Kobe's numbers dont add up to MJ's prestige

Are so many shots and points from one player ultimately healthy for the sport, the team ideal? Dominant as Kobe is, can't you imagine a gifted 12-year-old somewhere hogging the ball and gunning away because he happens to be markedly better than his teammates? Jordan's career scoring night, a 69-point show against Cleveland in 1990, came on 37 shots from the field. If he'd attempted 46, as Bryant did against the lowly Raptors, he may have threatened 90. Thirty-eight times in his NBA days, Jordan cracked the 50-point plateau. In those games, know how many times he took as many shots at Bryant did Sunday?

Once, in an overtime game against Orlando when he scored 64.

When we ponder Jordan's signature moments, we think of the postseason -- The Last Shot and Wrist Flick in '98, The Sick Game, the barrage of three-pointers and shrug against Portland, The Craig Ehlo shot, the twisting, gravity-defying layup against the Lakers. With Shaquille O'Neal helping, Bryant had his defining moments as a three-time champion in L.A., but before anyone tries to place him in the same wing with Jordan in any pantheon, Kobe will have to prove he can win a championship or two without Shaq.

The callous gun just went for 81.

But until he wins in June again, it's just a large number in a larger shadow.