A couple weeks ago I was at my little brother's basketball game, and before it was about to begin there was a bunch of ten-year-old kids just shooting around. I saw one pull up from three, and heard him yell, "Curry!"

I'd never heard that before, and it scared me.

I'm a Celtics fan, always have been, and always will be. Therefore, I hate the Lakers. I was crushed when Boston lost to Los Angeles in 2010 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. The 2008 victory was unbelievable, but the Lakers got the last laugh of that era a couple seasons later, as Kobe Bryant's 5th, and final championship, was against the Celtics. That was a tough year for Celtics fans and made me hate the guy even more.

Fast forward to this year, 2015-2016, and you have Kobe's last, still as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. This is his 20th season playing professional basketball. Drafted right out of high school to the Charlotte Hornets, at 17 years old he couldn't even sign his very first contract. On July 1st, 1996, less than a month after I was born, Kobe's draft rights were traded to the team he grew up in Italy loving the team he had worked out with prior to the draft, and the team I grew to hate; the Lakers.

Wednesday, April 13th, Bryant will play his last game in a Lakers uniform, at home at the Staples Center. He'll put up his last shots as a professional basketball player without a looming playoff run, or chance to claim his 6th Championship, a feat that would match Michael Jordan, and that has eluded him over the years. He will get a loud, faithful home crowd that will cheer him all night long no matter the game score or his performance. Kobe will go into the locker room that last time as a member of the Lakers on Wednesday, one of the greatest to ever play this game. Simply a Legend.

The accolades are outstanding; 5 NBA championships, 2 Finals MVP's, an MVP award, 18 NBA All-Star Game appearances, 2 scoring champions, the list goes on and on.

But Kobe Bryant is more than number and awards. His impact on not only the NBA, but on basketball and the culture, is what stands out the most.

When I was growing up, I was never too great a basketball, but I played. The beginning stages of my life were the beginning stages of his career. Kobe won a dunk contest before I turned a year old. By the time I was 4, Kobe was starting his three-peat run with Shaq. He was the driven, young talent wearing number 8, and as I got old enough to play organized basketball and be able to pay attention to the NBA, he was already one of the best. Everyone looked up to him, and even growing up in the Boston area, everyone who would take a step back three screamed, "Kobe!"

Even in a place where the home team had battled the Lakers for so many years, and would eventually lose to them again in the Finals, we still all paid homage to Bryant on the blacktop. He was great, and you wanted to be like him. You only took step-back threes because Kobe did. You only shot threes because Kobe did. The only reason you would buy a Lakers jersey around here would be because it had the number 24 on the back.

But on Wednesday, April 13th, 2016, almost exactly 20 years after he was drafted, Kobe will finish his illustrious career. Kids these days didn't grow up with Kobe Bryant, just as I didn't grow up with Jordan. They have Steph Curry to look up to. I'm about to turn 20 years old, and Kobe is about to retire. It seems like just yesterday that the Celtics were beating the 2008 MVP in the Finals. It seems like just yesterday Kobe had a chance of capturing his 6th ring. But time goes by, and nothing lasts forever.

While kids playing basketball nowadays may be yelling another name as they jack up a three-point shot, the era has changed, but the memories and respect for Kobe Bryant are not gone. He will leave the league still in discussion as the greatest of all time. Even though I grew up hating you and your team, I respect you. So from one Boston kid, who will be sad to see you go,

Thank you, Kobe Bryant.