Watch Kobe Bryant's first of 30,000 points, 16 years later (VIDEO)

On Wednesday night, Kobe Bryant became the fifth player in NBA history to score 30,000 points.

Bryant joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlin as the only players to reach that total. At 34 years old, Bryant is the youngest of the 30,000 club.

He scored his first points just over 16 years ago, in the third game of the 1996 season. Kobe didn't play in the first game of his rookie season and went 0-1 in six minutes in the second. But he finally got his chance to get on the scoreboard in the third game, when his Los Angeles Lakers visited the New York Knicks.

It was a sign of things to come, as Kobe drove to the basket and drew a foul, while completely ignoring two wide open teammates. His first point would come on a free throw:

Yes, that's Verne Lundquist on the call.

Among Kobe's teammates that day: Shaquille O'Neal, Derek Fisher, Cedric Ceballos, Nick Van Exel, Byron Scott and the team's 1996-97 leading scorer, Eddie Jones.