We Bid Farewell to the Black Mamba
- By Shaki N. Wilson
- Apr 13, 2016
- 2 min read
Wednesday April 13, 2016 is Mamba Day. The sports world gets one last look at the legend that is Kobe Bean Bryant when he plays his last game against the Utah Jazz.
The Los Angeles Laker legend will don his number 24 for the last time in the Staples Center, a place where he helped to restore championship basketball and carved his niche as an ultimate competitor and ruthless assassin, just like the reptile for whom he is aptly nicknamed.
Bryant, who played his entire 20-year career with the Lakers, will leave the game as the third all-time leading scorer, trailing only fellow Laker great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. He is the Lakers' all-time leading scorer and a five time NBA world champion. Bryant was named Finals MVP in 2009 and 2010 and will in the near future have his number(s) retired and a statue outside his second home.
Bryant took over the leadership role after the Lakers traded Shaquille O'Neal in 2005. The much talked about rift between the two megastars ended what started out to be a perfect pairing of guard and center. Both arrived at Los Angeles in 1996, O'Neal via free agency and Bryant by a draft day trade with the Charlotte Hornets. Together they won three consecutive titles from 2000-02 and made another Finals appearance in 2004. After Bryant was accused of rape in Colorado, it was reported that he called out O'Neal for being out of shape and went to management to convince them that he was the future of the Lakers.
With the return of Phil Jackson as head coach and shrewd additions like Pao Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom and Meta World Peace, the Lakers regained the prominence and captured back-to-back titles. In between those moment, Bryant made some of the greatest individual performances in league history. There was his 61 points at Madison Square Garden, the most by any visiting player; his 55 points against Michael Jordan in meeting during Jordan's farewell season; Bryant scored 62 points against the Dallas Mavericks and didn't play the fourth quarter. And who can forget the 81 point barrage against the Toronto Raptors, the second most points by a player in NBA history.
His attitude wasn't always enduring and confidence boarded on the cocky side. Whether you liked him or not, he didn't care. It was that thinking that led Bryant to work extremely hard and become one the greatest to ever bounce a basketball. The fire that burned within helped to resurrect a franchise. His legacy will live forever and that is unquestioned. After 20 years it's time to farewell to the Black Mamba.
photo courtesy science-all.com
Comments