Kobe Bryant has finally inched past Michael Jordan on the all-time scoring list of NBA on Sunday. He is now in third place behind Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The Los Angeles Lakers star, who is now in his 19th season, has recently passed the basketball legend from Chicago Bulls with a total score of 32,292 points. "I'm just honored to be here, man - to still be playing," said Bryant. "I appreciate being able to play this long. Careers normally don't last this long. I really appreciate the opportunity to still be out there playing and performing and doing what I do."
The 36-year-old basketball icon was only eight points shy of Jordan's mark during his team's 100-94 win on Sunday. He was able to garner 26 points on 7 of 20 shooting to go along with six rebounds and two assists.
Now that he has surpassed Jordan, Bryant trails behind with only quite a few thousand points from Malone, who has 36,928 points, and Abdul-Jabbar, who has 38,387 points.
This milestone is not a small feat for Bryant. He has always forged his NBA Hall of Fame career in the shadow of his idol, Jordan. Each and every one of his achievements he measured alongside his idol, almost since the very first day that he entered the league back in 1996, when he was only 18 years old.
Jordan was also glad about Bryant's latest achievement. He told the Associated Press through a statement, "I congratulate Kobe on reaching this milestone. He's obviously a great player, with a strong work ethic and has an equally strong passion for the game of basketball. I've enjoyed watching his game evolve over the years, and I look forward to seeing what he accomplishes next."
Bryant said of Jordan, "He knows how much I've learned from him - from the other legends, but him in particular."
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