Perennial NBA All-Star and NBA Champion Says Farewell

“He was and is an artist. One with a burning desire to win and a style that shaped a generation of players,” is how NBATV’s Vince Cellini described the 20-year veteran shooting guard that the Los Angeles Lakers acquired the rights for in the 1996 NBA Draft at selection No. 13. He led the historic franchise to multiple titles in his career; he was perennial All-Star selection and he brought an attitude, swagger, focus and commitment to the game that made him this generation’s version of Hall of Famer and NBA champion Michael Jordan. Above everything else, he found a way time and time again to pull himself off the canvass and play the game that he loved from childhood. This past Sunday, this future First Ballot Hall of Famer announced plans for his future.

Lakers’ All-Star guard Kobe Bryant announced in a letter via The Players Tribune website that this season, his 20^th in the National Basketball Association will be his final one and that he will retire at the end of the season.

“But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer…This season is all I have left to give. My heart can take the pounding. My mind can handle the grind, but my body knows it’s time to say goodbye… and that’s OK. I’m ready to let you go,” the 37-year-old said.

“I’m ready to let you go. I want you to know now. So we both can savor every moment we have left together. The good and the bad. We have given each other all that we have.”

That blood, sweat, tears and commitment to the game earned the former star out of Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, PA, who was selected by the Charlotte Hornets 20 years ago and then his rights were traded to the Los Angeles Lakers five NBA titles, one short of Jordan, the player his game and mannerisms are most compared to; 17 All-Star selections, capturing Game MVP honors four times (2002, 2007, 2009 and 2011); 2007-08 NBA MVP; two Olympic Gold Medals; nine NBA All-Defensive First Team selections; 11-time All-NBA First Team selections; two Finals MVPs (2009-2010); 1997 NBA Slam Dunk Champion; two-time NBA scoring champion (2006 & 2007) and became the Lakers all-time leading scorer as well as the 3^rd leading scorer in NBA history.

For all the individual and team accomplishments that Bryant has achieved in his career, he was able to do something above all else, he earned the respect from some of the legends of the game, from the leader of the league himself and even those that he played with or against in the early parts of his career and some players that are playing now.

“With 17 NBA All-Star selections, an NBA MVP, five NBA championships with the Lakers, two Olympic Gold Medals and a relentless work ethic, Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest players in the history of our game. Whether competing in the Finals or hoisting jump shots after midnight in an empty gym, Kobe has an unconditional love for the game. I join Kobe’s millions of fans around the world in congratulating him on an outstanding NBA career and thank him for so many thrilling memories,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement this past Sunday.    

Hall of Famer and NBATV/NBA on TNT analyst Charles Barkley said of “The Black Mamba,” that “It’s been a pleasure and an honor to watch Kobe play all these years.”

Fellow NBATV/NBA on TNT color analyst Reggie Miller, who was at Staples Center on Sunday when the Lakers hosted his former team the Indiana Pacers (12-6), who beat them 107-103 said on NBATV on Sunday night, “All the miles that Kobe has accumulated and to have a stellar career, I just said [referring to what he posted on his Instagram page] congratulations.”

Miller, who Pacers lost to the Lakers in the 2000 Finals in six games also said that in his opinion that Bryant is “the third best guard to ever play the game and that’s behind [Earvin] ‘Magic’ Johnson and obviously Michael Jordan… I always said Michael Jordan had the best fundamentals. If Michael was 1A, Kobe was 1B in terms of fundamentals.”

For many of today’s current NBA players who remember watching the greatness of Bryant in the early stages of his career, their fondest memories are the in game moments.

For current Atlanta Hawks guard in All-Star Kyle Korver, he remembers in a playoff game versus the Lakers when he was with the Utah Jazz, he remembers when Bryant split a double-team of him and then Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko took the shot, got his own offensive rebound and dunked it home. Korver said to Bryant, “That was a pretty good move,” and Bryant replied by saying, “Thanks.”

Washington Wizards All-Star guard John Wall remembers re-called when his team played the Lakers at Staples one year and that he was switched on Bryant and he got passed him, but he recovered and blocked his shot from behind. Moments later though, Bryant got the ball back and hit a three-pointer and said to Wall, “The play goes on young fella.”

Reigning MVP Stephen Curry remembers how he loved just watching Bryant play on the NBA hardwood and the joy he had watching him perform.

His fellow “Splash Brother” teammate Klay Thompson re-called a game where he was guarding the future Hall of Famer in the closing seconds of game at Oracle Arena the crowd was going crazy and Bryant went baseline left and rose for the game-winning jumper that he connected on. Thompson said, “Man. This guy. Kobe Bryant.”

Current Warriors play-by-play announcer Bob Fitzgerald said called Bryant after that game-winning shot, “the ultimate closer.”

One player who got a chance to see the evolution of Bryant’s greatness is current NBATV/NBA on TNT analyst Shaquille O’Neal who was Bryant’s teammate for eight up and down seasons.

He mentioned on Sunday’s edition of NBATV’s “Gametime” that when Bryant was 18-years-old, he told O’Neal that he wanted to win more titles than Jordan and “Magic” and he wanted to make a name for himself in the annals of the league. O’Neal said to Bryant to slow down.

“As the years went on, his game progressed. You see his work ethic progress. You see he started to develop the attitude of a leader and a champion and I think it helped us win three in a row,” O’Neal said of Bryant, who led the Lakers to back-to-back titles from 2000-02.

There was no better example of what O’Neal said of Bryant’s ascent to greatness than in Game 4 of the 2000 NBA Finals, where he hit four crucial shots in overtime, which included an offensive rebound score in the closing moments to give the Lakers the lead and eventually the win in Game 4 that gave them a commanding 3-1 lead. Not bad for a then 21-year-old at that time.

There are a lot of memorable performances that capsule the legendary career of Kobe Bryant. His 81 point performance back on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2006 versus the Toronto Raptors, which is the second-highest scoring performance in NBA history. His 62-point performance in three quarters in a victory versus the Dallas Mavericks. His 61-point performance in a victory at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks, setting at that time a new record for points scored at “The World’s Most Famous Arena.”

There are three moments that stick in my mind about Bryant and his amazing career. On Apr. 12, 2013 versus the Golden State Warriors, he suffered a torn Achilles tendon, which ended his season.

Bryant rehabbed and was able to for the 2014-14 season. On Dec. 17, 2013 at Memphis Grizzlies however, Bryant suffered a lateral tibial plateau fracture in his left knee that supposedly was going to sideline him for six weeks. He ended up missing the rest of the season.

He returned the next season, but it was cut short again on Jan. 21 at the New Orleans Pelicans he sustained a tear to his rotator cuff in his right shoulder after connecting on a two-handed slam dunk. Bryant eventually underwent season-ending surgery.

I highlight these three moments because for many these are the kind of injuries that end careers of many players and for many, they thought that it should have ended Bryant’s career.

It did not, which showed his determination and focus that this was not going to be the end. He did tell ABC “Good Morning America’s” Robin Roberts in an interview this past Wednesday that he was scared that his career was over after the Achilles tear.

This final season now has shown that Bryant is not the same player as he once was. While he is still leading the Lakers in scoring at 16.8 points per contest, it is his lowest average since his second year in the league. He is shooting a career-low 31.1 percent from the floor and is averaging a career-low 3.3 assists per contest, which ironically leads the team.

On top of everything else, the team is just 3-15 so far this season.

This past week however, Bryant has given us some moments that remind the public of his greatness.

In the team’s 107-103 loss this past Sunday night versus the Pacers, Bryant hit two big late three-pointers to keep the Lakers close, but his potential tying three-pointer was an airball, which was a reminder of why he announced prior to the contest that is ready to say goodbye to the game. Bryant scored 13 points on 4 for 20, including 2 for 7 from three-point territory.

Two nights later, Bryant returned to the place where his basketball journey in Philadelphia against the struggling 76ers. It was a playoff atmosphere at the Well Fargo Center for two legendary NBA franchises teams that had two wins combined entering this past Tuesday night’s contest.

Bryant did not disappoint as he went 3 for 3 from three-point range in the opening quarter. Reality came into play as the game went on though as the Laker great finished with 20 points on 7 for 26 from the field, including hitting just 1 for his last 14 from behind the arc as the Sixers (1-19) earned their first victory of the season and snapped a 28-game losing streak dating back to last season, the longest losing streak in the four major U.S. pro sports.

While the Lakers did not earn a victory, Bryant did get a well-deserved honor before the game when he was greeted by Sixers Hall of Famer Julius “Dr. J.” Erving and Gregg Downer, his coach at Lower Merion and they presented him with his former high school jersey with his current Laker No. 24.

“You can’t script this stuff—I can’t,” Bryant, who heard chants of “Kobe!” as he walked off the Sixers’ court for the final time said to reporters after the game. “The amount of respect and appreciation and adoration I have for the city, and to be able to have this moment here, just means everything to me.”

In the second contest of his farewell tour, Bryant fully displayed his greatness when he scored 12 of his season-high 31 points in the fourth quarter as the Lakers garnered their third win of the season with at 108-104 victory at the Washington Wizards (7-9).

Bryant had one of his better shooting nights of this young season going 10 for 24 from the field and shot a respectable 4 for 11 from three-point range.

Midway through the first period, the Wizards honored Bryant with a message on the video boards of the Verizon Center that read, “Thank you for an amazing 20 years.”

Bryant responded by raising his right arm as the audience of 20,356 gave him the first of many loud ovations.

The best of those cheers came when Bryant hit a pull-up jumper, which sent Wizards’ guard Bradley Beal backpedaling that gave the Lakers the lead and eventually the victory.

This last week has also allowed Bryant to do something for the first time in his career that he has rarely done. That is to take in all the appreciation that he has earned.

One of the most difficult things to do as an athlete at any level is to earn the respect and adulation from those that watch you in the stands of an arena to the players you play against especially on their home turf. It is something that Miller said to Bryant at the start of this past week.

“Enjoy this. I know you don’t want it, but you owe it to the fans, for everyone to pat you on the back and say job well done friend,” Miller said on NBATV’s “Gametime” earlier in the week.

What Bryant has learned in this final leg of his basketball journey is that it does not bother him that he has received some negativity about his play from the team not winning at a high rate this season and the last three years to his play on the court.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way. You can’t just sit around expecting everybody to give praise all the time. You got to be able to take the good with the bad,” Bryant said to Roberts this past Wednesday.

“One of the most important things that I can share with the younger generation is to accept it all. Don’t have any expectations or lean on or rely on positive reporting on your career or negative.”

By the numbers, Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest players to every play on the NBA hardwood. He had a work ethic and a demeanor comparable to the great Michael Jordan. Yes Jordan averaged more points career wise (30.1 to 25.3); boards (6.2 to 5.3); assists (5.3 to 4.8) per contest. Yes Jordan won one more title than Bryant (6 to 5); four more MVPs (5-1) and while Bryant made had three more All-Star selections 17-14 and one more All-NBA First-Team selection (11-10), there is one thing that is undeniable, there is no Kobe Bryant without Michael Jordan. Bryant is not a Laker if he did not have the great Earvin “Magic” Johnson to see.

Bryant became great because he saw with his own eyes what it was. What it took to get there and what it took to maintain that greatness.

That is what I saw from when he was a rookie in 1996 to what he has accomplished to this point. That is why I can say without hesitation, he is my favorite NBA player. Why? Because I saw him from the beginning to now. He got better and he did his way and never apologized for it. Above all else he was with the same team his entire career. That is something not many players can say or have done.

It will be a tough day when the career of Kobe Bean Bryant concludes on Wednesday, Apr. 13, 2016 versus the Utah Jazz on ESPN. Until then I along with many fans and critics will be watching to see what happens next.

Information, quotations and statistics are courtesy of 12/1/15 6:30 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by KIA with Matt Winer, Carlos Boozer, Brent Barry and Dennis Scott, reports from Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Reggie Miller; 12/2/15 7 a.m. edition of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” with Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, Amy Robach, Lara Spencer and Ginger Zee; www.espn.go.com/nba/standing; www.espn.go.com;nba/team/schedule/_/name/lal/los-angeles-lakers; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_Bryant.