On Wednesday, it felt just like any other day. The sun came up with the promise of a new day, and I went to class just like I always do before carrying on. But there was just something about it that felt like something monumental was happening.
Was it the fact that the Warriors had a chance to win 73 games? Was it the fact the Stanley Cup Playoffs were starting? I was not sure what to think. Eventually, I came to realize that it would mark the last ever game that Kobe Bryant would ever play in his NBA career. The tributes were out in full swing from the NBA, ESPN, the Lakers--you name it--from the very beginning.
Everyone has their favorite Kobe memories and least favorite. But I’m here to talk about all the good times that Kobe created.
When I was a young kid, roughly nine or ten, I started to get into the NBA and Kobe was everywhere. I always watched Laker games whenever I could get them and witnessed Kobe when he was in a transition period of his career. Shaq had just left LA, and Kobe was now the de-facto leader of the Lakers team that featured some quite frankly unspectacular players such as Smush Parker and Kwami Brown--names that make you cringe if you were a Lakers fan in those days.
I will never forget the night he scored 81 points against Toronto in 2006. When I heard about what he did, I was amazed at how someone other than Michael Jordan could score that many points. Now, naturally, the Toronto Raptors were not quite as a good opponent as when Jordan put up big points against the New York Knicks of the 90’s, but it was still an amazing feat.
My other favorite memory of Kobe would be when he won his last two championships against the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics. After constantly hearing how he couldn’t win without Shaq to help him, Kobe was able to pull the team together and win back-to-back championships. That just shows the kind of player that he was and many, myself included, thought Kobe finally learned to trust his teammates to win just as Michael Jordan did. I thought Kobe would win two more titles as a Laker before he retired.
Sadly, it was never meant to be.
What Kobe means to my generation is what Michael Jordan meant to the kids of the previous generation. Kobe came into the league the year I was born, so he was there for as long as I have been alive. Seeing him finally retire is the end of an era. The end of memories that young kids like me grew up with.
Thank you, Kobe Bryant, for everything you’ve done for my generation. Your star will always shine just a little bit brighter, even with guys like Lebron and Steph Curry becoming the faces of this generation. While the end is here, I will take all those memories with me as I slowly transition to the adult world and treasure them forever.
