In his column at nba.com, David Aldridge compiled a Best of the Decade list of all things related to NBA.

Aside from the Dunks of the Decade, one of those mentioned was the Best Individual Performance of the Decade. Actually, he has three finalists worth mentioning.

Here they are:

#1 Kobe Bryant scoring 81 points against the Toronto Raptors (January 22, 2006)

Aldridge says:

The best thing that can be said about Bryant’s night against Toronto — 28-for-46 from the floor, 18-for-20 from the foul line, seven 3-pointers — was that the Lakers needed every one of them to come from 18 points down in the second half to overtake the Raptors. There was no showboating, no messing with the integrity of the game (which, in fairness, must be said about Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game in 1962, when the Philadelphia Warriors purposely fouled Knicks players again and again in the final quarter so that they could get Chamberlain more shots). The Lakers needed Bryant to be that otherworldly to win, and he was.

He scored 55 in the second half — 27 in the third, 28 in the fourth — to lead the Lakers to a 122-104 win. Only Chamberlain has scored more in an NBA game.

Kobe was really remarkable that night. Kobe hit all kinds of shots on the way to scoring that feat. Simply remarkable.

#2 Lebron James scoring 29 of his team’s last 30 points in the 4th Q and OT against the Detroit Pistons (May 31, 2007)

Aldridge says:

He had been terrific in playoff series before, but in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, James made a lasting mark. Scoring 29 of his team’s last 30 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, and the last 25 points in a row, James single-handedly beat one of the league’s premier defenses, on the road, in the biggest game of the season. The Pistons tried everything. They went big with Jason Maxiell, and LeBron blew by him; they tried to long with Tayshaun Prince, and James went through him; they tried trapping him, and he shot over them, they tried doubling him, and he drove past them. Then he muscled through all of them for the game-winning drive in the second overtime.

Anything the Pistons threw at Lebron, he just shrugged it off and got his points.

#3 Tracy McGrady scoring 13 points in 33 seconds against the San Antonio Spurs (December 9, 2004)

Aldridge says:

The Rockets trailed 74-64 with a minute left when a Yao Ming dunk, followed by a David Padgett steal and dunk, cut the deficit to six. San Antonio’s Devin Brown made two free throws with 44.2 seconds left, but the rest was McGrady. He hit a three over Malik Rose with 35 seconds left to make it 76-71, and after Brown made two more foul shots at the other end, McGrady countered again, this time hitting a three while getting fouled by Tim Duncan with 24.3 to go. His free throw brought Houston within 78-75.

Duncan was fouled at 16.2 and made both free throws, but McGrady got Andre Barrett’s inbounds pass just before a five-second call, dribbled hard to his right and rose over Bowen for another three with 11.2 seconds remaining, making it 80-78. The Spurs called time and moved the ball to halfcourt. Brown got Brent Barry’s inbounds pass and dribbled to the baseline, where Padgett may have shoved him, a little; at any rate, Brown hit the deck and lost the ball, and McGrady came up with him under his basket, eight seconds left.

He dribbled up court, drifted to his left, pulled up in front of Tony Parker and alongside Barry — who contested the shot, but not close enough that a foul would be called — and drilled his fourth three in the final minute, giving the Rockets an 81-80 lead with 1.7 seconds left. Parker’s desperation heave at the buzzer missed, and Houston had stolen the game, with McGrady scoring 13 of his 33 points in the final 33 seconds.

This is amazing. More amazing in fact than Reggie Miller’s performance against the New York Knicks in Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals.

Aldridge’s pick as Best Individual Performance of the Decade? The Lebron one.

I couldn’t agree more. Lebron James earned the respect of his peers even more with this performance.

Please read my related posts:

1. NBA’s Best Dunks of the Decade The decade will not end until December 31, 2010 but nevertheless, David Aldridge in his column at nba.com compiled a Best of the Decade list of all things related to NBA. Aside from the Best Performances of the Decade, one...
2. NBA Trades 2010 | Tracy Mcgrady to New York Knicks At the NBA trade deadline, the New York Knicks, the Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings pulled off the biggest trade this 2010. It involved disgruntled guard Tracy McGrady who found a willing taker in the New York Knicks. The...
3. 2010 NBA Finals Game 5 | Paul Pierce Wins Duel With Kobe Bryant Kobe Bryant had his best game of the series netting 19 of his 38 points in the 3rd quarter and scoring 23 straight Laker points between the 4:23 mark of the second quarter until there was 2:16 left in the...
4. 2010-11 NBA Season | Kobe is Now Tenth in NBA’s All-Time Scoring List Can Kobe surpass MJ? Player Points 1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387 2. Karl Malone 36,928 3. Michael Jordan 32,292 10. Kobe Bryant 26,669 In a 108-83 win over the Detroit Pistons at their home court today, Kobe Bryant surpassed Dominique Wilkins...
5. 2010-11 NBA Season | Kobe is Now Sixth in NBA’s All-Time Scoring List! Where will Kobe rank in the all-time list when he is done? Player Points 1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387 2. Karl Malone 36,928 3. Michael Jordan 32,292 4. Wilt Chamberlain 31,419 5. Shaquille O’Neal 28,590+ 6. Kobe Bryant 27,423+ With his...
6. 2011 NBA Finals | Heat vs Mavericks Game 1, Lebron Scores 24 To Win First Ever Finals Game Lebron James is 3 games away from redemption. Leading the Miami Heat with 24 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, Lebron finally win his first ever NBA Finals game with a 92-84 victory over the Dallas Mavericks while showing critics...
7. 2011 NBA Finals | Heat vs Mavericks Game 4, Nowitzki Makes A Jordanesque Performance This is how heroes are made. In true Jordanesque fashion, Dirk Nowitzki battled through a sinus infection that left him coughing and wheezing and his temperature spiking to 101 degrees to score 10 of his 21 points and grab five...
8. 2011 NBA Finals | Heat vs Mavericks Game 5, Lebron Nets Triple-Double in Loss Coming off from his worst playoff performance ever in Game 4, Lebron James vowed to step-up in Game 5. He did, delivering the first triple-double in Miami Heat’s playoff history with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. However, when...
9. The MMA Fight of the Decade They looked like drunken fighters swinging their fists wildly hoping that it connects. The entire 3-round fight was full of knockdowns and submission attempts but in the end, the two survived a bloody battle that was awarded “Fight of the...
10. 2010 NBA Playoffs Conference Semifinals Round | LA Lakers vs Utah Jazz The quest for a back-to-back NBA championship is still alive for the LA Lakers. After dispatching the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 with the slimmest of margins 95-94 in their 1st Round matchup, the Lakers has moved on the...

If you want to receive my latest posts, please subscribe to my full feed RSS or have them delivered through email. Just enter your email address below and hit the Subscribe button.

Tags: kobe bryant, lebron james, NBA, tracy mcgrady