Kobe Bryant trudged back to the Los Angeles Lakers' locker room after another loss in the early 2015-16 season. This one was at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers, after opposing guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum dropped 29 and 28 points, respectively.
It was the the 13th loss of the 15 games the Lakers had played, and LA was held to 96 points. Kobe shot just 7-20 from the field, and 1-5 from three. He only had two assists and two rebounds, with a +/- of -12. It was also the beginning of one of his worst seasons so far, and he had dealt with big injuries the previous two seasons, playing only 41 games.
It was clear Kobe was nearing the end, and he acknowledged his condition and physical state, saying, "It's tough. After almost 20 years it's tough. The legs aren't what they used to be. But I just continue to fight through and take the opportunities when they are there."
He also talked about Lillard and McCollum becoming faces of the league in the future.
In a way, he ended his NBA chapter of his life and began his next chapter all at the same time. He announced his retirement via the Players' Tribune, writing a poem titled 'Dear Basketball'.
This eventually was made into an animated short, and Kobe won an Oscar because of it, winning 'Best Animated Short Film'.
Bryant retired after 20 years with the LA Lakers, the only team he ever played for, except the West All-Stars. Kobe was selected to the NBA All-Star game 18 times, and got All-Star MVP four times. He was named NBA Finals MVP two of the five times he won a championship.
He was an underrated defensive player, and was named to the All-Defensive Team 12 times, and averaged 1.9 stocks (steals + blocks) in his career. He won NBA MVP in the 2007-08 season, and became the first player to have two jerseys retired by the same team.
He averaged 25 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game in his 20 years. He shot 48% from two point shots, and 33% from three pointers in his career.
Fun facts about Kobe Bryant:
- Kobe was the youngest player to start an NBA game.
- He wakes up at 4 am after his retirement, "to do something phenomenal".
- He invested $6 million in BodyArmor and made over $200M in return.
- He's leading the charge for a company/brand called AOS (Art of Sport), a line of skincare products.
- He was named after a japanese steak.
- He won two Olympic Gold medals.
- He scored 81 points, the second highest in a game, second to Wilt Chamberlain's 100.
- His full name is Kobe Bean Bryant.
- He is third on the all time scoring list, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone.
- He speaks three languages, English, Spanish and Italian. Pau Gasol and Kobe often spoke Spanish so opponents wouldn't know what they were planning.
'The Most Disrespected NBA Superstar Part IV: In Conclusion' coming tomorrow.