The Kobe Bryant farewell tour is down to its final six games, and it is becomingly more and more apparent that these are the final two weeks we will ever see the maniacally competitive legend ever grace an NBA court or any court for that matter on a professional level.
Even though Kobe didn’t necessarily have an individual rival in the way that Magic had Bird or Russell had Wilt, throughout his 20 year career there were a few teams that he and his Lakers had intense rivalries with: the San Antonio Spurs, the Phoenix Suns and the classic Lakers rival the Boston Celtics.
The Black Mamba played the Celtics twice in the NBA Finals, splitting a couple of classic series with the other hallmark franchise of the NBA and earning his fifth and final title of his career by triumphing against the Celtics team he couldn’t conquer just two years before.
You could see then why Kobe was amped up to play the green and white, shamrock embroidered jerseys one last time on his home court.
Although the Lakers would lose 107-100 and suffer their 60th loss in a season for the first time in their franchise history, a banged up Kobe was able to muster 34 points in 33 minutes.
Here is a quote from Lakers Head Coach Byron Scott on Kobe’s intensity level and focus for his final tangle with the Celtics:
https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/716977780177641472
Kobe became the third oldest player in NBA history to drop 30 in a game against the Celtics.
Kobe Bryant is the 3rd-oldest player in the last 50 years to put up a 30-Pt game vs the Celtics. pic.twitter.com/WrGgfRQ86u
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 4, 2016
Here are some highlights of the Mamba’s performance:
In his final game vs. @celtics, @KobeBryant put on a show for the home crowd scoring a game high 34 points. #KB20 ?https://t.co/JjCM3JZySU
— NBA Canada (@NBACanada) April 4, 2016
Although I admittedly have never been a big Kobe supporter myself, as a fan and historian of the game of basketball it was special to see him deliver a throwback performance in his last game against the Celtics. One can only hope that Kobe has a little magic left in him for his final six games.
