Nov. 3, 2006 28 years, 72 days
As it turns out, No. 24 could be just as dominant as No. 8.
Wearing his new jersey number for the very first time, reigning scoring champion Kobe Bryant supplied the Lakers 23 points toward a 118-112 victory over Seattle.
Bryant, who averaged 35.4 points the year before, shot 8-of-15 from the field and added six assists and four rebounds.
But the Philadelphia native couldn’t do it on his own that night. He needed 28 points from Lamar Odom and a then career-high 20 points from Luke Walton to counter Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis’ 58 combined total.
Having missed the first two games of the season while recovering from surgery on his right knee, Bryant helped the Lakers to a 33-13 lead just nine minutes into the game. But the SuperSonics fought back to tie at 107 with 1:30 left.
Still, L.A., which shot 48 free throws to Seattle’s 16, closed out on an 11-5 run thanks in part to five made foul shots from Odom.
Kobe performances on this day in history: