24 stats about No 24, Kobe Bryant

By JERRY TAPP

The sports world was stunned by the news Kobe Bryant died along with eight other people (including his 13-year-old daughter) in a helicopter accident.

Bryant was a legend in the game of basketball and his stats for his 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers — five NBA titles, 18 NBA All-Star Game selections, and the fourth leading scorer in league history — are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the influence he had on the game.

In honor of Kobe’s number 24 that he wore (he also wore number 8 in his career), here are 24 stats you may not know about Kobe.

1. Kobe entered the league in 1996 as a teenager. He tallied 1,759 points in the league as a teenager. That is second most all-time in the league behind LeBron James who scored 2,362 points as a teenager. Kobe also scored 1,943 points in the regular season at age 36 and beyond, 28^th most in the league. He is the only player in the league to tally 1,500 points as a teenager and score 1,500 points at age 36 and older.
2. He ended his career with 33,643 points, 7,047 rebounds and 6,306 assists. He is one of only four players in NBA history to have 25,000 points, 7,000 rebounds and 6,000 assists in an NBA career. The others: Oscar Robertson, LeBron James and John Havlicek.
3. Kobe averaged under 20.0 points per game in a season in only five of his 20 seasons.
4. He had 12 seasons where he averaged 25.0 or more points per game. That ties him for second on the all-time list with Michael Jordan and Karl Malone. Leading the way with 16 seasons with 25.0 points per game in a season is LeBron James.
5. Bryant had 290 points, 75 rebounds and 70 assists in his career in the NBA All-Star Game. Only two other players have scored 100 points and had 70 rebounds and 70 assists in a career in the All-Star Game: LeBron James and Bob Cousy.
6. His 290 All-Star Game points is second all-time behind James who has 362.
7. Kobe had 5,640 playoff points, good enough for fourth all-time behind LeBron, Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
8. Only seven players have 1,000 or more rebounds and 1,000 or more assists in their NBA playoff careers: Kobe, Magic Johnson, LeBron, Jason Kidd, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen and Jordan.
9. Bryant ranks third all-time on the list for most playoff minutes with 8,643. LeBron James tops the list with 10,050 and Tim Duncan is second with 9,364.
10. Bryant never had a regular season in the NBA where he shot 50% or higher. In fact, his highest field goal percentage was .469 in 2001-02.
11. He started only seven games in the first 150 he played in the league.
12. Kobe as drafted 13^th in the 1996 NBA Draft. The number one pick that year was Allen Iverson. Of all the players selected in that draft, Kobe tops the list with 1,346 games played in the league and his 33,643 points is the most by any player taken in that draft. He is the only player drafted in the ’96 NBA Draft who played 20 or more seasons in the league.
13. Basketball-reference.com on his profile page lists his yearly salary while he played in the league. He ended his career with salaries totaling $328,238,062.
14. He made his NBA debut on Nov. 3, 1996. He played 6:22 and had one field goal attempt, one rebound, one block and one turnover.
15. His last game was played on April 13, 2016. In 42:09 minutes played, Kobe scored 60 points on 22-for-50 from the field, including 6-for-21 from beyond the three-point arc.
16. Born in Philadelphia, Bryant’s 33,643 career points is the most by any NBA player born in Pennsylvania. Second on the list is Wilt Chamberlain with 31,419.
17. During his career, Kobe averaged 27.3 points per game in the regular season versus the Portland Trailblazers, highest against any team in the league. His lowest points per game in his career were against the Detroit Pistons, 22.2.
18. Kobe made the NBA All-Defensive team 12 times. Tim Duncan tops the list making that All-NBA Defensive team 15 times.
19. Kobe made the first team All-Defensive team nine times, tied for most all-time with Kevin Garnett, Gary Payton and Michael Jordan.
20. Bryant had five seasons in his career where he averaged 40 or more minutes played per game. He is one of 16 players in league history to do so. Wilt Chamberlain had 14 seasons where he averaged 40 or more minutes played for the campaign.
21. Kobe is one of only three players to attempt 25,000 or more shots in NBA regular season games in a career. He attempted 26,200. Karl Malone had 26,210 and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 28,307.
22. Kobe Bryant was a second team All-Rookie selection in his first season. The first team that year was Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Marcus Camby, Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury and Antoine Walker. Also on the second team with Kobe were Ray Allen, Kerry Kittles, Travis Knight and Matt Malone.
23. After being drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13^th pick of the 1996 NBA Draft, Kobe was traded to the Lakers for Vlade Divac in a draft day swap. Divac eventually came back to the Lakers in 2004-05 and played 15 games for the team with Kobe. Divac retired after that season.
24. Kobe and Bob Pettit are the only players to win four NBA All-Star Game MVPs. LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson and Shaquille O’Neal each won three All-Star Game MVP awards.

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