Last night Kobe Bryant became the youngest player to reach the 24,000 point milestone in his illustrious career, after scoring 41 points against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Bryant managed to squeak by the record-that was held by Wilt Chamberlain-by just 38 days before Chamberlain reached the mark.
Bryant, 31 years, and 75 days old, needed every bit of a head start he got after skipping college and heading right into the NBA after high school to beat Chamberlain's record, while Chamberlain had three years of college under his belt before deciding to leave.
Now in his 13th NBA season, this just puts Bryant 14,360 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar-who is the all-time NBA scoring leader with 38,387 points.
Though it might seem like Bryant has a decent shot at the record, I wouldn't count on it. Even with his head start to his pro career, it looks like it will take him about six to seven more seasons to reach the all-time record with the pace he's on.
And let's face it, even though many have said Bryant has that Jordan-esque drive to be the best,
1. He is not Michael Jordan
2. There's a reason why four out of the top five all-time leading scorers are big men-it's easier for them to have a longer, more prosperous career.
However, I am not down-playing Kobe Bryant. He's a great NBA player, and his four championship rings reflect that. He's just not at Kareem, or Wilt, or Michael status just yet.
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