Good list, I'd probably throw in the 65 point game against Portland to cap off the 4 50+ games stretch. Man I'm drained right now at work, plus slightly hungover. What a game last night.
You know what, one of the things that made that game so good and was so fitting for Kobe's last performance was that Utah was actually playing hard and not giving Kobe anything. They were going after him and that made his final masterpiece even sweeter. We were even saying in the Gameday - man, why don't they take it easier out there, but I have to give Gordon Hayward, et al a lot of respect for doing the right thing and competing hard against Kobe. It was epic! A fitting end for a guy who never wanted anything easy. He had to expend every ounce of energy he had to get to 60 points, and more importantly the win!!
Thanks Ju. Last night was one for the ages. Glad to share it with everyone here. Not just us, it seems the whole sports world was at a standstill. That graphic on the viewer ratings on the ESPN schedule? One last poetic "flip them the bird" moment from him and the Laker fanbase.
This time 100x I'm so glad I pony'd up money to get tickets to the day yesterday. It was utterly indescribable...... the comeback, being their with other fans, the scoring, and hitting the go ahead shots, etc. This is a finish that will last forever. No other athlete has finished their career like this. Ever!
The good news about this is Kobe has had a film crew of 4-5 guys following him this entire year, filming behind the scenes things, and pretty much everything. I have no doubt in my mind something like the Muze will come out for Kobe on his final year.
Random observation I meant to make in my post above: I loved watching MWP celebrate on the bench. He was so giddy and happy for Kobe. My favorite was in the 3rd(?, I think)...Kobe catches it and begins to drive from the 3 to the hole, as soon as he makes his first step MWP begins celebrating as if Kobe had already scored. It was the very essence of who MWP is.
It was a little sad for me, the one time I actually got sad, is seeing his facial expression when he said his perfect ending would've been a championship. Deep down I know Kobe wanted one last Championship season. Also his emotion during his last game, showed that his competitiveness was still there and at a high level. Also, maybe it's just me, but it seems like he found some type of rhythm coming towards the final games, when people said vintage Kobe made a comeback when he dropped 34. Unfortunately it was too late, and his body was probably like maybe a few years ago but not this time.
Kobe, thank you so much for the memories and the joy you brought to my life. I don't care what anyone says... you are the greatest ever.
Sportsnation tried everything they could to get Brandon Bass to speak ill of Kobe. You can tell he was kind of annoyed by it, they tried to bait him so hard, but he had nothing but praise and respect for his former teammate.