ANKARA
Records are there to be broken and basketball superstar Kobe Bryant made history on Sunday as he surpassed the legendary Michael Jordan to move into third place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Bryant is now only behind Karl Malone and table topper Kareem Abdul Jabbar in the game’s high-scoring elite.
During Los Angeles Lakers' match against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, Bryant hit a couple of free-throws to tie and beat Jordan’s record, earning him congratulations from teammates, coaches and opponents plus a thunderous standing ovation from the Target Center crowd.
Bryant has now scored a total of 32,310 points, behind only Kareem Abdul Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928). His tally on Sunday pushed him past Jordan’s career record 32,292 career points in 13 seasons.
The Lakers beat the Timberwolves 100-94 to improve on only eight wins and 16 losses so far in this young NBA season. Bryant finished the game with 26 points, six rebounds and two assists.
Speaking after the match, Bryant -- playing in his 19th NBA season -- described his milestone as "a huge honor", while fans chanted "Kobe, Kobe" in the background.
Former Laker player and NBA legend Magic Johnson took to Twitter to praise Bryant’s achievement: "Just like we've never seen another player like Michael Jordan, we will never see another player like Kobe Bryant."
Los Angeles Clippers' shooting guard Jamal Crawford also described Bryant as "one of the best we've ever seen."
Bryant, 36, has a 25.4 points-per-game average this season and is third in the scoring race in the league. James Harden is averaging 26.3 to lead the league while Lebron James has a 25.5 ppg.
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