Really, Kobe’s 61 Points Is a ‘Mecca’ Record?

Hats off to Kobe Bryant, who went off for 61 points in Madison Square Garden and showed that without Bynum (Shaq redux), he’s just a gunner who tries to do it all himself (pre-Gasol propaganda). Right?↵
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↵Yet while that total was certainly impressive, what’s got me thinking today is what this tells us about the MSG brand: Namely, that there’s a lot of hot air to it. You’re telling me that, over all the decades that the “Mecca of Basketball” has existed, with opponents supposedly bringing their best every time they set foot on that floor, Bryant’s is the single hugest scoring explosion ever? That’s a lot of points, but come on, over 40 years and that’s all a laundry list of greats have to offer? Jordan had the previous record, with 55. (Ed. Note: Er, actually it was Bernard King with 60. Thanks comments.) That’s like Tony Parker’s career high.↵
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↵And the beat goes on. From The Knicks Fix:↵↵⇥“This place,” Kobe said, “is special. The fans, they’ll boo you all game, but they appreciate the game,” Kobe continued. “It felt great to get that reaction from the fans. It’s just them saying, ‘We love what you do. It’s a great performance.’ And for them to celebrate that at that moment, I felt great.”↵↵

Here’s what LeBron said, after his first 50-point whopper at MSG:↵↵⇥“I’ve dreamed about playing well in this building,” he said that night. “To get a standing ovation in the greatest basketball arena in the world, it was a dream come true for me. It’s one of the best things that ever happened to me.”↵↵Okay, look, I know New York is a big city, and in theory, the whole world is watching (are they? who outside of New York watched the Knicks the last few seasons?). But if All-Stars really wanted to have their way in the Mecca, well, they could’ve at any point over the last few seasons. And why couldn’t someone like Jerry West have, say, just gone off for 40 every time he played there? It’s almost like they’re intimidated by the context, which is stupid and embarrassing, or feel extra good when they just happen to have a big game in this arena. I’m just not buying the “you always try and come correct at MSG” line. The more accurate statement would likely be, “it’s nice when you happen to have a good game in this famous arena.”↵