Kobe Bryant's 20th and final
NBA season came to a close on Wednesday night. He finished it exactly as he
spent most of it: remorselessly and gleefully gunning.
And everybody loved it,
because it was perfect. It couldn't have been more perfect.
In his last game as a
professional basketball player, Bryant fully embraced the Viking funeral that
began when he announced on Nov. 29, 2015, that this would be his last ride.
With Los Angeles Lakers fans, NBA legends, former teammates, Hollywood royalty,
his wife and his children watching his every move, Kobe entertained us all one
more time with a performance that seemed, even as it was unfolding, like the
stuff of fiction.
Shaquille O'Neal wasn't
kidding. He really did call for 50 during an "Inside the NBA" chat
last month. Back then, Kobe said no. On Wednesday, he changed his mind.
He scored 60 points — the
highest-scoring game in the NBA this season, topping Anthony Davis' 59; the
sixth 60-point game of his career, second-most all-time behind fellow Laker
great Wilt Chamberlain; and the most points ever by a player in his final NBA
game (joining, of all people, Jordan Crawford and Eddie House!). He did so on
50 field-goal attempts, the most by any player in any one game dating back to
the 1983-84 season, to lead the Lakers to a thrilling and unbelievable 101-96
win over the visiting Utah Jazz.
In yet another season full of
losing that saw the Lakers finish with a franchise-worst 17-65 record, Kobe
found a way to go out a winner ... and to go out a winner in the most
precisely, 10-out-of-10 Kobe way humanly possible.
How joyously absurd was Kobe
on the final night of his NBA career? This joyously absurd:
Kobe becomes one of just four
players in NBA history to take 50 shots in a game, joining Wilt, Elgin Baylor
and Rick Barry. In going 6 for 21 from 3-point land, he becomes just the sixth
player ever to cast off from beyond the arc more than 20 times in a game,
alongside record-holder J.R. Smith (naturally), Damon Stoudamire, Vince Carter,
George McCloud and Michael Adams.
The run-up to Kobe's 1,556th
and final NBA game featured loads of pomp and circumstance, from all manner of
"thanks for the memories" swag for the fans to diamond-studded golden
retirement rings for Bryant and his wife, Vanessa. Before the opening tip, the
Lakers unveiled their contribution to the season-long series of tribute videos
lauding the career of the 18-time All-Star, 15-time All-NBA selection,
five-time NBA champion and 2007-08 Most Valuable Player:
No comments:
Post a Comment