Kobe Bryant poses for a portrait inside of his office in Costa Mesa, California, on Jan. 17, 2020. Bryant, one of the greatest NBA players in history, is building an impressive resume in his post-basketball career, including winning an Academy Award. Harrison Hill / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Lakers Legend Kobe Bryant Sees Postseason Record Tied

Originally posted on Los Angeles Lakers on SI
By Alex Kirschenbaum | Last updated May 23, 2025 12:19 PM ET

Hall of Fame former Los Angeles Lakers superstar shooting guard Kobe Bryant's elite postseason clutchness has been matched this year.

One of the all-time great NBA swingmen, the 18-time All-Star was known as a terrific playoff performer.

Bryant led the Lakers to seven NBA Finals appearances, first from 2000-02 alongside Hall of Fame center Shaquille O'Neal, next from 2008-10 next to Hall of Fame power forward/center Pau Gasol.

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Los Angeles won five of those series, and Bryant was twice named Finals MVP in 2009 and '10, over Gasol. O'Neal was the Finals MVP during the Lakers' three consecutive title appearances.

Bryant often stepped up in the playoffs, frequently shouldering a bigger scoring burden than he had in regular seasons with a title in the balance.

Now, a young All-NBA guard has matched Bryant's greatness in one key metric.

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Two-time All-Star Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton, 25, nailed a game-tying long jumper to complete an improbable 14-point comeback against the New York Knicks in the final 2:50 of regulation Wednesday.

WHAT A SHOT BY TYRESE HALIBURTON https://t.co/8wEwdkeRwZ pic.twitter.com/s497GwRWi9
— NBA (@NBA) May 22, 2025

In so doing, the 6-foot-5 Iowa State product notched his fourth game-tying or go-ahead field goal offs during the final five seconds of a playoff contest.

Per a TNT graphic (as captured by NBACentral), that ranks him third among all players since the 1997 playoffs, tying Haliburton with Bryant and former Milwaukee Bucks All-Star swingman Khris Middleton (now a non-All-Star on the Washington Wizards).

Haliburton has already logged three of those clutch buckets in these playoffs. And he has at least three more Eastern Conference Finals games left on his slate!

Elite company pic.twitter.com/dT0wuwNKS7
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 22, 2025

Through Indiana's 11 playoff games thus far (during which the Pacers have gone 9-2), Haliburton has been averaging 18.7 points on .481/.338/.789 shooting splits, 9.5 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 0.8 blocks and 0.7 steals a night.

Now, Indiana has stolen homecourt advantage away from the higher-seeded Knicks, and leads the series 1-0.

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For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.

This article first appeared on FanNation All Lakers and was syndicated with permission.

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