Are single game scoring records a sign of greatness or selfishness?

All I know was Kobe's 81 points was dispicable. How do touch the ball that many times to score 81 points and only have two assist to show for it. Let's be serious if you touch the ball that many times to score 81 points you should have more then 2 assist to show for it. After the first quarter, he was doubled teamed. When you are doubled teamed that means there is always someone wide open on the court.

Well a couple of them are team related. For example I remember that David Robinson wanted to sit after getting 50 vs. the Clippers, but it was his teammates that urged him on to get the scoring title from Shaq as they had a well known rivalry with each other... mostly Shaq beefing, but whatever.

The same happened with David Thompson. And Wilt. Those were team aided. I'd say Iverson, Jordan, Wilt and Kobe's string of 40 pt games were more selfish than Iverson's 52 vs. the Lakers in there only win in the Finals, Wilt's 100 vs. the Knicks and Kobe 81 vs. the Raptors. Kobe's came with the Lakers down by 14 points and everyone else playing like **** and he went off scoring his 81. Jordan scored 63 to make it to double overtime vs. the Celtics.

I've actually seen all the the mentioned performance excepts Chamerlain's and Thompson's. I gotta tell you I was pretty entertained by all of them. I think people take it as a wrong message, but I think more of the unknown high scoring games are more selfish than those I listed.

Could the coaches have sat them down after breaking 50, 60 pts? Sure. But for everything a player does for a coach I'd think it's only right that a coach let the player get theirs.

I honestly don't think I would pull them out either.

You're just looking at it from a different perspective. Wilt indeed was a freakish scoring machine in his earlier days, but that's when he was at his best physically and in his prime- he wasn't going to produce those numbers his WHOLE career anyways. As he got older, (as most players when they get older) his role became a little more limited and after years of being a one-man wrecking crew with no chips, he was finally on a better overall team and happened to win.

I think what these scoring outbursts indicate more than naything else , is the level of skill and talent these individual players have. The ability to score that much in a game no matter who you are shows that u are an advanced player with advanced skill and/or conditioning. They are great exhibitions, and worth mentioning and paying homage -- but at the same time this is a team game and there are many aspects to it besides the ability to score in volumes.

I wouldn't go as far as to dub it "a sign of selfishness" because even these players u mentioned can't score 70 points a game at will, it just so happened those games they were in the zone and really hitting or whatever the case was. They saw weaknesses in the D and exposed them and scored-- which is what they were supposed to do. it'd be different if for example kobe shot 15/55 ,2 ***,1 reb in a losing effort -- that would indicate selfishness. but in the course of the game when its keeping ur team competitive and its so easy -- its not bad.

its more greatness than anything.

Well, I guess there are different reasons then. In Kobe's situation, we as in the Lakers were down 20+ in the first half and Kobe started his "take over" thus were down 15 at the half. And youre talking about the starting 5 which includes Smush Parker, a dude that simply doesn't know what he wants to do with his life, Kwame Brown, who also doesn't know what he wants to do with his life, Lamar Odom, who was going through difficult times but nevertheless was immature at the time and didn't know what winning was, and Luke Walton which is just trying not to make himself look bad because of who his father is. So essentially its like 1 on 5. Yet the Raptors defense still failed. Kobe scored 50 or 60 and the Lakers were only up by like 12 points. Something is wrong there. I don't blame Kobe for scoring 81, because we would've lost the game if he didn't.

It cuts both ways.

As most have said already, if you're hot and the game is competitve, keep shooting by all means, to keep your team in it. But if a player is gunning, for your own stats, it's selfish.

Kobe's 81 point game is an example of both.

The Lakers were down by 18 at the half. Kobe came out scorching in the 3rd quarter and put his team ahead. But in the 4th, with a little over or under 4 mins left, the Lakers had a comfortable 15 point lead, and Kobe had 65-70 points at the moment. Kobe didn't let off the gas though, he continued to shoot (freethrows mostly) and pad his total.

So you see Kobe in one instance stepping up to pull his team out of a whole and another gunning when the game is over to pad his own stats.

His 81 points was really a bloated 65-70 point game.

LA was down by 18 midway through the 3rd quarter. Kobe's 81 was significant because he scored when he needed to, of course your not going to get any assist if your teammates don't convert. that is why he took over and brought them back to the win

by scoring 55 in the 2nd half. Kobe is far from selfish, he just does whatever he needs to do to win, if Kobe was a facilitator for the rest of that game, L.A surely would have loss, more important than the record was the "W". Kobe even stated that after the game.

Before "81" L.A was on a two game losing streak, also they were killed by the raptors in their previous game... Just for extra thought.

They R Mostly Greatness

I Mean Wilt scoring 100 is surely greatness

I agree with choo go Indians. Kobe shot 28-46, 7-13, and 18-20 he had a hot hand

both if the persons field goal percentage is low that means that the person is selfish, but if the field goal percentage is high then that is greatness.

selfish cuz they prolli had less than 5 assits