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Kobe Bryant’s Iconic 81 Point Game Called Way More Impressive Than Wilt Chamberlain’s “Farcical” 100 Point Game

Published 03/03/2022, 9:30 AM EST

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Wilt Chamberlain set many unbreakable records throughout his NBA career. However, the one that seems too far for anyone to bat is his iconic 100 point game. The only man who ever came close to that mark was Kobe Bryant. The Mamba scored 81 points against the Raptors in 2006. But which of these two feats was more impressive? By numbers, it seems to be Wilt. But recently, Alan Han broke down just how ridiculous Wilt’s 100 point game really was.

Chamberlain was one of the most dominant forces in NBA history. His achievements outside the NBA court were freakish, and he did the unthinkable on the court. One of them was doing something even the best scores couldn’t, scoring 100 points in a game. But while the record seems to be one of the best, the actual game had its flaws.

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During a segment of ‘Brian and Hahn,’ Alan Hahn dissected every part of Wilt’s record-setting game and said it is one of the sport’s biggest farces.

Kobe Bryant 81 points better than Wilt’s 100?

Alan Hahn spoke about how not enough attention is given to just how the Chamberlain 100 point game went down. He broke down the happenings of the game, revealing that the New York Knicks were missing their two centers. Moreover, Chamberlain took 63 shots in the game and went to the free-throw line a record 32 times.

Hahn said, “I will go as far as saying it is one of the biggest farces in sports history. Here’s why. First of all, wasn’t on TV, so no one got to see how it actually happened. He continued saying, “So Wilt in this game took 63 shots. How about he took 32 free throws?”

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Hahn also revealed just how the game went. He said the Knicks started fouling Wilt, but surprisingly, he made 28 of his 32 free throw attempts. Then, in order to get the ball to Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia started fouling the Knicks. Hence, the entire game was designed in a way to get Wilt to the historic landmark of scoring 100 points in a game.

In the process, he shattered the records for field goals attempted and made, most free throws made and most attempts in a single quarter at a whopping 21. So the stage was all set for Wilt to get to his landmark. This dissection called his partner, Brian Scott, to say Kobe Bryant scoring 81 was more impressive than Wilt’s 100. But why does he believe so?

Did the Mamba have the greatest scoring game in NBA history?

Despite being 19 points short of the record, Bryant was at his best all game long. He took a total of 46 shots and went to the free-throw line 20 times. He was incredibly efficient, shooting 28-46 from the field and 7 of his 13 attempts from downtown.

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What makes it incredibly impressive is player for player, Raptors threw everything at Kobe. Despite all their efforts, the Mamba was relentless. He kept on scoring, and there was no way to put an end to it apart from the final buzzer. He ended up scoring 55 points in the second half in a Lakers win. The scoreline was 122-104.

Bryant himself did not expect to have such a game as he was only chasing the win. Phil Jackson also said he had never seen something like that. While there can be debates about which achievement is better, achieving both is incredibly hard.

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Despite having the stage set, getting 100 is no easy job and Chamberlain got close multiple times. As for Kobe, in pursuit of winning, he did the unimaginable and sparked hope of doing the impossible. Both games remain to be iconic and will probably never be emulated ever again.

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Written by:

Anuj Talwalkar

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Anuj Talwalkar is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He is a student studying at NM College in Mumbai, aspiring to pursue sports management to follow his love for sports. Anuj started following the NBA last year, and he loves to combine his passion for writing with his understanding of basketball.
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