The end of an era came and went last night. He played his last game in Staples Center against the New Orleans Jazz. He was applauded. He was adored. There were tears. There were memories remembered.
Courtesy of: http://www.kobebryant.com/moments/
It was Kobe Bryant’s night, or maybe it was his year. He’s retiring. It was the end of his going-away party, and it was a party that went on the past four and a half months. It was a celebration of a career that was put on a pedestal, deservedly, because he was great. Bryant was greatness personified.
To a kid in 2000, he was a hero. He was what anyone who shot basketball in their backyard likely thought of when they shot a fade-away jumper that probably missed two feet to the left. His mentality was that he was better than you because of how hard he worked, not how gifted he was. You weren’t going to be better than Kobe, because you weren’t going to work harder than him. You couldn’t. He wouldn’t let you.
From a basketball perspective, he was a killer. He would step on your throat and crush you on the basketball court. That was his mentality. That was his persona. That was what he was about. He was going to beat you. He was going to crush you, and if you somehow did beat him, it was because he ran out of time, not because you actually beat him.
The memories were more vivid than ever as he walked off the floor last night at the Staples Center. The shots he hit, the takeovers he had and the refusal to lose he displayed over the past 20 seasons all came rushing to the forefront of our brains.
The game-winner over the Suns in the playoffs in 2000, the 30 points Bryant put up in game seven against the Kings in 2002 and the 2010 game seven victory over the Celtics for the NBA title were at the top of the memory bank. They came rushing back to us faster than we probably intended them to.
He was Los Angeles. He was what the city looked to every time the NBA was around. Sure, he had his issues. Sure, he probably was a jerk at times. Sure, he ran Shaq out of town because he couldn’t share the spotlight, but he was that city. He was the NBA. He was everything great about the game from 2000 to 2010.
Last night was it, however. We saw the epitome of greatness, of hard work and a killer mentality walk off the floor for the last time. Wednesday was the last time we ever got to see number 24, or 8, walk off the floor. Wednesday was the last time we got to see one of the best players to play the game. It was the celebration of Bryant’s illustrious career. Last night was the end of an era, and the end of someone that changed basketball forever. Last night was Kobe Bryan’t last, and while he didn’t go out on top, he went out like the champion he is – not was, is.
