Kobe's 81. League reactions.
Around the League:
Celtics Great Larry Bird:
"That's wild. That is really wild. That's a lot of points, I'm telling you. There's no question how good he is, but when you start throwing numbers around like that, it's unbelievable. It would be hard to believe if you didn't know it was true."
Miami Heat Coach Pat Riley:
"Anybody who's got the kind of energy to try to hoist up (nearly) 70 shots is going to score a lot of point. It's remarkable, the execution and the efficiency, but we've got a lot of guys in this league, if they took 70 shots, they'd score a lot of points."
Miami Heat G, Dwyane Wade:
"Everybody was calling. Everybody called every player in the league."
Miami Heat F, Antoine Walker:
"I think with the 81 now, no other team or other players will let that happen. Now guys will foul out trying to stop him from doing that. If someone gets 81 on me, I'm going to clothesline him." On Shaq: "He told us to get him 50 shots."
Tex Winter, Ex-Assistant:
"It was quite an exhibition. It's what the fans love. I don't think you can win a championship playing that way and so, consequently, I would be concerned about that. But it was a great victory and I don't want to take anything away from Kobe because it was one of the greatest I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of exhibitions."
Lakers Great, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar:
"Kobe's range is unreal, and he does it his way. It was a real treat. His ability to shoot from long range and also attack the hoop, split the defense and get in close for opportunities near the basket is unique. He's made a niche for himself, and he deserves it."
New Jersey Nets PG, Jason Kidd:
"How many minutes did he play, 42? If he had an overtime game, maybe (100 would be possible)"
New Jersey Nets F, Vince Carter:
"It is great for the league, for him, just because of the buzz it has created. The only bad thing about it is younger kids, whose minds are easily warped, are going to think, 'Ohhh! I am going to go out there and do it' instead of the team concept first. That is what is missing, guys understanding how to play as a team. They [the NBA] want scoring, they want ratings, you are going to get that. You are definitely going to get them now with the amount of 50-60-point games . . . I just hope kids and young guys understand that yeah, special guys can do that. But . . ."
Detroit PG, Chauncey Billups:
"If you have it going, you're supposed to keep it going. ... Unbelievable."
Indiana Pacers Coach, Rick Carlisle:
"I don't feel so bad about the 45 he got on us now."
Golden State Warriors Coach, Mike Montgomery:
"I wish we had King Kong (to guard him). Anything we can do, we'll do."
Bulls Great Scottie Pippen:
"It's superb, definitely. Something that is new to me, that is shocking. I got the news last night about 3 in the morning, and I don't think I even went back to bed."
Ex-Bull and now-Analyst Steve Kerr:
"I'm always one to credit the guys who win. I don't know if I would have given Kobe the M.V.P. last week. But what he did in the game last night, he's so clearly the best player out there."
Hubie Brown, Analyst:
"For Kobe Bryant to do this as a guard, it is a testimony to his athletic ability, incredible endurance."
Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations, Joe Dumars:
"I think it is an awesome feat what Kobe did the other night, and I tip my hat to him. The one word that comes to mind when I think about what he accomplished is SPECIAL."
Utah Jazz Coach, Jerry Sloan:
"Kobe brought his team back from a big deficit to win the game, so you like to see that. That means quite a bit more than getting points with no competition."
Cavs Guard, Eric Snow:
"Hats off, he's the best. It's hard to get 50 in a game. He did it in a half. It takes a tough player who works really hard. I think he's one of the best ever."
Celtics Ricky Davis:
"That was a great game. It surprises you, but the guy was hitting shot after shot."
Celtics Forward, Paul Pierce:
"It's impressive,. He's probably playing the best basketball of anyone in the NBA right now. When you’re taking jump shots, you’re going to get more tired. Wilt got all layups. With the athletes that are in the game today, no, it wouldn’t happen. You would have to put more minutes on the clock. Well, maybe Kobe could do it. If he shot every time down the floor.” "
Celtics Coach, Doc Rivers:
“What was lost in all of that was that he got it going when they were down by 18 points. The other amazing part was that he didn’t get tired at the end.”
George Gervin:
"To compare it to anybody would be useless. He set himself apart from everyone else. Everyone looks for another Michael Jordan, and there probably won't be one. What Kobe did was establish himself as one of the greatest scorers of all time at an early age. He's a phenom. I'm a believer, man. Now we've got to sit back and wait and see if anyone scores 82."
76ers Guard, Andre Iguodala:
"How does the other team let him get that many points? Once a guy gets 50 points, you double him every time down the court. They weren't doing a good job of trying to keep the ball out of his hands so I was actually rooting for him.
Chicago Bulls G, Ben Gordon:" That should put all the questions to rest who's the most talented and who's the, you know, best offensive player in the league. You know if he would've had a decent first half, he might've got 100 points last night. I mean if anybody can go out there and score 25 points a quarter I would definetly say it's Kobe."
Chicago Bulls G, Chris Duhon: "I'm just amazed he got up 46 shots. That's like, uh, five games worth for me. After eight shots I'm already having to ice my elbow. You know, 46, that's just amazing on it's own."
Chicago Bulls F/C, Tyson Chandler: "We're witnessing greatness right now. We need to understand that. (asked: "Is he the best of the best?"
Yeah, definetly."
Detroit Pistons Coach, Flip Saunders: "I think the most amazing thing about Kobe scoring 81 is about how easy he made it look. It's not like he made a lot of difficult shots. A lot of the shots he took were like open shots."
Phoenix Suns F, Shawn Marion: "Is that for real? You know. That's what people will probably go around saying today. Did he really have 81 points? Is that possible?"
Miami Heat Center Shaquille O'Neal:
Declined to comment..
Elgin Baylor:
"Scoring 81 points is a truly amazing accomplishment. Of course, the most important thing is that his effort contributed to a victory for his team."
Mavs GM, Mark Cuban:
"It's amazing. Beyond amazing. He's on another level from any other player at this point. It's like he is toying with teams. If you push up on him, he just takes two steps back and shoots from further out. I hope the NBA adjusts its TV schedule so we all can see him play more. It would be fun to watch and fun to debate how far a one-man show can drag four other players in a team sport."
Mavs Guard, Darrell Armstrong:
"Imagine if our game had been close. "
Mavs Guard, Jerry Stackhouse:
"How many times did he get to the line? You'd think the Super Bowl would lead 'SportsCenter' tonight. But you know it won't. It can't. Kobe will. He has to."
Mavs Forward, Dirk Nowitzki (on if he could get 81):
"I don't think that would be good from a team standpoint."
Mavs Forward, Keith Van Horn:
"How many assists?. He didn't have any against us."
Mavs Guard, Devin Harris:
"He took 47 shots?"
Ex-Lakers Guard, Ty Lue:
Listen to Lue interview
Atlanta Hawks Captain, Joe Johnson:
"With Kobe, he takes shots that look bad, but they're not bad shots for him. He was on fire. On fire."
Atlanta Hawks Coach, Mike Woodson:
"It was just a special, special night. And I'm sure Kobe felt that way. Because 81 points is, well, 81 points, and I don't care how you cut it up. It's amazing."
Atlanta Hawks Radio Analyst, Dennis Scott:
"The most points I ever scored was 65 in the Urban Coalition summer league in D.C.. I had something like 16 3-pointers, and I'm telling you, I was dead tired when it was over. I saw the highlights of Kobe, and he looked like he could have played another game."
Orlando Magic Guard, Keyon Dooling:
"It's not just a buzz about Kobe, it's a holler. That guy is incredible. That's why he's the best player in the league."
Orlando Magic Assistant GM, Otis Smith:
"Whether you like him or dislike him, Kobe is a special player. He has the killer instinct in him that a lot of the talented players don't have. When he smells blood, he goes for the jugular. That's a (Michael) Jordan-like quality."
Orlando Guard/Forward, Grant Hill:
"I guess they say records are made to be broken. You wouldn't think it could be done, but if anybody could I guess it would be Kobe. It's just incredible. There's not much really you can say. Wow."
Orlando Coach, Brian Hill:
"Forget about 81 points. To be able to get up that many shots and still play defense at the other end of the floor, that's a pretty incredible physical accomplishment."
Hornets Guard Kirk Snyder:
"I heard about it after I had finished hanging out with David West, and he called me and said that Kobe had scored 81. My first thought was is that I'm in the NBA with probably one of the best players ever to play in the NBA."
Hornets Coach Byron Scott:
"I think Wilt's record is pretty safe unless a player like Kobe goes into four or five overtimes. I think this is the closest you'll see anybody get to it."
Hornets Guard J.R. Smith:
"The first thing that came to my mind when I heard about what Kobe did was the amount of shots he go. If anybody's going to score, it's Kobe. He can take as many shots as he wants, and nobody says nothing. Of course when you take 46 shots you are going to score, but he's good enough to make more than half of them. He's good enough to take good shots, and he just had one of those nights."
Jerry West:
"I don't know if anyone could have stopped him last night. It's so senseless to me to say he shouldn't take over like that. You give the same amount of shots to everybody else and they're not making that many, I know it. Players are jealous of greatness. Kobe is a unique talent and a unique person. His belief that he can jump to the moon is never going to change. But I admire him, what he's been able to overcome. You would think he would be a fair-haired man of the NBA with what's he's already done. But he's taken a fairly good battering."
Richie Guerin, played in 100 pt game:
"I thought the game in the second half was set up to try to have Wilt score as many points as he could. And I told Wilt this personally. Kobe's, I think is a little more special because of his size and he played in a game that was significant and meaningful. Taking nothing away from Wilt. . . . If you play a game a normal way, I think it's just about impossible to score that many points.''
Miami Heat Coach, Pat Riley:
"He might get 100. If you can get 81 . . . absolutely. He has the mentality to do that and conditioning. He's one of the best conditioned athletes in the world.''
Miami Heat Guard, Dwyane Wade:
"Not at all." - If he thought 80 points was possible
"Give him overtime and he might have got there. Now, it's possible." - On the all-time record
"Maybe if I go home and play my video game I'll hit 80." - If he can make a run at Kobe
New Jersey Nets F, Richard Jefferson:
"He's the first person to ever get to 80 (since Chamberlain's 100). Is 100 doable? You'd probably have a better chance of winning the lottery but there's always a chance.''
"I talked to Mike ( James) after the game," McGrady said. "He said they didn't double team him — not one time. You would think after he hit 40, send two or three guys at him. When he hit 50? When he got 70? What are you doing: playing him one-on-one?"
More on No. 8
Bucks players were also talking about Kobe Bryant.
"I just couldn't believe the Toronto team let him get 81," said Bobby Simmons, usually assigned to defend Bryant. "He would not get 81 on me, no way. And I wouldn't let my teammates get away with that. For one guy to score that many points, I think the coach should have made a change. You have to get the ball out of his hands."
Allen Iverson:
Quote:
"It was an amazing night for Kobe. Just unreal. Like watching a video game. He's the best player in the game.". Asked if he will try to top the performance #3 wasnt so humble "We play Toronto in March. I'm going to go for 100."
TMac:
Quote:
"I don't think I could score that many in a video game."
Wally Sczerbiak:
Quote:
"He's just one of those guys I have a lot of respect for. He's strong-willed and he believes in himself to the core."
Ric Bucher:
Quote:
I've never thought of him as selfish, so it's hard for me to know how what I considered a flawed view might change. I saw someone who was emotionally conflicted and immature at times. Someone who was supremely confident in himself but not always in his teammates. That's not selfish, by my definition or Webster's. A selfish player is someone who pursues his own glory at the expense of everything else, including winning. I've never known Kobe to do that. Ever.
Nuggets Forward, Carmelo Anthony:
"I don't think (Bryant) saw himself doing it. That's crazy."
Celtics Great Larry Bird:
"That's wild. That is really wild. That's a lot of points, I'm telling you. There's no question how good he is, but when you start throwing numbers around like that, it's unbelievable. It would be hard to believe if you didn't know it was true."
Miami Heat Coach Pat Riley:
"Anybody who's got the kind of energy to try to hoist up (nearly) 70 shots is going to score a lot of point. It's remarkable, the execution and the efficiency, but we've got a lot of guys in this league, if they took 70 shots, they'd score a lot of points."
Miami Heat G, Dwyane Wade:
"Everybody was calling. Everybody called every player in the league."
Miami Heat F, Antoine Walker:
"I think with the 81 now, no other team or other players will let that happen. Now guys will foul out trying to stop him from doing that. If someone gets 81 on me, I'm going to clothesline him." On Shaq: "He told us to get him 50 shots."
Tex Winter, Ex-Assistant:
"It was quite an exhibition. It's what the fans love. I don't think you can win a championship playing that way and so, consequently, I would be concerned about that. But it was a great victory and I don't want to take anything away from Kobe because it was one of the greatest I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of exhibitions."
Lakers Great, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar:
"Kobe's range is unreal, and he does it his way. It was a real treat. His ability to shoot from long range and also attack the hoop, split the defense and get in close for opportunities near the basket is unique. He's made a niche for himself, and he deserves it."
New Jersey Nets PG, Jason Kidd:
"How many minutes did he play, 42? If he had an overtime game, maybe (100 would be possible)"
New Jersey Nets F, Vince Carter:
"It is great for the league, for him, just because of the buzz it has created. The only bad thing about it is younger kids, whose minds are easily warped, are going to think, 'Ohhh! I am going to go out there and do it' instead of the team concept first. That is what is missing, guys understanding how to play as a team. They [the NBA] want scoring, they want ratings, you are going to get that. You are definitely going to get them now with the amount of 50-60-point games . . . I just hope kids and young guys understand that yeah, special guys can do that. But . . ."
Detroit PG, Chauncey Billups:
"If you have it going, you're supposed to keep it going. ... Unbelievable."
Indiana Pacers Coach, Rick Carlisle:
"I don't feel so bad about the 45 he got on us now."
Golden State Warriors Coach, Mike Montgomery:
"I wish we had King Kong (to guard him). Anything we can do, we'll do."
Bulls Great Scottie Pippen:
"It's superb, definitely. Something that is new to me, that is shocking. I got the news last night about 3 in the morning, and I don't think I even went back to bed."
Ex-Bull and now-Analyst Steve Kerr:
"I'm always one to credit the guys who win. I don't know if I would have given Kobe the M.V.P. last week. But what he did in the game last night, he's so clearly the best player out there."
Hubie Brown, Analyst:
"For Kobe Bryant to do this as a guard, it is a testimony to his athletic ability, incredible endurance."
Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations, Joe Dumars:
"I think it is an awesome feat what Kobe did the other night, and I tip my hat to him. The one word that comes to mind when I think about what he accomplished is SPECIAL."
Utah Jazz Coach, Jerry Sloan:
"Kobe brought his team back from a big deficit to win the game, so you like to see that. That means quite a bit more than getting points with no competition."
Cavs Guard, Eric Snow:
"Hats off, he's the best. It's hard to get 50 in a game. He did it in a half. It takes a tough player who works really hard. I think he's one of the best ever."
Celtics Ricky Davis:
"That was a great game. It surprises you, but the guy was hitting shot after shot."
Celtics Forward, Paul Pierce:
"It's impressive,. He's probably playing the best basketball of anyone in the NBA right now. When you’re taking jump shots, you’re going to get more tired. Wilt got all layups. With the athletes that are in the game today, no, it wouldn’t happen. You would have to put more minutes on the clock. Well, maybe Kobe could do it. If he shot every time down the floor.” "
Celtics Coach, Doc Rivers:
“What was lost in all of that was that he got it going when they were down by 18 points. The other amazing part was that he didn’t get tired at the end.”
George Gervin:
"To compare it to anybody would be useless. He set himself apart from everyone else. Everyone looks for another Michael Jordan, and there probably won't be one. What Kobe did was establish himself as one of the greatest scorers of all time at an early age. He's a phenom. I'm a believer, man. Now we've got to sit back and wait and see if anyone scores 82."
76ers Guard, Andre Iguodala:
"How does the other team let him get that many points? Once a guy gets 50 points, you double him every time down the court. They weren't doing a good job of trying to keep the ball out of his hands so I was actually rooting for him.
Chicago Bulls G, Ben Gordon:" That should put all the questions to rest who's the most talented and who's the, you know, best offensive player in the league. You know if he would've had a decent first half, he might've got 100 points last night. I mean if anybody can go out there and score 25 points a quarter I would definetly say it's Kobe."
Chicago Bulls G, Chris Duhon: "I'm just amazed he got up 46 shots. That's like, uh, five games worth for me. After eight shots I'm already having to ice my elbow. You know, 46, that's just amazing on it's own."
Chicago Bulls F/C, Tyson Chandler: "We're witnessing greatness right now. We need to understand that. (asked: "Is he the best of the best?"
Yeah, definetly." Detroit Pistons Coach, Flip Saunders: "I think the most amazing thing about Kobe scoring 81 is about how easy he made it look. It's not like he made a lot of difficult shots. A lot of the shots he took were like open shots."
Phoenix Suns F, Shawn Marion: "Is that for real? You know. That's what people will probably go around saying today. Did he really have 81 points? Is that possible?"
Miami Heat Center Shaquille O'Neal:
Declined to comment..
Elgin Baylor:
"Scoring 81 points is a truly amazing accomplishment. Of course, the most important thing is that his effort contributed to a victory for his team."
Mavs GM, Mark Cuban:
"It's amazing. Beyond amazing. He's on another level from any other player at this point. It's like he is toying with teams. If you push up on him, he just takes two steps back and shoots from further out. I hope the NBA adjusts its TV schedule so we all can see him play more. It would be fun to watch and fun to debate how far a one-man show can drag four other players in a team sport."
Mavs Guard, Darrell Armstrong:
"Imagine if our game had been close. "
Mavs Guard, Jerry Stackhouse:
"How many times did he get to the line? You'd think the Super Bowl would lead 'SportsCenter' tonight. But you know it won't. It can't. Kobe will. He has to."
Mavs Forward, Dirk Nowitzki (on if he could get 81):
"I don't think that would be good from a team standpoint."
Mavs Forward, Keith Van Horn:
"How many assists?. He didn't have any against us."
Mavs Guard, Devin Harris:
"He took 47 shots?"
Ex-Lakers Guard, Ty Lue:
Listen to Lue interview
Atlanta Hawks Captain, Joe Johnson:
"With Kobe, he takes shots that look bad, but they're not bad shots for him. He was on fire. On fire."
Atlanta Hawks Coach, Mike Woodson:
"It was just a special, special night. And I'm sure Kobe felt that way. Because 81 points is, well, 81 points, and I don't care how you cut it up. It's amazing."
Atlanta Hawks Radio Analyst, Dennis Scott:
"The most points I ever scored was 65 in the Urban Coalition summer league in D.C.. I had something like 16 3-pointers, and I'm telling you, I was dead tired when it was over. I saw the highlights of Kobe, and he looked like he could have played another game."
Orlando Magic Guard, Keyon Dooling:
"It's not just a buzz about Kobe, it's a holler. That guy is incredible. That's why he's the best player in the league."
Orlando Magic Assistant GM, Otis Smith:
"Whether you like him or dislike him, Kobe is a special player. He has the killer instinct in him that a lot of the talented players don't have. When he smells blood, he goes for the jugular. That's a (Michael) Jordan-like quality."
Orlando Guard/Forward, Grant Hill:
"I guess they say records are made to be broken. You wouldn't think it could be done, but if anybody could I guess it would be Kobe. It's just incredible. There's not much really you can say. Wow."
Orlando Coach, Brian Hill:
"Forget about 81 points. To be able to get up that many shots and still play defense at the other end of the floor, that's a pretty incredible physical accomplishment."
Hornets Guard Kirk Snyder:
"I heard about it after I had finished hanging out with David West, and he called me and said that Kobe had scored 81. My first thought was is that I'm in the NBA with probably one of the best players ever to play in the NBA."
Hornets Coach Byron Scott:
"I think Wilt's record is pretty safe unless a player like Kobe goes into four or five overtimes. I think this is the closest you'll see anybody get to it."
Hornets Guard J.R. Smith:
"The first thing that came to my mind when I heard about what Kobe did was the amount of shots he go. If anybody's going to score, it's Kobe. He can take as many shots as he wants, and nobody says nothing. Of course when you take 46 shots you are going to score, but he's good enough to make more than half of them. He's good enough to take good shots, and he just had one of those nights."
Jerry West:
"I don't know if anyone could have stopped him last night. It's so senseless to me to say he shouldn't take over like that. You give the same amount of shots to everybody else and they're not making that many, I know it. Players are jealous of greatness. Kobe is a unique talent and a unique person. His belief that he can jump to the moon is never going to change. But I admire him, what he's been able to overcome. You would think he would be a fair-haired man of the NBA with what's he's already done. But he's taken a fairly good battering."
Richie Guerin, played in 100 pt game:
"I thought the game in the second half was set up to try to have Wilt score as many points as he could. And I told Wilt this personally. Kobe's, I think is a little more special because of his size and he played in a game that was significant and meaningful. Taking nothing away from Wilt. . . . If you play a game a normal way, I think it's just about impossible to score that many points.''
Miami Heat Coach, Pat Riley:
"He might get 100. If you can get 81 . . . absolutely. He has the mentality to do that and conditioning. He's one of the best conditioned athletes in the world.''
Miami Heat Guard, Dwyane Wade:
"Not at all." - If he thought 80 points was possible
"Give him overtime and he might have got there. Now, it's possible." - On the all-time record
"Maybe if I go home and play my video game I'll hit 80." - If he can make a run at Kobe
New Jersey Nets F, Richard Jefferson:
"He's the first person to ever get to 80 (since Chamberlain's 100). Is 100 doable? You'd probably have a better chance of winning the lottery but there's always a chance.''
"I talked to Mike ( James) after the game," McGrady said. "He said they didn't double team him — not one time. You would think after he hit 40, send two or three guys at him. When he hit 50? When he got 70? What are you doing: playing him one-on-one?"
More on No. 8
Bucks players were also talking about Kobe Bryant.
"I just couldn't believe the Toronto team let him get 81," said Bobby Simmons, usually assigned to defend Bryant. "He would not get 81 on me, no way. And I wouldn't let my teammates get away with that. For one guy to score that many points, I think the coach should have made a change. You have to get the ball out of his hands."
Allen Iverson:
Quote:
"It was an amazing night for Kobe. Just unreal. Like watching a video game. He's the best player in the game.". Asked if he will try to top the performance #3 wasnt so humble "We play Toronto in March. I'm going to go for 100."
TMac:
Quote:
"I don't think I could score that many in a video game."
Wally Sczerbiak:
Quote:
"He's just one of those guys I have a lot of respect for. He's strong-willed and he believes in himself to the core."
Ric Bucher:
Quote:
I've never thought of him as selfish, so it's hard for me to know how what I considered a flawed view might change. I saw someone who was emotionally conflicted and immature at times. Someone who was supremely confident in himself but not always in his teammates. That's not selfish, by my definition or Webster's. A selfish player is someone who pursues his own glory at the expense of everything else, including winning. I've never known Kobe to do that. Ever.
Nuggets Forward, Carmelo Anthony:
"I don't think (Bryant) saw himself doing it. That's crazy."
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