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Tonight marked the final curtain call of one of the most iconic shows in sports history spanning 20 years of monumental glory and tragedy with 1566 appearances in the limelight. Tonight the world witnessed the end of an era that was defined by a single man’s career in all its highs and lows. April 13, 2016 will forever be enshrined in history as the night when Kobe ‘Bean’ Bryant penned his last words on the final page of a remarkable career that exemplified an entire generation of basketball, scoring 60 points on 44 percent shooting in an epic comeback victory over the Utah Jazz in which he showcased a stretch of 17 straight clutch points for the Lakers in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to give his team its final lead of the season and the ultimate finish to his career.
But let me start off by saying I hate Kobe Bryant. I hate him with a spite that would put to shame a liberal college student’s contempt of Donald Trump. No sports rivalry, not even the Yankees vs. Red Sox, the Lakers vs. Celtics in the 80’s, the Patriots vs. Colts of the 2000’s, or the Leafs vs. Habs could level the amount of hate I bear towards Kobe Bryant. While Kobe served as the unquestioned sports hero of my generation, there was nobody in the history of the NBA I hated more than Kobe Bryant and he was, and still is to this day, my childhood sports villain.
As a kid who grew up idolizing Allen Iverson, watching all of his games, studying his play, and wanting to be exactly like The Answer, my dislike for Kobe turned into a seething hatred when the Lakers annihilated any chance for Iverson to ever win an NBA championship. I was only three-years-old at the time and had just heard of Allen Iverson and wanted A.I. to win a ring so badly. So for the rest of time, I blamed Kobe and company for the one major gaping void in Allen Iverson’s decorated Hall of Fame career. Up until that point, however, Kobe was the rising icon of the young generation’s basketball world and he was the first professional basketball player I ever heard of.
Drafted a year before I was born, Kobe Bryant made waves in the basketball world by declaring for the NBA draft directly out of high school and proving to be a force to be reckoned with in his first two years in the league, projecting the immense potential of the next 18 years. By 1999, Kobe became a household name everywhere, especially in Southern California where the beloved Lakers were once again rising to prominence behind their young burgeoning star. I had barely begun to learn the game of basketball and so I didn't have much of an opinion on Kobe and the Lakers at the time and it wasn’t until 2001 that I really began to hate Kobe. From that point on, my favorite team besides Iverson’s 76ers was whatever team the Lakers were playing that night.
No amount of points, clutch baskets, highlight dunks, or championship rings could impress me as I vehemently antagonized every minute of Kobe’s career: downplaying every accomplishment and accolade, criticizing every detail of his game, and rejoicing in every loss.
I didn’t hate Kobe because I thought he was a bad player or because he was the best player on the rival team. I’m a student of the game and a fan of basketball without bias. I understood very well just how gifted and talented Kobe was and appreciated his greatness all the while. What I hated was just how great he always was from day one. How he played every game with a chip on his shoulder as if it was the last game of his life. How he scored relentlessly almost without effort in the most important moments of the game. How he controlled and dictated every bit of the game when he set foot on the court. How his name rang through every gym and playground across the world. How his shoes found themselves on the feet of every basketball player and fan. How he scored 81 points in one game. How he outscored an entire team through three-quarters with 62 points of his own. How he spent the last 20 years completely dedicating his life to the game of basketball and enduring the debilitating effects of the accelerated aging body of a professional athlete, yet continued to display performance after performance of a championed warrior even after eclipsing the age of 35. How at the age of 37, he proved that he indeed was a different animal and the same beast. How he single-handedly changed the game of basketball forever in his own way.
I hated Kobe because he dominated the conversation of best player in the world when I did not believe he was. I have always believed that LeBron James is a better all-around player than Kobe in terms of basketball IQ and performance but there’s no question that Kobe’s career is on a pedestal of its own. Beyond that, Kobe plays the game with such poetry and grace that purifies the sport with every minute he blesses the basketball court with his presence. I hated that my choice for best player in the world, LeBron James, could not emulate the same suave and elegance that his rival and my most hated athlete displayed night in and night out on the court. I guess I hated that Kobe played the game the way that I had always envisioned perfectly crafted basketball to be played. He was the only player I ever saw play the game that way and it bothered me. It bothered me because I wanted my idols and my favorites to play in such a way. I hated it because not only did he play with charm and fluidity, he played with the mentality of a lethal weapon that eliminated Hall of Famers left and right on his way to putting banners up on his home court. Kobe Bryant was the perfect mixture of beauty and power on the court that will never be reciprocated ever again.
I hated Kobe Bryant. I still hate Kobe Bryant. However, I no longer hate Kobe Bryant for crushing my idol’s championship dreams nor do I hate him for his everlasting greatness. I hate him for no longer giving me someone to root against every single game. I hate him for leaving the game and ending my childhood experience with basketball. I hate him for no longer being a standing testament to the drive of a champion and the heart of a warrior. I hate him for ending what has been the greatest professional career of any athlete I have ever witnessed.
Kobe Bryant was the reason I picked up a basketball in the first place. He was the reason why I fell in love with the game. He was always the first name that came to mind when I heard the word ‘basketball.’ Kobe has always been and always will be my childhood sports villain but tonight I was given the opportunity to appreciate the prominence of arguably the greatest player to ever set foot on a basketball court for one last time.
Mr. Kobe Bryant, I would like to thank you for allowing me to cheer you on for the first time in my entire life in your final game. You put on the most memorable basketball performance I’ve ever seen and I will always appreciate all that you have done for the game of basketball. Thank you for being the most loved villain in the game. #MambaOut.
