Kobe Bryant Discussion: Mamba Out!

Browsed forums of a few different teams, and 90% of their fans are as shocked, amazed, and appreciative as we are. Many of them saying this is one of the best games they've ever seen

 

Truth. ^^^

Huge props to sirronstuff as well for the best fan site custom still and animated smileys in the history of the internet. Season would have been a nightmare without them to vent and express all things Lakers emotions related..... with. Well ..... more of a nightmare anyway.

 

Speaking of free throws, Kobe got as many as Isaiah Thomas did today. He scored 21 pts. Dirk got 10 for 19 pts.

 

Kobe knew what he was doing. He went out in a way people will miss seeing him play. It's so fitting. I just wish this was his 6th ring game it would've so great **sigh** I never got to see him play, it's going to bother me until I grow old I never got to see him play.

 

LOL. My neighbour said it was a lame game. Just like the 81 one... because like tonight, no one played any defense on him. Called him a r*****, allowed my dog to take a dump on his front lawn, and walked away saying "Kenzo out".
Guy is a moron.

 

^ So true. What Kobe did for our future tonight was nothing short of amazing. With his one last performance, he inspired the young guys to just "go for it and stay hungry". I honestly believe that this one game can overturn our pathetic season... and coaching.

 

Just checking in, echoing what most have said. Fantastic game by Kobe, I kept joking with friends that he should shoot 50 times and damn it all if he didn't go out and deliver. Was great to see classic Kobe one last time.

It was also great to see the guys play as a team, although kind of odd seeing an entire unit work in harmony to get one guy iso plays all game, but I digress.

The other thing that struck me was it's been way too long since Staples was rocking with a Finals atmosphere!!

All in all I'm sad, yet happy and strangely relieved. Starting today we can 100% focus on the march back to the greatness for the franchise. Hopefully with some luck, the ping pong balls fall our way, somebody wants to take the $25m that walked out the door with Mamba last night and this time next year we are all talking about our playoff match up for the next week.

 

I'm in the best freakin mood today....can't even put this feeling into words.

 

Haven't been here for quite a while, but I had to pay my respects to the Black Mamba.... what a night. I was crying rivers with a smile from ear to ear.

I'll never forget this final game for the rest of my life.

Thanks for 20 magnificent years, Mr.Bryant.

 

Just take a look at the NBA headlines today. On a night the Warriors broke an NBA record with 73 wins, the top of the headlines is the Mamba's 60 point finale. That just speaks volumes to how legendary his career was from start to finish.

Let last night show potential big name free agents that hey... no matter how much the Lakers presently suck, if you give us the rings along the way and put in the work thru your Laker career, LA and the rest of Lakernation (which reaches across the globe) will be behind you all the way. Have you ever seen a crowd going bonkers for a player and a team that's finished with the worst record in franchise history? They say the allure of playing for the Lakers is dying... KB just showed you what it's all about last night.

And if you run into any haters today... just show them the brilliant Nike "Love the Hate" advertisement from last night.

 

Watching Kobe last night made me think that during those lean years with Chuckey, Smush, Kwame, Mihm, etc., we should have just let him do this every single game. We probably would have had a better record.

 

Still in shock and awe of what happened. Not only did Kobe get to walk off the court on his own terms...wait, he walked off the court on HIS OWN terms, shooting, scoring, and willing the team to one final victory. Oh and he happens to drop a 60 on them boys. You can not script a better ending to one's career, (save maybe a game winning shot for a championship) given the circumstances of this season and this team. Something told me to DVR this game, stupid me didn't listen. Fortunately they rebroadcasted early this morning so took advantage of that. (I really want the TWC broadcast. Hopefully someone is working on that.)

An end of an era has truly come. Nearly half my life has been spent watching this man make poetry on the basketball court and I have enjoyed every minute of it. Like I said before, part of me is sad, but another part of me is ready for the next chapter. But at the very least, Kobe has left a mark on this organization, this league, and this game that will stand for a long time.

 

LOL. Took you waay too long .....but way to finally handle it.

 

Kobe Bryant goes out shots blazing in magical finish, even for him

Bill PlaschkeContact Reporter
He didn't walk away, he flew away, on the wings of legend, through the clouds of Hollywood, with a final act unmatched in Los Angeles sports history.

In a retirement party for the ages Wednesday night, Kobe Bryant just wouldn't quit.

He shot. He shot some more. He kept shooting. Shots from the courtside seats, from underneath the basket, on wild drives, off crazy dribbles, back to the basket, feet in the air, hands in his face, shooting forever.

He scored. He scored some more. Swishes, rim-rattlers, layups, three-pointers, fallaways, runners, one hand, finger rolls, scoring forever.


For nearly three hours in front of a Staples Center crowd that screamed and chanted every time he touched the ball, Kobe Bryant played the last game of his 20-year career like it was his first, leaving fans hoarse and numb while leading his Lakers to a 101-96 comeback victory over the Utah Jazz.

Sixty points. Not a misprint. Fifty shots. Seriously. Twenty-three points in the fourth quarter to lead the Lakers back from a 14-point deficit in the final 10 minutes. Are you kidding me?

"I gave my soul to this game," an exhausted Bryant said afterward. "There's nothing else I can give."

Were you watching? At any point, did you find yourself brought from amazement to chills to tears? You were not alone.

He clanked his first five shots, made his next five shots, and spent the rest of the game drawing oohs and aahs and gasps and unadulterated screams from a crowd that wanted him to keep firing.

He was putting on a show for fans who had paid thousands for their tickets, just like he's always done, and if you were here, you know the prices were worth it.



When his shots sank, he posed and growled. When his shots missed, he scowled, and actually froze and cursed loudly after one particularly crazy miss.

He patted his chest, gritted his teeth, stared to the sky, scuffed at the wood. He barked at officials, haughtily shook his head in ordering his teammates to get out of the way, threw a behind-the-back pass, blocked a shot, and basically pulled out every wonderfully reckless trick that he's shown for two decades.

No matter where you were in the city, if you listened close, you could hear the fans chanting, "Ko-be, Ko-be, Ko-be" until those chants dissolved into a solid roar that may never end. If you listened extremely close in the final minutes, you heard your faithful correspondent stand up in his press seat and scream in awe. Professionalism be darned. This was Kobe Bryant, wearing the Lakers uniform for the last time, setting that jersey on fire. This was a legendary end to a legend.

For the record, the final basket of Bryant's career was a 20-foot jumper with 32 seconds remaining to give the Lakers the lead. He wonderfully stalked off the court with his jaw jutting like he was a kid again.

Also for the record, his last official statistic was a floor-length pass to Jordan Clarkson for a dunk. That's probably the most amazing part of an amazing night, right? Kobe Bryant's last stat was an assist!

Shaquille O'Neal, and hugged him.

Then, after the game ended, he stepped back on the court and addressed the crowd with all the wonder that had just been witnessed.

"Man!" he shouted into the microphone, pausing for another roar.

He added, "You know ... I can't believe how fast 20 years went by, this is crazy, this is absolutely crazy. ... We've been though our ups and been through our downs, the most important part is that we all stayed together throughout. To spend 20 years here, you can't write something better than this."

And, no, could anyone have written something better than this ending?


http://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/la-sp-kobe-plaschke-20160414-column.html