By the 2012-13 season, Kobe Bryant had accomplished plenty in his NBA career. He was three seasons removed from winning his fifth (and final) NBA championship, had amassed two Finals MVPs, multiple All-Star appearances and cemented himself as a legend in Los Angeles Lakers lore.
On Dec. 7, 2012, history came calling for Bryant as he became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 30,000 career points. Bryant entered the elite scoring club with a jumper during the first half against New Orleans.
Bryant joined Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and Michael Jordan as the only players to reach 30,000 career points. (Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James would join the group in 2017 and 2018, respectively, as well.) Upon his retirement after the 2015-16 season, he was the NBA’s third all-time leading scorer with 33,643 points.
* * *
