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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016
Clarion
SPOTLIGHT
SAYING GOODBYE
TO GREATNESS
Love him or hate him, Kobe Bryant has had an impact on the game of basketball throughout his 20 seasons in the purple and gold. He has become an icon who transcended the world of sports and is bar none, the best example of hard work and dedication. Clarion Sports Editor John Michaelides was among the thousands who flocked to Staples Center on April 13 to pay their respects to a Laker legend. BY JOHN MICHAELIDES SPORTS EDITOR
JMICHAELIDES@CCCLARION.COM
D
ear Kobe, Watching you compete the past 20 seasons has been a blessing. You are the reason I aspire to become a sports journalist. You helped a quiet fourth-grader pick up a basketball for the first time after my father raved about this 17-yearold kid that was going to be the next Michael Jordan and win championships for the Lakers. Even with the arrival of Shaquille O’Neal that same summer, I was more fascinated in the “next Michael Jordan.” Growing up a Lakers fan, I was in awe of Jordan, but hated him for always killing the Lakers. I imagined what it would be like to have a player like Jordan on our side. 20 years later, you have exceeded every expectation and then some. And we are happy you were not the next Michael Jordan, you were the Kobe Bryant. When I was 8 years old, I picked up a basketball and haven’t put one down since. Going into fifth and sixth grade, I was already trying to emulate every highlight from your game the night before. I picked up on your mannerisms and tried to play with a swagger, which makes me smile reflecting back on it. I have watched almost every game you have played in and as I got older, I picked up on aspects of the game you were working on, trying to work on them as well. In 2008, when it seemed like you opened the book on every footwork move imaginable, I raced to the nearest park to emulate you. One of my favorite early memories of your career was Robert Horry’s length of the court pass to you with the wraparound dunk against the Nuggets. I will never forget how you guys stormed back against the Blazers in the fourth quarter to reach your first NBA Finals. I remember spending my seventh grade party sitting in a classroom to watch you beat Allen Iverson in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The threepeat was special and fun to watch. To this day, I argue how you deserve as much credit as Shaq for the three-peat. Your numbers speak for themselves. When Shaq went to the Heat, it pissed me off to see him win a ring first after your time together ended. While you were unhappy with the shortcomings of the front office during those three years, I vented about the same things. Lakers fans had your back. We understood. We did not want to see your prime years
John Michaelides Clarion
A swarm of Kobe fans stand outside of Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles for Kobe Bryant’s final home game on April 13. Bryant is retiring from the NBA after 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Courtesy of John Michaelides
John Michaelides and a Kobe Bryant mascot pose at the Staples Center April 13 for the NBA star’s final game.
wasted on a 42-win team. I remember being so frustrated, listening to the trade rumors linking you to the Bulls and Mavericks, but you gave the Lakers one more chance and they pulled through in acquiring Pau Gasol. I am still in awe how seamless you two played together, starting with the very first game against the Nets. Everything changed from there. It was a shame that Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza never made it back healthy that season, because I know you guys would have beaten that Celtics team in 2008. I remember seeing you walk off the floor of the Boston Garden after the 39-point loss in Game 6 with confetti
coming down from the rafters, knowing you would never let that happen again. The next season was my favorite season of yours to watch. Even with Bynum missing a huge chunk of time again, you guys were locked in on your way to 65 wins and the playoffs. And despite the second round scare against the Rockets, I knew you guys would take care of business in game 7. Your 2009 NBA Finals performance against the Magic is my favorite moment watching your storied career. It was a masterpiece: The Black Mamba was born. It was amazing to see the camaraderie you guys had, from Derek Fisher and Pau to DJ Mbenga and Adam Morrison. You got the recognition you finally deserved and a year later, it was only fitting that you would win your fifth and final NBA Championship in game 7 against the hated Celtics. Even in that game when your shot was not falling, you found other ways to push the Lakers to victory. It seemed like you grabbed every rebound in the second half and you trusted Pau and Ron Artest down the stretch. I was at the game that season when you banked in the game-winning three over Dwyane Wade and remember how everyone in the crowd knew that shot was going to go in. Somehow. I practiced that shot dozens of times and playfully held my arms up, pretending to get mugged by Shannon Brown and Sasha Vujacic. Of all the shots I have tried to emulate, I remember the countless ones I
had no chance of ever making like those two three-pointers in 2004 against the Blazers to win the division. I remember 81 points and then the barrage of threes you gave the Raptors again in 2013 to seal a huge win. I practiced every single one of those shots. As the years have went by, I feel like an old man with the wear and tear I have put on my body playing basketball for 20 years at the park copying you. In early April 2013, I was shooting around when I felt a slight tear around my Achilles tendon. I thought, OK, it may be time to give basketball a break for a while. The next week, I was watching you play the Warriors and I could tell you gave your all that night. You were trying to get us into the playoffs in what seemed like a cursed season. I watched you knock knees with Festus Ezeli, I watched you roll your ankle. I kept thinking, ‘Kobe is gonna kill himself trying to get us into the playoffs.’ Late in the fourth, you go down driving against Harrison Barnes and it seemed like the world stopped for Lakers fans. You walk back out on the court hiding any pain you felt to knock down two clutch free throws, all while standing on a torn Achilles. It didn’t seem real. But that is what Lakers fans will always remember about you. Your work ethic and killer instinct are second to none. You never quit and you never looked defeated. Lakers fans could never ask anything more than what you gave us for 20 seasons every night in purple and gold. I hope you know this and I am happy that you finally get an opportunity to sit back and be in awe of what you accomplished. You deserve it. I was outside of Staples Center for your final game celebrating your legacy with other fans and reminiscing on all the moments that have brought us all together to celebrate you. And just when we thought we had seen our hero do it all, you scored 60 points and made the game-winning jumper. You changed so many lives and gave me a belief that you can achieve anything you set your heart and mind to, but you’ve got to want it and work at it. I found my calling in life by learning from you. Through your good times and difficult times, you never faltered. I cannot say enough for what you have meant to me and so many others. Sincerely, A fan you raised.
Clarion
SPOTLIGHT
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016
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Recap: Kobe treats fans with vintage game BY STEPHEN IM STAFF WRITER
SIM@CCCLARION.COM
The energy in the city of Los Angeles has been palpable leading up to Kobe Bryant’s final game of his illustrious career. The fan base that watched him grow from a cocky, often-hated teenager to a five-time world champion who is arguably the best player to play the game bid him adieu April 13 at the Staples Center. But Kobe’s farewell, filled with glitz, glamour, A-list celebrities and sports legends, was not going to be a simple 24-minute appearance with 18 points and two rebounds. It called for a Hollywood ending that even the city’s finest directors couldn’t cook up. The Black Mamba’s 60-point performance may go down as the greatest career-ending game in sports history. His body, which has endured 20 seasons filled with injuries and physical trials, lasted a game high 42 minutes in Wednesday night’s contest. His point totals were simply
astonishing and were reminiscent of vintage Kobe performances. He had 15 points in the first quarter and 22 by the end of the half. Tack on another 15 in the third and add a mind-blowing 23 points and Kobe had singlehandedly outscored the entire Utah Jazz team in the fourth to close out the game. Everyone expected Kobe put on a show but no one knew he would drop a 2015-16 NBA game high point total. ESPN has been jamming Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors breaking the single season record for wins down our throats all season long. This included bumping Kobe’s final game coverage to ESPN 2 instead of the highly touted regular ESPN. But Wednesday night, when the Warriors indeed broke that record, everyone outside of the city of Oakland had their eyes glued to Kobe. It was clear Kobe enjoyed every moment of tribute that the Lakers organization put on to honor him. LA’s own Magic Johnson introduced Kobe prior to tip-off and acknowledged him
as the greatest Laker of all time. After knocking down his 60th and final point of his career, he finished first in minutes played, first in points, second in assists, third in rebounds, and first in steals in Lakers history. He was also named All-NBA First Team 11 times and All-Defensive First team nine times. He said he left all his heart and soul on the court that night. He also left the game in a better place then when he arrived. There is a class of current players that claim Kobe was the player that they aspired to be. And though some argued that Kobe lacked leadership in the locker room, no one argued his work ethic. He wasn’t just an offensive threat, but was feared on both sides of the ball. Being a relentless dual threat is now the NBA standard. Just ask Lebron James, Kawhi Leonard, Blake Griffin and Anthony Davis, who were all just preteens learning the game when Kobe broke into the league. But Kobe’s next move will have many pundits wondering, will he try
his hand in a front office position? Maybe TV analysis, coaching, or possibly ownership one day? His notoriety and legendary status will have potential suitors lining up to land him. But regardless with what he chooses to do with his future, there will be a gaping hole in the Lakers franchise that has been long occupied by the ultimate competitor that has always been championship hungry. It’s clear that the Lakers are in a rebuilding period, but a Kobe-less Lakers team that has no real playoff experience leaves Lakers fans looking to ownership to re-create a championship or bust mentality. The Lakers organization will miss their Black Mamba. As for me, I’ll miss his turn around fade-away jumper with just the perfect amount of touch. I’ll miss his lack of regard for centers guarding the rim. I’ll miss his clutch buzzer beaters that were taken with such confidence that it emanated throughout the crowd. I’ll miss seeing the number 24 centered in purple and gold.
MAMBA BY THE NUMBERS - MOST SEASONS PLAYED FOR A SINGLE NBA FRANCHISE: 20 - CAREER POINTS: 33,643 (3RD HIGHEST IN NBA) - MOST POINTS IN A GAME: 81 (2ND HIGHEST IN NBA) - NBA CHAMPIONSHIPS WON: 5 - NBA FINALS MVP TITLES: 2 - OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALS WON: 2
Farewell Kobe, from a fan BY ERICK CAMACHO STAFF WRITER
ECAMACHO@CCCLARION.COM
K
obe Bryant etched his name among the stars on April 13, as a personified legend whose reach has transcended the boundaries of a hardwood basketball court and into the hearts of an endearing fanbase for two decades. In what marks the single greatest scoring outburst in basketball sports history – Bryant has closed the curtain on what will be a Hall-of-Fame career - a ‘Cinderella story’ that fans across the globe wouldn’t have wanted any other way. For what largely seemed like a night that had a team showout like its 16-65 record, the Los Angeles Lakers thrived under the leadership of Bryant late into the second half, a shine of luster on an otherwise abysmal 2016 season. On a night when the Utah Jazz were numerically eliminated from the 2016 NBA playoffs, a city gathered one final time to pay tribute to the legacy of a man that
captured the hearts of Los Angeles. What a display of heart, tenacity and voracious vitality it was. Bryant capitalized on a career of extraordinary show of bombastic delivery, hoisting an improbable 50 field goal attempts and connecting on 22 of those shots. Critics will be quick to dismay in response to a record-breaking scoreline for a 37-year-old player, revering in the outlandish display that was outlined by the 50 shots he took. This was a career high for the future Hall-of-Famer, beating out Michael Jordan’s 49 shots in a game in the 1993 season. However, the story lies not within the come-from-behind 60-point throttling from the 20-year veteran, but rather the sheer will the Laker legend displayed: an outpouring of every last drop of sweat, heart and emotion to a youthful team of Lakers that needed every point. For a player that has suffered three-season ending injuries within three years, it serves as a testament for fans and players around the world to commemorate the tenacity of a player who showed a resolve as grandiose and spectacular as his last game. Thank you, Kobe.
Photo Illustration: Evan Solano (Clarion) Background courtesy Wikipedia; Kobe Bryant photo courtesy Youtube, used under Creative Commons license