As former L.A. Lakers player Earvin “Magic” Johnson Jr. put it: “We are here to celebrate [Bryant’s] greatness for 20 years and excellence for 20 years”, Johnson told the roaring crowd.
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Over at the Oracle Arena, the Golden State Warriors set the National Basketball Association record for most wins during a regular season.
If we had to take a guess we’re gonna say that Swaggy P wanted to get his adidas Kobe Vino Pack signed, but Mamba wasn’t havin’ it. “Yeah, I’ll miss standing here and watching you [media] elbow each other [for position] and all that fun stuff”.
Even as the Lakers began to battle back, the Jazz held their lead and did not allow themselves to be erased by the magnitude of the game. Kobe supposedly throwing P’s shoes in the trash definitely sounds like something the-player-who-formerly-wore-number-24 would do. And while Bryant broke his career-high for attempts, putting up the most shots in a game since Basketball Reference started tracking the stat in the ’80s, he also seemed to return to form by the fourth quarter.
Who does that? Who walks away from the game by summoning up one of the all time great Kobe performances on 37-year old legs that have more mileage than all the other Laker players have on their bodies combined? “I can’t believe this comes to an end”. “It was pretty cool for them to actually see that”, said a radiant Bryant after the game.
A tribute video was played before tip-off, featuring messages from Shaquille O’Neal, Lamar Odom, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Phil Jackson and Nicholson, a longtime Lakers fan.
“For 20 years you gave our game all you had, and we are eternally grateful”.
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Los Angeles Lakers rookie Kobe Bryant is heckled by teammates as a television cameraman adjusts a microphone on his jersey for an interviewed during the Lakers Media Day at the Forum in Inglewood, California, Oct. 14, 1996.
