Lakers guard Kobe Bryant shoots over Knicks forward Danilo Gallinari at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 2, 2009. Bryant scored 61 points in the Lakers' 126-117 win. Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Kathy Willens
Even at his most ordinary, Kobe Bryant somehow managed to find the biggest stage for a big moment.
He scored 33,643 regular-season points in his 20 NBA seasons, but it began with one, humble free throw in his second game, on Nov. 5, 1996. That was it. One point on 1-for-2 free throw shooting in three minutes of play.
But Bryant being Bryant, he made sure to do it at Madison Square Garden, after being fouled driving the lane against a thicket of Knicks, including Patrick Ewing.