Ray Allen and Kobe Bryant spent their entire careers linked by the 1996 NBA Draft, both emerging as standout shooting guards. While Allen was a star in his own right, it often felt like Bryant was just a step ahead.
On January 22, 2006, Ray Allen put together a performance to remember, dropping 42 points and hitting the game-winning three-pointer in a 152-149 win over the Phoenix Suns. But even on his best day, it was hard to escape Kobe’s shadow – that same night, Bryant dropped 81 points against the Toronto Raptors.
Allen made plenty of noise in his own right. He had already established himself as one of the greatest shooters ever before Steph Curry eventually changed the conversation. Even then, Allen would still give Reggie Miller the nod as the best pure shooter he’d ever seen.
Ray Allen shares his view of the night Kobe Bryant dropped 81 points
Kobe Bryant went on an incredible scoring run in January 2006, averaging 43.4 points per game for the month. The highlight came on the 22nd, when he scored 81 points, still the second-highest single-game total in NBA history.
The only player ever to score more in a game was Wilt Chamberlain, who famously put up 100 back in 1962. No one else has come close since then. Had it happened on any other day besides Chamberlain’s record night, Bryant’s performance would have been front and centre. Plenty of players have taken their shots at breaking it since then, but none have managed it yet.
Allen recognised that he had a great night himself but admitted it was completely overshadowed by what Bryant did.
“Every time I think about this game winner against the Suns, it reminds me how I had 41 or 42, a lot in the fourth quarter. We were sitting at the back of the bus, getting ready to go back to the hotel,” Allen said regarding January 22nd.
“Guys like, ‘You were killing it tonight, you were awesome.’ Then one of the teammates goes ‘Yo Kobe Bryant has 61 points in three quarters.’ I was like what? I was like leave it to Kobe to outdo me on a night like this and that was the night he had 81.”
Ray Allen made his mark despite the Kobe comparisons
Kobe Bryant and Ray Allen will always be linked, two shooting guards who came out of that famous 1996 draft. Even though Allen carved out an impressive career of his own, he spent most of it in Kobe’s shadow.
January 22, 2006, is a good example. That night, Allen dropped 42 points and hit the game-winner for the SuperSonics against the Suns in a high-scoring battle. It was one of the best games of his career, but it happened to fall on the same night Bryant put up 81 points against Toronto—a performance that dominated every headline.
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Allen’s basketball journey still stands strong. He played more than 1,300 games over an 18-year NBA run and finished with two championship rings—one with the Celtics in 2008 and another with Miami in 2013.
For much of his career, Allen was considered the greatest shooter ever until Stephen Curry changed how people think about shooting altogether. But even after Curry broke onto the scene, Allen’s name still carries weight whenever discussions turn to all-time shooters.
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