Stephen’s A-List: Top 5 Kobe Bryant moments | First Take 

Rest in Peace Kobe. A man who belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Basketball and all time great athletes, an Oscar winner but more importantly a Husband, Father, Son and brother. His legacy will forever be living on. Kobe forever!

That 81 point game was a once in a lifetime game. Legend In Kobe.

For me, one of Kobe's greatest moments was giving Giannis the challenge to win MVP and later on a Championship. Giannis did both of those things shortly after.

the greatest Kobe memory for me will always be him jumping on top of the scorer table in 2010 after finally beating the Boston Celtics overcoming a brutal war of attrition

That nuggets dunk was crazy. Dude was so hated that his accomplishments were downplayed. Greatest in game dunker ever.

January 26th for the rest of my life maybe a sad day, but Kobe left the world with so many happy moments. The Mamba truly did give LA (and the world) his heart when he was asked to give his hustle.

Lakers are 24-24 as the 8th seed 💜💛

1. 81 pt game 2. Revenge against Celtics in 2010 finals 3. 62 outscoring Mavs in 3 qrt 4. Game 4 00 finals Kobe taking over after shaq fouled out 5. 60 pt final game

that Minnesota dunk Molly mentioned might be one of the best in game/half-court set defense dunks of all time...and he did it again vs the Knicks

May The Mamba and Gianna live in our hearts forever.

Rest In Peace Kobe bean Bryant and Gianna Bryant. Gone too soon

I was born in 92 and kobe is the GOAT in my eyes.

Everyone remembers the 81 point game. He had 62 in three quarters against the Mavs, outscored them by himself through 3. Had he played the fourth quarter he would have scored more than 81 the way he was going.

2008 Olympics, gold medal game. On a team with the greatest players on earth, they handed Kobe the ball when they needed the win.

The best game I've seen from Kobe happened in 2001. Game 1 of the WCF. He scored 45 pts in San Antonio. That was better than his 2000 Sprain Ankle Game. Most kids only remember his later stuff like his 81 and whatever after that.

To me #1 will always be the 5th. Cemented him with the greatest and vs the celtics who beat him 2 years before. B2B without Shaq, one more than him. One more than Lebron too in case some of y'all forgot. Mamba Out.

I don't really have a favorite moment from Kobe because I rooted against him. But if I had to choose one, it's probably his 60-pt finale. I was happy he went out like that. I say most of my favs come from his earlier years when he wore #8.

Off the court moment is when Kobe said he got one more than Shaq. I knew he was itching to say it and I was happy he did.

I still remember his final game. Celebrating my birthday, and watching him go out like the legend he was and still is. Rest in Peace Kobe.

His jumping over a Maserati commercial should be on the list lol.

The best Kobe moment for me was beating the Celtics in the finals. My older brother loved the Celtics and I was a laker. My brother would beat me in pretty much everything so When Kobe beat the Celtics it gave me such an accomplished feeling lol. Basketball hasn’t been the same since he left

The reverse against the Timberwolves is in my top 5. Game 1 in OT of the 2000 NBA Finals. Gave Jordan 33 pts in 98. 18 pts in 22 min in the 98 ASG. 81 pt game. No particular order.

Thank you Kobe for the greatness you gave it’s highly appreciated 💯‼️

Kobe’s last game, i went to bed with 5 minutes left. My mom was screaming for me to wake up with 2 minutes left!!!! She was going crazy!!! i will never forgot running back into the living room!!!

Clearly Greatest player and was most hated.

My favorite season of Kobe? Probably 1998. That's also my favorite season for MJ. Kobe only averaged 15 PPG. That's my junior year in high school which was my fav school year ever. From 1996-1999 were some fun times.

So many emotions tied to this man and his pursuit to be the best he could be. But as one of those countless kids he inspired to be great, all I got left to say is WE LOVE YOU KOBE!

Kobe looking sad while hugging that championship in 2001 (iconic photo) remains one of my favorite moments.

2000 NBA Finals Game 4 would be in my Top 5 moments. Shaq fouls out and Kobe just takes over in OT. Lakers go up 3-1 on the Pacers to essentially seize the chip.

My favorite list of them all BUT you forgot some lol 1. Kobe dunking on Steve Nash after he stole the MVP from him 2. The dunk in97 All Star game with Kevin Garnett in the paint staring up at him in shock. 3. Kobe twisting crossing someone(I forget who it was) in the corner 3 spot. (Y'all know which one I'm talking about) 4. Kobe making that free throw on a torn Achilles 5. **Kobe talking to that dude in the crowd and counting out his rings to him 🤣🤣

True Lakers and NBA LEGEND

Rest In Peace Kobe on of my biggest inspirations in life ever 💛💜

Great List 🔥

I love his top 5

True legend…

Good list SAS!

My All time fave

Thanks for the tribute 🙏

Heroes never die. Rest easy Mamba💛💜

LEGEND

what a list! B.i.h. Kobe

I miss my goat. Kobe was my reason to watch basketball at first and why I appreciate the game now. Shy still hurts losing my guy

Game 7 2010 vs Celtics. Kobe jumping in joy after winning!

One or my fav moments was Kobe outscoring the entire mavs team by himself in 3 quarters Edit:he had 62🤣

🖤💛💜 May he rest in peace !! 🙏🏽🙏🏽

You can’t name 5.. there’s sooooo many.. Rest easy Young King you and GG :/ to the rest of the families, y’all have not and never will be forgotten in our many hearts ♥️

Kobe the Goat 🐐

Every time is see 2 8 together I instantly think about Kobe and Gigi 💜💛 ball in paradise

Heros come and go, but legends are forever! we miss you Kobe thank you for the memories Rest Easy my man💜💛💜💛💜💛💜💛

I cried in his last game

You mean everything to the game. ♾🐍💜💛

Lakers vs Celtics game 7 of the 2010 nba finals is my favorite!

Kobe was easily my favorite player and here we are two years and eight months later and I still think about him every day. For the last four days when I got off work I’ve been re-watching old playoff games, Kobe Bryant documentaries, highlight reels. I know a lot of people have a problem with Stephen A Smith but I can’t thank him enough for always giving Kobe the props he deserves. I think even Kobe would agree that Michael is the goat but I do feel like Kobe doesn’t get the proper respect he deserves. Like Kobe said in the interview he did on all the smoke. If he knew things like the total amount of points in a career and other stats would be part of the goat conversation he would’ve raised tail to come off the bench the first two years. That wasn’t Kobe’s fault. And I’m not a LeBron hater by any means I do think LeBron is one of the greats but if guys like Michael and Kobe and magic and Larry would’ve known that in 2022 people would be putting stats above championships it would’ve been really easy for those guys to start racking up their stats in regular season games that didn’t matter. In my opinion Kobe Bryant is number two behind Michael Jordan. If they could’ve put that team together that won those two championships in 2009 and 2010 three years earlier than I do really believe Kobe would’ve retired with six or seven rings. It was literally the last three years of his prime that he had a team around him. It was a three-year period in Kobe’s prime where it was just him and Lamar Odom that were the only ones that you could call championship players. But once he got that squad around him he was at the finals three years in a row and walked away with two championships in two finals MVPs.

1. Taking and making those free throws on a torn achilles and walking off on his own 2. The alley-oop to shaq in game 7 of 2000 WCF 3. Kobe take over in game 4 2000 Finals vs the Pacers 4. 81 point game 5. 60 points in final game

I agree with this list

There are so many Mamba moments you can't have a bad or wrong list. Having seen his entire career and watched as many games as I possibly could. I even had the pleasure of seeing him play in person 3 times and even got to sit 5 rows from the court on one occasion. For me the final 60 point game, and moreso the final quarter encompass everything in his entire career stood for. Everybody was there to see him, everybody in the sporting world was watching him, and he put on a show that will go down as the greatest send off of all time. I remember Tirico saying "...it's a meaningless game..." But for us fans who watched his entire career it meant everything to us.

That dunk over Vince Yarborough was one of my favorite Kobe moments of all time

You know Stephen A had fun putting that 81 up there as #2😭

THANK YOU KOBE

I agree SA!

We Miss U Kobe My u REST n Peace n SOUL HEAVEN

As a Texan, Kobe made me love the Lakers. I remember the comeback against the Mavs and I was going crazy! LeBron literally made me never root for the Lakers again ....

Number 3 was on my bday back in 2003 Miss you Kobe 💛💜

We miss you Kobe you'll be forever loved and missed. 😭

3:38 MY FAVORITE ONE EPIC ALLEY OPP TO SHAQ DEFENSE AND BRIAN SHAW SHOT🏀AND KOBE BLOCK TURN GAME ROUND AND SET UP THAT BEAUTIFUL ALLEY OPP EPIC

I agree with the order of the first 2. Obviously 81 was insane but that final game was magical.

For me The two that had me going crazy were that game winner vs the Suns and that lob to Shaq game 7 vs Portland Amazing star !!!!!!!! Loved Kobe

GOAT!

A personal favourite of mine: the 06-07 Lakers sucked. They hadn't traded for Pau yet and were still starting guys like smush parker, luke walton and kwame brown. in mid March they lost 7 straight games & the final three by an average of 26. So as a result, Kobe greatly upped his shot output and put the team is his back. He scored 225 points in a week... 65 vs POR, 50 vs MIN, 60 vs MEM and then 50 vs NOK. Then a couple days later he cooled off against GSW and scored 43... Lakers won all 5 games by single digits. He then also dropped 53 vs HOU a few days after that... Dude averaged 50 a game for a 7 game period, and 41 for a month (including seven 50 point games)

🐐

💯💯💯💯💯

I automatically just want to honor Kobe...love u

The buzzer beater over Dwayne wade was number 1 for me. I remember watching it live on tv

I saw #1 live -- I cried.

No game to me compares to the excitement of watching Kobe drop 60 in his final game. That building was pure electricity!

Mamba Forever always in my heart 🙏🏾❤️

When THE GOAT cries at your memorial - you know Kobe passing impacted us all. Fans or foe- He is respected.

Rest in Peace Legend and ispiration for all Athlete 🙏🏾🙏🏾

So many historical games from that man her is some I remember off the top Game 4 2000 finals Kobe vs mj Game tying and game winning shot vs Portland 63 vs Dallas in 3 qtrs Olympic Kobe 08 The “ Amnesty “ game Game winner over D wade Dunk on Steve nash …

Mamba forever 🐍 The dunk over dwight was pretty 🔥

W segment W List

My favorite Kobe is 1998-2001 Frobe. I guess it's similar to Family Guy. I only like Season 2 and 3. One of the games I'll never forget is when he scored 38 on Penny in 1999. That was awesome.

For me the lob to Shaq against the Blazers in the 2000 WCF was a great memory

That dunk over Dwight Howard and any MJ/ Bean footage is my favorite

Live on mamba 🙏🏾💜💛

Need more #10 kobe stuff 😜😝😍

I wanted boys selfishly when me and my wife decided to have kids. I now have 2 girls. When Kobe died and the whole girl dad movement started I realized I took life and my daughters for granted. Being a great father is now #1 in my life and Kobe’s legacy helped push me that direction when he died. His basketball career was great but off the court the stuff he did made me a better person. Thanks Kobe.💜💛

Miss you Bean! I was at that last game!

One of my favorite moments is when he dropped 50 on Jordan. It was old Jordan but I loved watching them play against each other. I seen every game where Kobe played against Mike.

Needed a top 10

was thinking the 81 point game would be the obvious #1, then I remembered his final game. It's impressive enough to score 61 in your prime, doing it when you're WAYYY past your prime, have injury problems, are old, in your final game AND hitting the game winner in a comeback makes that the rightful #1. Wouldn' t be surprised if even Jazz fans were smiling watching Kobe do that.

Good list...I've always preferred the last game to the 81 point game

One of the best in game dunkers EVER do not forget that either

When he beat Boston at Staples, that for me was goosebumps.

Rest in Peace Kobe. 🙇

One of my favorite Kobe dunks is when he dunked on Gerald Wallace and Kris Humphries

I love that jacket Stephen A peace Kobe

We Miss Kobe

Don't forget the Dunk over Dwight Howard... That was Epic!

I'm an early adopter with things that become popular. I watched The Simpsons when it was still on the Tracey Ullman Show. I saw the 1st episode of that, Family Guy, and Futurama. Most of my fav moments of Kobe were the early ones.