Allen Iverson. Marcus Camby. Stephon Marbury. Ray Allen. Antoine Walker. All these players once were drafted ahead of Kobe Bryant in arguably the greatest NBA draft of all time. All these players once were considered the best the NBA had to offer. Come Wednesday night, Kobe will join these players in retirement.
And that is why people need to watch Kobe in his last game against the Utah Jazz.
Kobe’s retirement not only signifies the end of one of history’s best career, it also displays a shift from one era of basketball to the one today. His draft class and the years he played during his prime — the late 1990s to the early 2000s — were known for their gritty, hard-nosed style of play. Most of the teams had to win through scrappy defense and systematic offenses. Nowadays, with the change in NBA rules and ideals, scrappy defense and systematic offenses often don’t cut it. Teams need a three-ball and fastbreak offense implemented into their style of play in order to win games, not tough defense and excellent offensive strategies.
While history may be made with a Golden State victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, Kobe’s retirement presents us with so much more than history. Kobe’s retirement carries all the emotions of the fans that have followed the NBA for so long. The five-time NBA champion and one-time NBA MVP was once one of the most hated players to play in the league because of his cocky attitude and promiscuous behavior outside of the court. But, love him or hate him, everyone respected his game — coaches and fans included. Nobody will get close to Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 point game, but Kobe got the closest with 81 points against the Raptors in 2002. His three-peat NBA championship title with Shaquille O’Neal and coach Phil Jackson was hefty accomplishment to do once, and Kobe almost did it again in 2008 to 2010.
Golden State’s record-breaking season, while one of the most impressive records of all time, is only one season in the making and doesn’t compare to the legend of Kobe’s 20 seasons. Although for the past few years he hasn’t been the most productive player on the Lakers, he was always a threat. That’s why people to this day still yell out “Kobe!” when they go to shoot a crumpled paper into the trash bin.
If anything, get some dual screen action going so that you can watch both games at once.