Kobe Bryant’s 81 Pts Not as Impressive as Luka Doncic’s 73 for 1 Reason According to 3X All Star

Everyone will need a long moment to get past Luka Doncic’s 73-point outing a few days ago. Unless he or someone else surpasses that record any time soon, he’s going to be the talk of the town. Like the time Kobe Bryant dropped 81 points on the Toronto Raptors in 2006. That was a year memorable for Gilbert Arenas for other reasons too. So now that he’s talking about Doncic’s big game on Gil’s Arena, he had to bring back that moment.

If you ask Gil to compare the second-highest single-game scorer and the new entrant in the fourth spot, he thinks the Mavericks star’s 73 points top Bryant’s 81 points. His reasoning is the crowd. “81 is 81, but I will say yes,” to if Doncic’s new record is the most dominant performance in the modern era. “Because it’s on the road.” 

He goes on to say, “Most dominant performances are at home, you know, 81 at home.” As Arenas said, the Atlanta Hawks hosted the Dallas Mavericks in State Farm Arena on Friday. Apart from Doncic’s stunner before the Atlanta crowd, the home team fell 143-148.

The Lakers hosted the Raptors on January 24, 2006, the last time a single-game scoring record was made with Bryant’s 81 points. That was the same year Washington Wizards point guard Gilbert Arenas made a career-high score against Kobe Bryant before the Lakers’ home crowd.

WATCH THIS STORY | Shaquille O’Neal Surprises “Dummy” Charles Barkley on New Show Premiere With Mystery Call

Gilbert Arenas connects records to crowd

The Wizards were in Staples Center in Los Angeles on December 17, 2006. Arenas dominated in this road game with 60 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists to Bryant’s 45 points. Arenas’ achievement may make his point about dominant performances at road games vs home games.

Wilt Chamberlain’s unbeaten 100-point night is still the no.1. Arenas also reminded everyone that was before the home crowd in Hershey, Pennsylvania on March 2, 1962. He had broken his own record set a year ago – 78 points on December 8, 1961 – when the Philadelphia Warriors hosted the Jerry West-led Los Angeles Lakers in their hometown.

His 78-point game is the third-highest in NBA history but Wilt also has multiple 73-point games which won’t be easy to beat out of contention. Days before Doncic’s record, Joel Embiid broke Chamberlain’s franchise record with 70 points in 37 minutes. That was at Wells Fargo Center, home of the 76ers.

Arenas reiterated that Bryant’s 81-point game is rightfully legendary. But he’s experienced the single-game thrill in a road game and relates to Luka’s spotlight moment. Do you agree that Doncic’s record is more dominant because of the venue?

READ MORE: Shaquille O’Neal’s Disciplinarian Step Father Taught Him Valuable Lesson About Raising Daughters