Bryant Puts Up 81 On Raptors

On Jan. 22, 2006, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers scored 81 points in a single game. 

It is the second highest total in history behind only Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point effort. Bryant's effort came in a 122-104 win over the Toronto Raptors.

The Lakers were trailing by double digits in the third quarter when Bryant really started to turn it on. He had a total of 55 points in the second half to help the Lakers win.

Bryant has put together a tremendous career becoming the youngest player in league history to score 30,000 career points and is the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history. He currently ranks third and fourth on the league's all-time post-season scoring and all-time regular season scoring lists.

At one point it looked like Bryant would be a shoe in to take over the post-season scoring title, but with his injuries over the past two seasons and the Lakers failure to post a respectable win-loss record he might end up where he is currently.

Since his second year in the league, Bryant has been selected to start every All-Star Game. He has won the All-Star MVP Award four times (2002, 2007, 2009, and 2011), tying him for the most All-Star MVP Awards in NBA history.

At the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, he won gold medals as a member of the USA national team. Sporting News and TNT named Bryant the top NBA player of the 2000s.