Kobe Bryant is in a class by himself. For failure.
Several media outlets reported Tuesday night that the 19th-year Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard passed Boston Celtics Hall of Famer John Havlicek for the most missed field-goal attempts in NBA history.
Bryant grabbed the dubious mark with 6:22 left in the Lakers' 107-102 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis, Tenn.
Needing 13 missed shot to grab the record, Bryant finished 10-for-26 shooting for a game-high 28 points. He now has 13,421 career misses.
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The list is loaded with Hall of Famers or future Hall of Famers. The top-10 list of players with the most misses includes: Bryant, Havlicek, Elvin Hayes, Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Elgin Baylor, Allen Iverson and Wilt Chamberlain.
As probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com suggested, to get that record really is a badge of honor.
"Kobe set this record only because he was the Lakers' go-to scorer so long. Lesser players don't get the opportunity to miss so many shots. The above list is full of Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers for a reason."
Not that Kobe, or Lakers coach Byron Scott, took the news as a positive.
"I don't care about it, to be honest with you," Bryant said. "It is what it is. I remember when I was a kid and I watched Michael shoot 49 times in an NBA Finals game. Can you imagine if I did that and lost? Puts things in perspective.
"You've got to go out and figure that out and play and do the best you can, and whatever happens, happens. You can't be held captive by the fear of failure or the fear of what people may say."
ESPN added that Scott cut off a reporter's question about Bryant's futility almost before it was asked.
"I don't care about that crap and I'm sure he doesn't either," Scott said. "I don't mean to cut you off, but to me it speaks of his aggressiveness and his longevity."
To be fair to Scott's second point, Bryant missing that many shots wouldn't be "crap," as Scott indicated in the first part of his sentence.
Do you think Kobe Bryant's record for missed shots will be a highlight or lowlight during his NBA career? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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