There was a unique mix of futility, history, adulation and reflection emanating throughout the Wells Fargo Center Tuesday as the 2-14 Los Angeles Lakers battled with the 0-18 Philadelphia 76ers.
The Sixers were trying not to set a new record for the worst start in NBA history by falling to 0-19 and the official Kobe Bryant farewell tour began where it all started for the Philly bred kid (he also lived in Italy growing up) in what made a Tuesday night matchup between the two worst teams in the NBA much more meaningful and special than it could have ever been otherwise.
At the end of the night, everybody went home happy. Kobe had his best game in weeks and started the game hitting a trio of three pointers and illuminating the Philly crowd, he would finish with 20 points, five rebounds and two assists. The 76ers avoided the stench of having the worst start in NBA all to themselves, by escaping with a 103-91 victory, led by Robert Covington’s 23 points, and the Lakers organization got what they wanted deep down inside another loss to help in their case of landing a top three pick so they don’t have to ship the pick off to these same 76ers.
The Kobe Bryant farewell tour will make its next stop in Washington tonight and the 76ers can move on now and focus on trying to improve as a basketball team.
