Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe Bryant’s five best performances
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers are set to retire both Kobe Bryant’s number eight and number 24 jersey on December 18. In honor of the Black Mamba, here are his five greatest performances as a Laker.
Kobe Bryant will easily go down as the greatest player to ever suit up for the Los Angeles Lakers. Los Angeles recognizes that and will retire both his number eight and 24 jerseys in December. Kobe, who only retired two years ago, is already getting legend treatment and will likely see his statue go up around the Staples Center in the coming years.
Bryant went down as perhaps the most beloved Laker of all-time and easily was the most popular player west of the Mississippi of this generation. Because of his smooth stroke and endless skill, Bryant gave the fans many performances to rave home about. Here are five of Bryant’s best performances throughout his career.
5. 60-point retirement game (April 13, 2016)
Sure, the Bryant may have broken the record for the most shots attempted in an NBA game, becoming the only man to hit the half century mark. Sure, his game was not that efficient, as he shot 44% from the field and 28.6% from beyond the arc. However, Bryant did lead his beloved Lakers to a victory in his last ever game with 60 points scored.
At the end of the day, this game did not really matter. It was the Lakers 17 win of the season, making it the worst season in team history. What the game symbolized though, is what really matters. The basketball world was saying goodbye to the best scorer, and perhaps the best player, of the 2000s.
For a lot of younger kids, Kobe Bryant was their Michael Jordan. Kobe took the torch from Jordan and put together a miraculous career. This was the perfect Hollywood ending to such an illustrious career. Only Kobe Bryant can retire after dropping 60 points. In fact, this was even the best final performance in NBA history.
Laker fans did have to move on after this game and accept a Kobe-less Lakers team for the first time since 1995-96. However, for one night, Kobe reminded us all why we love him.