Kobe Bryant Watch 5: In pursuit of 28,596

Shaquille O'Neal announced his retirement Wednesday, June 1st. He ends his career with 28,596 points. Now his disciple, running mate, ex-lover and reconciled friend Kobe Bryant can catch Shaq's all-time tally and move into the top 5 all-time NBA scorers with a set goal in mind. 28,596 put it on your wall, put it on your fridge, paste it in front of your treadmill, sing it in the shower, whatever! just be conscious of it. With 728 more points, Kobe can catch Shaq next season in somewhere between 28 games (if he averages 26.0 ppg) and 33 games (if he averages just 22.0 ppg) . When Kobe passes Shaq, it will be the most meaningful of his all-time points milestones and a beacon on his continued climb up the all-time scorers list by settling into the top five. For Kobe to pass Jordan next year he would have to score 4424 points, an average of 54 ppg over 82 games (so let's focus on the Shaq goal for now...)

"Best of Frenemies"