The night of January 22, 2006 saw Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant surpass even his usual high level of excellence by scoring an incredible 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. Kobe’s feat became the second highest total in NBA history and the single-game record for the Lakers franchise. Only Wilt Chamberlain’s famed 100-point game in 1962 remains above Kobe’s achievement and just three other players have ever surpassed the 70-point mark before or since.

The instigating factor that drove Kobe to unstoppable heights came from his team’s trailing by 18 points earlier in the game. Kobe later recalled, “It's about the ‘W,’ that's why I turned it on.” Lamar Odom added, “He was ticked off.” When the Raptors brought their lead to 71-53 after halftime, Bryant poured it on, scoring from every angle and almost single-handedly dragging the Lakers into the lead during the third quarter. When he left the game with LA securely in the lead, Kobe had shot 28 out of 46 from the floor that included 7 of 13 from the 3-point range. 18,997 fans were present in the Staples Center to see Kobe’s feat, leaving very few unused tickets from this historic game. This is one of them.