It turns out that Kobe Bryant still has some basketball left the tank.
The Los Angeles Lakers legend, who is set to retire at the end of the 2015-16 season, was locked in Tuesday night, dropping a season-high 38 points in a highly-entertaining duel with up-and-coming Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Andrew Wiggins, who scored 30 points in 41 minutes in the loss.
It was undoubtedly the 37-year-old’s best performance of the season, going 10-of-21 from the field, including 7-of-11 three pointers with the Vaughan, Ont., native guarding him for most of the game.
“You’ve seen it for 20 damn years,” Bryant told local reporters in his post-game availability, via ESPN’s Baxter Holmes. “What are you impressed by?
While Bryant didn’t seem surprised by his individual effort, a few Timberwolves players were blown away.
“He’s the greatest of my generation,” Wiggins said (via ESPN). “He perfected the game of basketball.”
Bryant’s vintage effort happened to come against a familiar face as Timberwolves head coach Sam Mitchell was behind the Toronto Raptors’ bench when the Lakers guard scored a career-high 81 points in January of 2006.
After the game, Mitchell didn’t hold back his feelings.
The win helped the Lakers snap a 10-game losing streak, so maybe Bryant should return to his all-star form more often.
