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“Kobe Bryant had 40, I had 50, but he hit the Game-Winner”: When Nets’ superstar James Harden described his Drew League match-up against the Lakers’ legend

Raahib Singh
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Kobe Bryant did it 2 times- James Harden was the closest to breaking his most 50-pt games in a season record with 9

Nets’ superstar James Harden recalls the time he played Kobe Bryant in the Drew League and dropped 50 and lost, because of a Kobe game-winner

The Drew League is a pro-am basketball league that takes place in Los Angeles every summer. There have been a lot of notable NBA celebrities that have participated in this prestigious league. 10 years ago, two of these celebrities went head to head in such a Drew League game.

Back in 2011, Kobe Bryant and James Harden went head to head in a Drew League game. James Harden erupted for some 47 points, but Kobe Bryant being himself, had to win the game. Kobe scored some 40 points. Due to Kobe’s presence, the gym, which had a capacity of a few hundred people, was getting swarmed by people. The police came and requested Kobe to leave the game, which he declined, and sealed the game with the game-winning shot before leaving the gym.

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James Harden talks about facing Kobe Bryant on Jimmy Kimmel

James Harden was on Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show back in 2017. There, Kimmel talked about how Kobe Bryant mentioned that he would have loved to have Harden on the Lakers. Harden, who was obviously flattered by the compliment, was out of words.

Kimmel then brought up the Drew League game where the two faced off. Harden describes and says, “I had 50”, to which Kimmel asks how many did Kobe have. James says, “He had some 40, but he hit the game-winner.”

Also Read: “I just can’t bear to watch today’s NBA”: When Kareem Abdul Jabbar explained why he can’t get himself to tune into the NBA anymore

Anecdotes like these about the great Kobe Bryant remind us of how great he was and make us feel like he is still among us.

About the author

Raahib Singh

Raahib Singh

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Raahib Singh is an NBA Journalist and Content Strategist at The SportsRush. A Computer Science Engineer by qualification, Raahib's passion for sports drew him towards TSR. He started playing basketball at 14 and has been following the NBA since 2013. His entry into the basketball world perfectly coincided with Stephen Curry putting the league on notice. Having followed the league for a long time, he decided to use his knowledge to become a sportswriter with The SportsRush in 2020. Raahib loves to put up some shots in his spare time, watch Cricket, Formula 1, and/or read a nice thriller.

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