The last night of the NBA season can either be an extreme bore, if all playoff berths and seedings are locked up and the majority of teams decided to rest their players, or the final night can be special.
Usually a special closing night of the regular season is a result of a division crown or a final playoff spot being on the line. For example the time Kobe hit a deep three pointer at the buzzer in double overtime on the final night of the season in 2004 to give the Lakers the Pacific Division title, or last year when the two seed through the six seed were up for grabs in the western conference and the final playoff seed was for the taking between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Wednesday’s season finale seems even bigger though. We will see the Warriors attempt to set a new mark for wins in a season at 73 and at the very same time one of the 10 greatest players to ever play the game of basketball will play his final game in front of the home crowd. The same crowd he has played for for the past 20 years.
The Warriors-Grizzlies game will be aired on ESPN while the Lakers-Jazz game will be aired on ESPN2.
I have a feeling Kobe’s last game will have a lot more drama and raw emotion as the Staples Center will be buzzing. A highly motivated and emotional Lakers team could potentially eliminate the Jazz from playoff contention on the final night. Meanwhile it feels as though the Warriors game will be nothing but a two hour long coronation for a team that has already conquered its toughest challenge en route to history.
Obviously most NBA fans will switch back and forth between both of these historic and fascinating contests, but the question remains, would you rather watch Kobe ride off into the sunset or the Warriors reach heights the basketball world has never seen?
Either way, Wednesday night will be a memorable one.
