Written by: Emily Wilson
No one can win alone. A joint effort is vital to the success of any team, there is no doubt about that. But sometimes, an individual performance can transcend the team dynamic and stand alone, remaining in the collective fan-conscience for days, months, years, and decades as a legendary example of basketball lore.
It’s not a prerequisite that these amazing performances take place during the playoffs, but with the added pressure of the NBA’s grandest stages and the significant meanings of playoff games, most of them do. Excellent players rise to the presented challenges to showcase their athletic greatness.
The Lakers organization has been home to many such players in its storied history. In light of the playoffs, and in the hope that we’ll see multiple impressive performances during this post-season, here is a list of the top 10 individual performances in Lakers history:
(Note: While it is not a prerequisite for a stand-out individual performance to be a playoff performance, it certainly helps, simply because the added pressure of the NBA’s grandest stages could render any average competitor motionless, it tends to be that the most excellent players stand out and succeed during the playoffs.)
10: KOBE BRYANT vs. Seattle Super Sonics, 2003
In this game, Kobe set the still-NBA record for most three-point field goals made in a game, at 12. He now shares that record with Donyell Marshall, but nonetheless, 12-for-18 shooting from three-point territory is decidedly impressive.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn3nw6eodrE
Next: Elmore Smith and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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