| Photo credit: LA Times |
As we all know by now, Kobe Bryant will be saying good-by to
the world of basketball as earlier this season, he announced his retirement
from the NBA. The fact that he made this announcement during this season saw
many places have sell-out games (trust me, I know the feeling as I tried (and
succeeded) to get a ticket to see him play the Grizzlies in the FedEx Forum for
the last time) for the first time in years. Many final encounters have already
taken place, but here are (to me) the top five final Kobe Bryant games before
his career comes to an end at the conclusion of the 2015-2016 season.
5. Lakers vs Clippers, April 6th (Home)
The Battle of LA will never be the same after this final
encounter against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Lakers will be considered the
home team, but like most games have been thus far this season, practically everyone
will be Kobe fans. It’s clear that the Clippers are the new Kings of Los
Angeles when it comes to basketball, but I have a feeling that he will remind everyone
that no matter what, he will always have a place on the throne with it comes to
Los Angeles basketball loyalty.
4. Lakers vs Spurs February 19th (Home)
One final time…Kobe Bryant vs Tim Duncan. Kobe Bryant vs
Tony Parker. Due to injury, we won’t get to see Kobe Bryant vs Manu Ginobili
due to Manu’s injury. But do you see where I’m going with this? Those men I
mentioned were part of an era of basketball that will be hard to duplicate, due
to the rule changes in the NBA. The Spurs might be “old”, but they can put on a
whooping that very few teams can do, especially during the 2nd half
of the season. The first game for Kobe after the All-Star Break is definitely “End
of an Era” material.
3. Lakers vs Warriors, March 6th (Home)
While I have the last two more of “end of an ear”, this one
is “passing the torch”. Let’s be real, whether purists like it or not, Stephen
Curry is becoming THE face of the NBA. He is leading the charge of a new
generation of stars coming in. Curry is a potential Hall-of-Famer waiting to
happen, while Kobe is an instant (forget first-ballot) shoo-in for the
Basketball Hall of Fame. How cool would it be to see a “passing of the torch”
moment during this last encounter between the past vs the future?
2. Lakers vs Cavaliers, March 10th (Home)
Kobe Bryant vs LeBron James, the match that we got a few
times during All-Star Weekends and during the regular season but NEVER got in
the playoffs. In my honest opinion, this was the biggest moneymaker that the
NBA never had during playoff time. Imagine what could have been: The Black
Mamba against the King in a potential 7-game slugfest to determine who would be
crowned NBA World Champion. But it doesn’t mean their final encounter on March
10th in the Staples Center will be any less dramatic or emotional.
Knowing them, I expect BOTH Kobe and LeBron to put on a show for the fans, with
LeBron paying respect to Kobe on the court as everyone’s watching rather than
wait until there are no cameras on.
1. Lakers vs Jazz, April 13th (Home)
I gotta be honest about this one…the SOLE reason that this
made number one is because this is the season finale for the Lakers…and the
career finale for Kobe Bryant. He will put on the #24 jersey for the final time
in his career and no doubt there will be tears shed by practically everyone in
the building when he heads to the bench for the final time. It would not
surprise me one bit if this contest is televised nationally for the sole reason
that Kobe will no longer be part of the NBA as an active competitor. Once the
clock reaches zero on this game, the Kobe Bryant era will be officially done.
So there you go, that’s my list of the top five Kobe Bryant
games to look forward to before he officially retires. What final game are YOU
looking forward to? Has it already happened? Tweet me at C_Ray1710, or follow
me on Facebook (yes, I decided to open up a Facebook page for my blog. https://www.facebook.com/crayscorner).
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