LOS ANGELES -- Playing in the last game of his 20-year career, Kobe Bryantput on a show for a sold-out Staples Center crowd one final time, pouring in a season-high 60 points and steering his team to a 101-96 comeback win over theUtah Jazz on Wednesday night.
After outscoring the Jazz by himself 23-21 in the fourth quarter, Bryant checked out with 4.1 seconds left, serenaded by "Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!'' chants.
"I can't believe how fast 20 years went by. Man, this is crazy," Bryant, an 18-time All-Star, said while addressing the crowd after the game. "This is absolutely crazy ... and to be standing at center court with you guys, my teammates behind me, appreciating the journey that we've been on -- we've been through our ups, been through our downs. I think the most important part is we all stayed together throughout."
Bryant spoke about growing up a "die-hard Laker fan" and the trade that led to him spending 20 years with the organization and winning five NBA championships.
"You can't write something better than this," he said.
Bryant went on to say that he took pride in the down years "because we didn't run. We played through all that stuff, and we got our championships, and we did it the right way."
Bryant attempted 50 shots Wednesday night, the most taken by anyone in an NBA game in the past 30 seasons, according to Stats LLC. It was the sixth 60-point game of his career and marked the most points scored by a player in his final regular-season game. No Hall of Famer reached 30 points in his final game, with John Havlicek's 29 in 1978 leading the way.
"What's funny -- the thing that had me cracking up all night long -- the fact that I go through 20 years of everybody screaming to pass the ball, and then the last night they're like, 'Don't pass it!'" Bryant said, laughing.
"All I can do here is thank you guys," he told the crowd. "Thank you guys for all the years of support. Thank you guys for all the motivation. Thank you for all the inspiration."
"What can I say? Mamba out," Bryant said with a smile in closing.
0 comments:
Post a Comment