Kobe Bryant is no stranger to putting up a lot of shots and scoring points by the bucketload.
But even the Lakers superstar was impressed by the NCAA-record 138 points on 108 shots by Grinnell College guard Jack Taylor on Tuesday night.
"Really? Wow. That's impressive. That's crazy," Bryant said when told of the feat following the Lakers' 95-90 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday. "I don't care what level you're at. Scoring 138 points is pretty insane."
When informed that Taylor attempted 71 3-pointers, Bryant let out an incredulous expletive and then asked how many points they had as a team. The answer — 179 — and the fact that none of Taylor's teammates even scored in double digits really blew Bryant away.
"What?! ... That's incredible. He must have been wearing the Mambas, man," said Bryant, who has a shoe that bears his Black Mamba nickname. "Only Mambas have no conscience to shoot the ball that much.”
Bryant once scored 81 points in a game, second-most in NBA history. But he also has taken his share of criticism for being a selfish player. He was asked how people would react if he scored 138 in a game.
"Would people be celebrating me if I scored 138 points? You know how it is, some people would, some people wouldn't," Bryant said. "They can all kiss my (expletive) as I'm sure (Taylor) feels the same way.
"If you score 138 points, you kind of have a license to tell people to (expletive) off."
-Chuck Schilken
