasons Kevin Durant has only done it 54 times. Kevin Durant! Dirk Nowitzki only pulled it off 35 times. There are a lot of ways to describe Bryant but "the second-best volume scorer of all time" may be the best. (Michael Jordan, hilariously, accomplished this 228 times.)
5. He had the worst fashion shoot for any NBA player in history.
6. He named his dog after the "torture curse" in "Harry Potter." No, seriously.
I'm a little concerned he's going to name his third daughter "Ava" after "Ava Kedavra," which is the "Killing Curse" from the Potter books and films.
7. Nike is still putting out awesome versions of his shoes. And they probably will be for years. Making signature shoes when you're out of the game is pretty much a testament to greatness. Here's the latest fro Nike, the Kobe 11 "Mambacurial."
8. That time Matt Barnes tried to make him flinch and Kobe did not flinch and it was awesome.
9. Not only did he rap when he was younger, but he was in a Brian McKnight video.
How much grief are his daughters going to give him between now and eternity when they find this if they haven't already?
10. He really did shoot 50 times, and really did score 60 points, in his final game.
What a way to go out, Mamba.
HT: FTW
