Scoring At 30

If, like me, your #1 reason for watching the NBA playoffs this year is to root against Kobe Bryant, then you'll appreciate reading Mike Kurylo's piece at KnickerBlogger about Kobe vs MJ (via TrueHoop), if only because it gave me some validation for your hatred for #24.Mike's points are valid - even a Kobe-lover would concede that - and they got me to wondering: How does Bryant stack up on a year-to-year basis with some of the other top scorers in NBA history?Bryant is currently 30 years old, so, to be fair, we should only count stats for players in the same time frame. Shown below is a chart listing what I believe to be the top nine scorers at age 30, plus two youngsters who merit mentioning:A few quick notes to take away from this graphic:1. Michael Jordan gave Bryant a three season head start, took off two seasons (one for injury, one for baseball), and still ranks within a half-season of scoring of Kobe. Amazing.2. Wilt Chamberlain gave Bryant a five-year head start, ...