Kobe Bryant’s phenomenal pursuit of Michael Jordan’s place on the all-time scoring list came to an end on Sunday December 14, as he surpassed the record when he scored his 32,293rd point in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. In his 19th season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant broke Jordan’s record with a free throw in the second quarter. Bryant now ranks third all-time on the NBA’s top-scoring list, behind Karl Malone (36,928) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387).

Bryant’s mentor, former Laker great Byron Scott, anticipated Bryant would surpass Jordan with what he called his “patented fall away,” Shot that speaks to Bryant’s impeccable emulation of Michael Jordan, one of his many idols growing up. It was also significant because Bryan broke the record in front of Scott, who guided Bryant in his rookie season 19 years back. Scott knew that, if Bryant gets to the sixth or the seventh championship, “you’ve got to consider him one of the greatest if not the greatest that’s ever played.” Bryant, a future Hall of Famer, has five NBA titles and in the first player in NBA history to post both 30,000 points and 6,000 assists.

Bryant, during an interview with ESPN, said that the achievement was a “huge honor.” Michael Jordan congratulated Bryant, saying, “I look forward to seeing what he accomplishes next.”