Bryant was just 30 points away from the milestone heading into the matchup, but perhaps due to his indifference toward the achievement or more likely his health, Bryant scored only 11 points in the Lakers’ 98-92 win, and now will face the Cleveland Cavaliers 19 points shy of the mark.
Bryant – who is 31 years, 149 days — is averaging 28.3 points per game, but he’s clearly not himself with a finger injury and the lingering effects of back spasms. He scored only four points in the first half against the Magic, went 1-for-8 from the field in the third quarter and finished 4-of-19. Bryant is still in line to become the 15th player in the NBA to reach 25,000 points and the youngest to accomplish the feat. But according to the Los Angeles Times, reaching the benchmark isn’t his top priority.
"It's not something I think about at all,” Bryant told the Times.
Since going pro after high school in 1996, Bryant has played 989 regular-season games. He’s scored more than 40 points in 103 of these games and more than 50 in 24 of them.
This season, Bryant is fourth in the league in scoring behind Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Kevin Durant. He was the NBA’s top scorer in the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons.
Here's where Bryant ranks on the all-time NBA career points list
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 38,387
2. Karl Malone: 36,928
3. Michael Jordan: 32,292
4. Wilt Chamberlain: 31,419
5. Shaquille O'Neal: 27,982
6. Moses Malone: 27,409
7. Elvin Hayes: 27,313
8. Hakeem Olajuwon: 26,946
9. Oscar Robertson: 26,710
10. Dominique Wilkins: 26,668
11. John Havlicek: 26,395
12. Alex English: 25,613
13. Reggie Miller: 25,279
14. Jerry West: 25,192
15. Kobe Bryant: 24,981
