Los Angeles Lakers: 10 best moments of 2010’s

4. Kobe scores 60 points in his final game in 2016

Just like the rest of his career, Kobe’s final performance with the Lakers in the Staples Center was legendary. If anyone was going to put on that type of scoring performance in the last hurrah it was going to be Bryant, who had previously scored 60 points five other times in his career.

His 60-point performance also had an extra bonus because he one-upped Michael Jordan with five 60-point games in their respective careers. The only player who has more 60-point performances than Bryant is Wilt Chamberlain with a staggering 32.

This moment is arguably one of the best sports moments of the decade let alone a Lakers franchise-best moment. It was not like going out as a champion but scoring 60 in the final game of a career might be the next best thing.

He was not just chucking up shots in garbage time, either. The Lakers needed every point of Kobe’s 60 to win, 101 to 96. Their opponent was not even a bottom-feeding team. The Jazz finished 40-42 that year and were a middle-tier Western Conference team with more talent than the Lakers that season.

The lasting image of this game was the Staples Center going into a near riot when Bryant started exploding in the fourth quarter. Celebs like Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, and even Shaquille O’Neal were shown celebrating and looking bewildered at what they were witnessing.

Kobe’s final scoring outburst could not have been more fitting for his career. He shot a total of 50 times, but somehow still had an efficient 44 percent shooting percentage. This night proved that no matter what age, when Kobe is in the zone, just get out of his way and watch greatness unfold.