Current season: 2005-2006
Phil Jackson returned to coach the Lakers for the 2005-2006 season, a move that Bryant said he welcomed, despite Jackson's past pointed criticism of Bryant. The two have had no major public disagreements since Jackson's return.

Bryant finished as the leading scorer of the 2005-2006 NBA season, averaging 35.4 points per game, which qualifies for the 8th highest all-time average and the most since michael jordan averaged 37.1 points per game in 1987. He finished with a total of 2,832 points for the season, the most since Jordan had 2,868 in 1988, and 7th all-time on the single-season scoring list. He accomplished all this while helping the Lakers achieve a winning record and clinch a playoff spot in the West. Consequently, he is among those mentioned as possible candidates of the Most Valuable Player award.

Sixty-two points
On December 20,2005, in one of the most spectacular individual scoring feats in NBA history, Bryant scored a then career-high 62 points in only 33 minutes of play in a 112-90 rout of the Dallas Mavericks. His 30 points in the third quarter alone surpassed the Lakers' previous franchise record of 24 points in a single quarter. Bryant had outscored the entire Dallas Mavericks team 62-61 by the time he departed at the end of the third quarter, becoming the first player ever to outscore his opposition through three quarters since the advent of the 24-second shot clock.

Bryant and O'Neal put an end to their public feud in 2006.

Miami game

When the Lakers faced the Miami Heat on January 16,2006, Bryant and O'Neal made headlines by engaging in handshakes and hugs before the game, an event that is believed to signify the end of the feud that had festered between the two players since the O'Neal's acrimonious departure from Los Angeles.

Olympics

In late January 2006, Bryant officially agreed to a three-year commitment to the USA Basketball team that, once qualified, will play in the 2008 Summer olympics in Beijing.

Eighty-one points

On January 22, 2006, Bryant scored a career high 81 points as the Lakers defeated the Toronto Raptors122-104 at Los Angeles. Bryant's personal tally ranked second all-time in points scored in a single game, bettered only by the late Wilt chamberlain 100 on MArch 2,1962, and broke Elgin Baylor's previous franchise record of 71. 55 of Bryant's 81 points were scored in the second half. Bryant shot 28 of 46 from the field, including 7 of 13 from 3-point range, and made 18 of 20 free throws. He also recorded 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 1 block. The accomplishment made Bryant only the fifth player in NBA history to score 70 points in a game (the others being Chamberlain, who accomplished the feat six different times, David Thompson, Elgin Baylor, David Robinson), and only the second player to score 80.

Bryant's 2005-2006 scoring splurge--especially his two career best games--have sparked a widespread discussion in the media and among sports fans regarding the implications of his scoring so many points. Commentators have vehemently debated whether Bryant's 81-point game, coming from the guard position and in the modern NBA era, is a more impressive feat than center Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962.

January retrospective

As the first month of the 2006 calendar year came to an end, Bryant had undoubtedly posted one of the finest individual months in NBA history. Aside from the 81 points he scored against Toronto on January 22, he also joined Elgin Baylor and Wilt chamberlain as the only players in history to score 45 points or more in four consecutive games, becoming the first to do it since Chamberlain in 1964. He finished the month with a 13-game average of 43.4 points per game, the eighth highest in NBA history with the top seven all belonging to Chamberlain. Bryant's January was so impressive that his 40 points in a 130-97 win against the New York Knicks actually lowered his cumulative average for the month.

Franchise scoring records

On April 6,2006, Bryant's 42 points in an overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets, his twenty-fourth of the season, broke the previous Los Angeles Lakers franchise record of twenty-three 40-point games in a season set by Elgin baylor in 1962-63. He would finish the season with twenty-seven.

On April 14 2006, Bryant scored 50 points in a 110-99 win against the Portland Trailblazers, his sixth 50-point game of the season. He surpassed Elgin Baylor's 2,719 in 1962-1963 with this performance, and went on to finish with 2,832 points, a new Laker record and the 7th highest scoring output of all time.

Criticism

Additionally, there are frequent arguments over whether Bryant's prolific scoring is a good thing for the Laker team as a whole. Some consider him to be a "ball hog" and argue that Bryant taking so many shots is not true 'team' basketball and thus sets a bad example and inhibits the development of other Laker players. Others argue that the other players on the current Laker team are not nearly as talented as Bryant, and thus having Bryant take the bulk of the team's shots gives the team the best chance to win. Nevertheless, the Lakers have attained their first playoff berth since the departure of Shaquille O'Neal as the 7th seed in the Western Conference.