List of 40-plus point games by Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant is an American basketball shooting guard who played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Selected 13th overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1996 NBA draft, Bryant was traded to the Lakers for Vlade Divac a month later. He led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships playing alongside Shaquille O'Neal from 2000 to 2002. After O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat before the 2004–05 season, Bryant "became the cornerstone" of the Lakers franchise.^[3] He led the NBA in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. In the 2007–08 season, Bryant won the Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) and led his team to the 2008 NBA Finals, where the Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics. After winning the gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics as a member of the U.S. men's basketball team,he led the Lakers to two more championships in 2009 and 2010, defeating the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics.




The number of forty-plus point games players accumulate over their careers is often reported in media. Bryant has played 135 games in which he has scored 40 or more points; of these, 6 were 60-plus point games and 26 were 50-plus point games. He is third behind Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan, who scored 40 or more in 284 and 211 games, respectively In 2003, Bryant scored 40 points or more in nine consecutive games, tying Jordan, who accomplished the same feat in the 1986–87 season. The only player with longer streaks of 40 or more is Chamberlain, who had 14 consecutive games twice in the 1961–62 season and 10 consecutive games in the 1962–63 season. In 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. It was the second-highest number of points scored in a game in NBA history, behind only Chamberlain's 100-point performance in 1962. In 2007, Bryant scored 50 points or more in four consecutive games; this accomplishment is fifth in NBA history behind streaks by Chamberlain, who had 50 or more in seven, six and five (twice) consecutive games in the 1961–62 season.Bryant has also played 12 playoff games in which he has scored forty or more points. Out of the 134 games, 21 resulted in Bryant notching a double-double and 42 resulted in losses. Bryant became the oldest player to score 60+ points (60) in his final game on April 13, 2016.