Los Angeles Lakers: 30 greatest individual performances in team history: 13. Kobe Bryant has an unbelievable curtain call
It was both unbelievable and incredibly emotional. After 20 years of dominating the league, Kobe Bryant’s run had finally come to an end.
Unfortunately for Los Angeles Laker fans, Bryant’s year wouldn’t end in a postseason run as they finished with the second worst record in the league at 17-65. Still, the Staples Center was jam-packed with stars who wanted to see if Bryant could pull off a bit of magic one final time. Boy did he ever.
Although he struggled all season long, including connecting on a career-low 35.8 percent from the field, Bryant absolutely torched the Utah Jazz. He scored an outrageous 60 points, by far the most by a player in their final game.
In the Jazz, it wasn’t as if they were taking it easy on him. They were desperate for a win as a playoff berth was on the line. Bryant though, couldn’t care less. It was the definition of a vintage performance as Bryant lit the scoreboard up one final time. He may have taken a career-high 50 shots in the process but it was the perfect way to end a career of an all-time great.