Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls (L) eyes the basket as he is guarded by Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers during their 01 February game in Los Angeles, CA. Jordan will appear in his 12th NBA All-Star game 08 February while Bryant will make his first All-Star appearance. The Lakers won the game 112-87. AFP PHOTO/Vince BUCCI (Photo credit should read Vince Bucci/AFP/Getty Images)
SAN ANTONIO — The moment seems inevitable.
Kobe Bryant will surpass Michael Jordan for third place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Will it happen when the Lakers (6-16) play on Friday against the San Antonio Spurs (16-6) here at AT&T Center? Or will Bryant make history when the Lakers play on Sunday in Minnesota?
Bryant did not speak to reporters following morning shootaround, but Lakers coach Byron Scott maintained his star player hardly has thought about his upcoming milestone.
“His mindset is to win the game. I’m pretty sure of that,” Scott said. “The other part is secondary. His mindset is always to win.”
Of course, Bryant’s scoring mindset correlates with hoping to help the Lakers win. That explains why Bryant ranks second in the NBA in scoring, averaging 25.5 points per game, on a league-leading 22.4 attempts per contest. Bryant only needs to score 31 points to surpass Jordan’s total of 32,692 career points.
“IF it happens tonight or the next game, obviously I’ll feel probably like a Dad,” said Scott, who mentored Bryant his rookie season 19 years ago. “I’m very proud to have had to be in his life for this long and watched the maturation of him grow up as a basketball player.”
Scott has hardly expressed any surprise Bryant would win five NBA championships and finish at least for third place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, which also features Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points) and Karl Malone (36,928 points). Scott recalled often proclaiming publicly during Bryant’s rookie season that he would become one of the best NBA players.
“I just remember watching his work ethic, watching how dedicated he was to being there early and getting his work in,” Scott said. Sitting down and talking to him and having the conversations we had, I just knew it was in him and it was something he wanted.”
And now that Bryant remains within striking distance of adding one significant milestone to a firmly cemented Hall of Fame resume, Scott maintains both he and his star pupil will focus less on making history and more on trying to collect a rare victory during an otherwise dour 2014-15 season.
“That’s secondary because its going to happen tonight or the next game,” Scott said. “It’s just a matter of when. My main focus is to see if we can win this game.”
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