Kobe Bryant
Nov 30, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Toronto Raptors forward Terrence Ross (31) guards Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) in the first half of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Reuters

Kobe Bryant is criticised for being a shameless but effective chucker/volume scorer in his entire National Basketball Association (NBA) career. The Lakers star now can respond to his critics by showing them that he’s the only player in league history to score over 30,000 points and dish-out over 6,000 assists.

"It's a huge honor. It means I pass more than people say," Bryant said post-game via ESPN.COM. "One is more in your control than the other. I prefer things to be under my control. But yeah, the assists [milestone] is actually more enjoyable because it means guys are playing with confidence and they're more involved. They emotionally feel better. They get more excited, more into the game. It makes playing more enjoyable.”

The 36 -year-old Bryant led the Lakers to a 129-122 overtime victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday by turning in a triple-double of 31 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. It appears the Raptors are Bryant’s favourite opponent when he breaks NBA records; Toronto was also the team Bryant burned for 81 points— highest-ever since Wilt Chamberlain scored the single-game record 100 points in the early 60s— in 2006.

In the same article, Lakers head coach Byron Scott was impressed by Bryant’s feat and his capability to stay on the top of his game.

"There's a lot left in that tank, it's obvious. His accomplishments are just fantastic. To watch him continue to compete the way that he does at this level is remarkable,” Scott said of Bryant.

The feat is one of the few bright spots for the Lakers in the 2014-2015 NBA season. The Hollywood squad currently holds a 4-13 win-loss record, the worst in the Western Conference and third-worst in the entire league.

Bryant, who is playing in his 19th NBA season has now a total of 32,153 career regular-season points, fourth all-time in the NBA history and just 139 points off Michael Jordan. He has a total of 6,003 assists. For the season, Bryant averages 26.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists and he’ll easily pass Jordan, who is considered the greatest player of all time, in the scoring rankings in the next few games.

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