The 2005-06 NBA season would mark a crossroads in Bryant's basketball career. Despite past differences with Bryant, Phil Jackson returned to coach the Lakers. Bryant endorsed the move, and by all appearances, the two men worked together well the second time around, leading the Lakers back into the playoffs. Bryant also resolved his conflict with former teammate Shaquille O'Neal. The team posted a 45-37 record, an eleven-game improvement over the previous season, and the entire squad seemed to be clicking.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers played well enough (3-1 series lead) to come within six seconds of eliminating the second-seeded Phoenix Suns. Despite Bryant's remarkable game winning shot in Game 4, the Lakers broke down, and ultimately fell to the Suns in seven games. In the following off-season, Bryant had knee surgery, preventing him from participating in the 2006 FIBA World Championship tournament.
Bryant's individual scoring accomplishments posted resulted in the finest statistical season of his career. The season included many spectacular individual performances including a game on December 20 in which Bryant scored 62 points despite playing only three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks. Entering the fourth quarter Bryant had, by himself, outscored the entire Mavericks team 62-61, the only time a player has done this through three quarters since the advent of the 24-second shot clock. When the Lakers faced the Miami Heat on January 16, 2006, Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal made headlines by engaging in handshakes and hugs before the game, signifying the end of the feud that had festered between the two players since O'Neal's acrimonious departure from Los Angeles. A month later, at the 2006 NBA All-Star Game, the two laughed and joked together on several occasions. On January 22, Bryant scored 81 points in a 122-104 victory against the Toronto Raptors, who finished with a 27-55 season record and were among the worst defensive teams in the league. In addition to breaking the previous franchise record of 71 set by Elgin Baylor, his point total in that game was the second highest in NBA history, surpassed only by Wilt Chamberlain's legendary 100-point game in 1962.
Also in January, Bryant became the first player since 1964 to score 45 points or more in four consecutive games, joining Chamberlain and Baylor as the only players ever to do so. For the month of January, Bryant averaged 43.4 per game, the eighth highest single month scoring average in NBA history, and highest for any player other than Chamberlain. By the end of the season, Bryant had also set Lakers single-season franchise records for the most 40-point games (27) and most points scored (2,832), among others. Bryant won the league's scoring title for the first time, posting a scoring average of (35.4). Bryant finished in fourth-place in the voting for the 2006 NBA Most Valuable Player Award, but also received 22 first place votes second only to winner Steve Nash, and by far the highest number of first-place votes Bryant had ever received in his career.
Late in the season, it was reported that Bryant would change his jersey number from 8 to 24 at the start of the 2006-07 NBA season. 24 was Bryant's first high school number, before he switched to 33. After the Lakers' season ended, Bryant said on TNT that he wanted 24 as a rookie, but it was unavailable, as was 33, retired with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Bryant wore 143 at the Adidas ABCD camp, and chose 8 by adding those numbers. He had also worn number 8 as a child in Italy, as a salute to Mike D'Antoni, who was one of his early idols and wore number 8 as a professional basketball player in Italy.
Wikipedia - Kobe Bryant
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