That was one of the greatest games ever. He went out in true Kobe fashion; he absolutely dominated the end, and 60 points speaks for itself. As a Laker fan, I'll miss Kobe a lot. He'll forever be a legend!
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Kobe Bryant's last game
- Thread starter JoshMKB24
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Seemed to easy, the guy could barely walk up the court a month ago and tonight he gets 60. I smell a rat.
No. He struggled a lot in the beginning of the game, but his old instincts came out in the end. He looked like vintage Kobe, the adrenaline no doubt was helping him. He thrives under the pressure and bright lights, anyone knows that.
I bet there was some home cooking as well. You don't just score 60 with a lot of pressure.
He scored 60 because he almost always had the ball in his hands this game (to appease the fans). He did well because of the pressure
cmon macnut...never hated your posts before..but geez. its the mans last game. his teammates gave him the ball, he went out with a bang. stop the hate. rat? horrible.
im 39 years old and dont remember MJ's last game. i was very grateful to see tonights game with a legend retiring. thanks kobe for 20 years.
There is a lot of smugness with Kobe, to be honest he should have retired 3 years ago. But most athletes don't know when it is time to go. Lets not forget that Kobe isn't a role model. People forgot about the Denver incident.
of course, every kobe 'hater' always brings up the 'rape. first of all, he was never guilty or convicted of any wrongdoing. so right there, nothing to say. i will never get the hate this man gets. he has done so many great things for the game of basketball, many charities and a mentor to many young kids that look up to him.
Yes, it is hard to believe that time has come for Kobe to retire. Amazing player and I was privilege to see him live in his prime a few times. The one time I had floor setting to watch a game through work, witness a game that still lives in basketball history with the dunk in your face to giant "yow-Ming" (spelling) Incredible to watch and right there to see it live, along with the other laker greats on the floor, double overtime game with Fisher's half court game winning shot......amazing if you are a basketball fan. At least that is how I remember it....
But...ending this way is a shame for such a great player. The lakers suck, probably the worse ever, Kobe a broken, washed up "old man" as far as the game is concerned. A shame that people will probably remember his end game which odds are will be a terrible game for Kobe and the Lakers. Then in ten years, many may say, "Kobe who?" While he is sitting in a wheelchair watching another young "Kobe" as his injuries take hold of his aging body. Ashame, but I guess that is the business....
I wrote this yesterday and I have to eat my words....
I now live out of the country for work and could not watch the game. I just looked on the Internet to read about Kobe's final game expecting it sadly to end terrible.
Well..I am glad I was wrong. Brought a tear to my eye that Kobe for one final time was able to be all that we as basketball fans love to see...a great being great one last time...and to go out with a bang!!!!
My hat is off to you Kobe...you indeed brought the magic one more time to show you are indeed "The Man". Enjoyed the years watching you and you indeed showed all today one last time that you are a great basketball player. Great end to a great career!
Beautiful ending in the only way Kobe knew how. It might seem I can be very critical on KoMe but we can't praise him like he has done nothing wrong. Any sports idol can be ripe for criticism. There were seasons when I wasn't rooting for Michael Jordan (1993, 1995). Taking all the negative and turning it into a positive. Kobe became greater thanks to his haters and harshest critics. He loved being the villian so I laughed in his final speech how he used to never pass the ball and finally got the green light to self indulge like he knew how.
The most beautiful thing I saw in Kobe was seeing more of who he is as a person during the last few years. I am aware he seems like a nicer guy than MJ off the court. I loathed him for years but there is a thin line between love and hate. So while I hate watching the Lakers win, I still loved watching Kobe play. I have video mixes of Kobe just as much as LeBron and DWade. Everything from all his game winners and impossible shots. My fav player is still the player I grew up on, MJ, because I love how he floats in the air and all his Finals closeout games. He performed the highest when it mattered most..Finals.
My favorite Kobe moment last night wasn't taking 50 attempts and making his last five straight. I knew before he was going to attempt his last two shots that he was going to make it. It was when he hugged his teammates (past and current) and his last play was a pass to Jordan Clarkson. A passing of the torch. No longer KoMe. When nothing on the line, he played like there was. This win was more for the team and showed his undeniable will that couldn't be broken. And I always admired Kobe for paying respect to the past greats like Mike Tyson did with past boxers.
My favorite Kobe moment in his career isn't 81, 62 after 3 quarters, or any barrage of scoring binges or game winners. It was the gold medal game in 2008. This wasn't for the Lakers but the Americans. That was his most clutch for me followed by his sprain ankle game in 2000 and his series stats vs San Antonio in 2001. People need to realize what makes MJ the GOAT wasn't about regular season play but what he did in the real season when intensity is 10x higher. So it doesn't matter if the Warriors break the Bulls' record. If they don't win a title, 73 is all for naught.
Incredible month of basketball. Thrillanova. Warriors' 73. Kobe's finale. All quite opposite. Villanova went on a dream run capped off by an incredible finish. One was about consistent excellence as a team. The finale was celebrating individual play to arguably the greatest middle sized one on one player to ever play the game. Kobe's exclamation finish the way American Pharoah won the Breeders' Cup Classic last year. Last weekend, I got to see Manny Pacquiao win in what could his finale.
Just an amazing April especially for basketball.
http://m.bleacherreport.com/article...jordan-have-made-your-team-this-season/page/5
"Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant playing together? It's a dream come true—trainer and trainee, Jedi and Padawan, hero and hero worshipper, original and remix."
The most beautiful thing I saw in Kobe was seeing more of who he is as a person during the last few years. I am aware he seems like a nicer guy than MJ off the court. I loathed him for years but there is a thin line between love and hate. So while I hate watching the Lakers win, I still loved watching Kobe play. I have video mixes of Kobe just as much as LeBron and DWade. Everything from all his game winners and impossible shots. My fav player is still the player I grew up on, MJ, because I love how he floats in the air and all his Finals closeout games. He performed the highest when it mattered most..Finals.
My favorite Kobe moment last night wasn't taking 50 attempts and making his last five straight. I knew before he was going to attempt his last two shots that he was going to make it. It was when he hugged his teammates (past and current) and his last play was a pass to Jordan Clarkson. A passing of the torch. No longer KoMe. When nothing on the line, he played like there was. This win was more for the team and showed his undeniable will that couldn't be broken. And I always admired Kobe for paying respect to the past greats like Mike Tyson did with past boxers.
My favorite Kobe moment in his career isn't 81, 62 after 3 quarters, or any barrage of scoring binges or game winners. It was the gold medal game in 2008. This wasn't for the Lakers but the Americans. That was his most clutch for me followed by his sprain ankle game in 2000 and his series stats vs San Antonio in 2001. People need to realize what makes MJ the GOAT wasn't about regular season play but what he did in the real season when intensity is 10x higher. So it doesn't matter if the Warriors break the Bulls' record. If they don't win a title, 73 is all for naught.
Incredible month of basketball. Thrillanova. Warriors' 73. Kobe's finale. All quite opposite. Villanova went on a dream run capped off by an incredible finish. One was about consistent excellence as a team. The finale was celebrating individual play to arguably the greatest middle sized one on one player to ever play the game. Kobe's exclamation finish the way American Pharoah won the Breeders' Cup Classic last year. Last weekend, I got to see Manny Pacquiao win in what could his finale.
Just an amazing April especially for basketball.
http://m.bleacherreport.com/article...jordan-have-made-your-team-this-season/page/5
"Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant playing together? It's a dream come true—trainer and trainee, Jedi and Padawan, hero and hero worshipper, original and remix."
I'm more than happy to give Kobe his moment. I've seen him play maybe six or seven times live, and he is/was amazing. He deserves all the recognition he gets and his stats are phenomenal. A true legend of the game.
Having said that, I saw MJ play even more. Both pre and post the baseball stint. I was at every game of the Bulls v Sonics series. Thanks to my contacts, I was out celebrating with the teams every night, and many people won't believe but the teams DID go out to bars together after the games. Hard to believe now, but I saw it happen.
So MJ has a huge place in my heart and for ME Kobe is no MJ. I totally respect and admire him but for me, MJ is still the man. I know, I'm old and have those rose tinted specs, but that's the way I see it.
Having said that, I saw MJ play even more. Both pre and post the baseball stint. I was at every game of the Bulls v Sonics series. Thanks to my contacts, I was out celebrating with the teams every night, and many people won't believe but the teams DID go out to bars together after the games. Hard to believe now, but I saw it happen.
So MJ has a huge place in my heart and for ME Kobe is no MJ. I totally respect and admire him but for me, MJ is still the man. I know, I'm old and have those rose tinted specs, but that's the way I see it.
While it was nice to see him go out with a win, but there was a lot of "feeding" him the ball. Hell in the first quarter alone, he had 20 shots and the rest of the team had 2 (numbers are for exaggeration as I don't know the exact amount).
It was a nice way to go out, but come on.
It was an awesome experience to be part of. We were in the suite level across from the Lakers bench. We actually saw Magic and his wife walking the halls, so I'm guessing their suite was on the same side of the floor. My friend actually waited for a drink pregame, before the servers work the suites, with Cookie(Magic's wife).......I guess even Lakers royalty have to get drinks themselves before the game starts haha.
It really is the most Kobe way to go out.......50 shots......jesus haha. At the beginning of the season I always said we were probably going to see 42 points on 40 shots for his final game, I guess I underestimated him.
I forgot who it was on ESPNLA who said it the day after the game, but I found the quote hilarious. It was something like "You knew a gunslinger like Kobe, knowing it was his final game was going to make sure he shot every bullet and then pulled the trigger a few more times to make sure it was empty"
I don't mind people who don't like Kobe and honestly the people who love him blindly, the "Kobe stans" as the internet calls them, are almost more annoying. I am just glad I got to see 1 of my favorite players for my favorite team go out in his final game.
It really is the most Kobe way to go out.......50 shots......jesus haha. At the beginning of the season I always said we were probably going to see 42 points on 40 shots for his final game, I guess I underestimated him.
I forgot who it was on ESPNLA who said it the day after the game, but I found the quote hilarious. It was something like "You knew a gunslinger like Kobe, knowing it was his final game was going to make sure he shot every bullet and then pulled the trigger a few more times to make sure it was empty"
I don't mind people who don't like Kobe and honestly the people who love him blindly, the "Kobe stans" as the internet calls them, are almost more annoying. I am just glad I got to see 1 of my favorite players for my favorite team go out in his final game.
It was otherwise a meaningless game for both teams. I am glad the Lakers fed him the ball, that is what us fans wanted to see. Utah didn't give him anything though, they played him straight.
I didn't watch the game. I was impressed and slightly amazed when I heard he scored 60 points. I thought to myself *he did everything possible to get himself in peak physical condition for one final epic game, and left it all on the court*. Then I saw that he took 50 shots, lol. And it all snapped back into focus.
They did, but the refs let the Lakers bigs get away with a ton of moving screens........haha even for the NBA
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I didn't watch the game. I was impressed and slightly amazed when I heard he scored 60 points. I thought to myself *he did everything possible to get himself in peak physical condition for one final epic game, and left it all on the court*. Then I saw that he took 50 shots, lol. And it all snapped back into focus.
It was crazy! The only surprising part of that was until the last day of his career he didn't have the most career shot attempts in a game.......haha guess he wanted to set 1 last record on his way out.
To be fair though, he did hit 22 of the 50 shots......which is still a pretty good percentage for a wing player.
