Special Report: Kobe Bryant’s final season with the Lakers

There was one more show from the player who once scored 81 points and, in a different game, 62 through three quarters.

Kobe Bryant put on quite a show in his final game before retirement Wednesday night at Staples Center.

The big delivery of newspapers was stacked neatly outside the hotel door.

Kobe Bryant finished his 1,556th and final NBA game with a stunning 60 points on 22-for-50 shooting in a 101-96 Lakers victory over the Utah Jazz.

From the way Kobe Bryant shot and shot and shot to the way the night was basically turned into a long Nike commercial, what unfolded Wednesday at Staples Center felt incredibly contrived.

“The Kobe and Shaq Show.”

It has become a mythical tale, one that grows in importance whenever the talk turns to Kobe Bryant’s legendary workout for the Lakers in 1996 and exactly how long it took for Jerry West to know he was watching greatness on the court.

Kobe Bryant logged more than 1,500 games with the Lakers in his 20 seasons and he played for eight head coaches —some for only a few months, one for more than a decade.

Kobe Bryant met with the media after a 60-point performance in the Lakers’ 101-96 victory over the Jazz, and the final game of his career.

Watch George Lopez, David Beckham, Jeremy Piven, Arsenio Hall and others describe their emotions at Kobe Bryant’s final game.

Now that Kobe Bryant has retired, what will the Lakers’ roster look like without him?

The throng had grown to dizzying proportions by late afternoon, thousands upon thousands pressed shoulder-to-shoulder outside Staples Center.

All of them came to celebrate and honor former Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant.

The journey Kobe Bryant has been on for 20 years as one of the best ever to play in the NBA will reach its conclusion Wednesday night at Staples Center.

On Wednesday Kobe Bryant will play in his final game, finishing his 20th season with the Lakers.

Michael Balzary remembers seeing the teenage basketball player for the first time at a movie premiere in Los Angeles, red carpet and all.

For Kobe Bryant’s final game Wednesday as a Los Angeles Laker, he’s (temporarily) unseating a towering figure in California’s history: Pio Pico.

If nothing else, this will always be the last place Kobe Bryant appeared in a playoff game.

Those were harrowing days for the Lakers in the unsettling spring and summer of 2007.

As Kobe Bryant plays out his 20th and final season with the Lakers, The Times has reached out to players, coaches and broadcasters for recollections about his career.

As Kobe Bryant plays out his 20th and final season with the Lakers, the Los Angeles Times has reached out to players, coaches and broadcasters for recollections about his career.

The old footage shows the youngest All-Star starter in NBA history walking toward center court inside Madison Square Garden.

The preservation of Kobe Bryant continues, and at what cost to the Lakers?

If nothing else, Kobe Bryant’s final game against the San Antonio Spurs was entertaining.

Kobe Bryant had taken four questions, including two in Italian, from media members crammed around him inside a hotel ballroom when a reporter from a Toronto radio station placed a shiny red bag on the table in front of the Lakers star and slid it toward him.

Someone actually tried to defend Kobe Bryant in his final All-Star game, refusing to step aside and yield one last magical moment.

Welcome to the end of Kobe Bryant’s career.

The Kobe Bryant tribute video lasted 2 minutes 29 seconds, a sharply produced compilation with kind words from San Antonio players and Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich.

It was like the good old days, Kobe Bryant heating up quickly and yanking the Lakers back into a game.

Kobe Bryant had entertained four questions, including two in Italian, from the mass of about 150 media members crammed around him inside a hotel ballroom when a reporter from a Toronto radio station placed a shiny red bag on the table in front of the Lakers star and slid it toward him.

In 2007, the Lakers engaged the Cleveland Cavaliers in talks, offering a disgruntled Kobe Bryant for LeBron James, according to a report on ESPN.com.

The latest big surprise of the Lakers’ season, other than their calamitous record and Kobe Bryant’s retirement announcement, came in the form of pregame introductions against the Philadelphia 76ers.

It was a fun day with plenty of parades, sunshine and good times during Mardi Gras.

The road games are dwindling for Kobe Bryant, only 13 left before his 20-year career ends.

Lakers Coach Byron Scott said he didn’t get caught up in Kobe Bryant’s vintage performance Tuesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Forward Larry Nance Jr. has been a bright spot on the court for the Lakers this season, but he’s still just a rookie.

The Dallas Mavericks were ahead of the curve.

The Lakers hope to have Kobe Bryant (sore shoulder) back on the court Thursday when the Chicago Bulls visit at Staples Center.

Add Kobe Bryant to the list of those unhappy with the Lakers’ 9-37 record.

The Lakers rarely have entertaining games anymore. They have good quarters. Maybe an entire half.

There used to be chants of “Beat L.A Beat L.A Beat L.A” during the national anthem when Kobe Bryant and the Lakers came here in the early 2000s to play the Portland Trail Blazers.

Before the Lakers played Portland on Saturday night, Trail Blazers Coach Terry Stotts spent his two-minute pre-game press session talking about Lakers guard Kobe Bryant.

Time flies when you score 81 points.

Ten years have passed since Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in one game.

Kobe Bryant was selected by fans as a starter for his 18th and final All-Star game, the NBA announced Thursday Bryant, 37, had 1.9 million votes, easily the most of any player and almost twice as many as LeBron James and Kevin Durant combined.

These are the lost games in a long-ago jettisoned season.

Coach Byron Scott was not amused as the Lakers flew from Orlando to Dallas, leaving behind a two-point loss and unknowingly headed toward an eight-point one.

Buried below the public displays of affection between Kobe Bryant and Jerry West, three younger Lakers quietly scored more than half the team’s points.

In his 20th and final season, Kobe Bryant remains one of the most popular players in the NBA.

The gifts continued to come for Kobe Bryant.

It was bad to be a trash can if Kobe Bryant was mad.

Kobe Bryant will not play all 82 games. Unfortunately, the Lakers will.

Kobe Bryant will vacillate often, surely, but the question will always be in the background: Is this his final season or will he return to the Lakers for one more year?

Kobe Bryant was back Tuesday night and then he was gone again before the first half was over, his strained right Achilles’ tendon too sore for him to continue playing.

It started at Inglewood High. Did it ever.

With 13.1 seconds left in the game Friday night and the Lakers down, 115-113, to one of the NBA’s best teams, Kobe Bryant drove hard to the right side of the basket, guarded by Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Kevin Durant.

Kobe Bryant would consider returning to the Lakers, he said Tuesday. No, he’s not unretiring.

Kobe Bryant would consider returning to the Lakers, he said Tuesday. No, he’s not unretiring.

The big first surprise of the Lakers’ season, other than their 2-14 record, came in the form of pregame introductions in Philadelphia.

Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star LeBron James blames himself for depriving the NBA of a showdown between Kobe Bryant and James in the 2009 Finals.

The producers at The Players’ Tribune knew they had a big story when Kobe Bryant chose their small but emerging website to announce his impending retirement.

Doc Rivers isn’t contemplating rocking chairs, gold watches or any other farewell gift for the last time the Clippers play host to Kobe Bryant.

Kobe Bryant’s decision to retire brings to a close one of professional basketball’s most storied careers.

Kobe Bryant said he will not be shedding any tears. At least not publicly.

Kevin Durant doesn’t approve of the amount of criticism Kobe Bryant has received this season from the media.

Fans who want Kobe Bryant’s “Dear Basketball” letter that was handed out at Staples Center before Sunday’s Lakers game might have to pay a pretty penny.

For better and for worse, Kobe Bryant has been synonymous with the Los Angeles Lakers for 20 years.

Kobe Bryant delighted in putting himself through as much pain as possible.

The realization came while Kobe Bryant was meditating.

On Sunday, Kobe Bryant announced his intention to retire after his 20th season with the Lakers.

While Kobe Bryant warmed up before the Lakers’ game against the Indiana Pacers Sunday night, the fans inside Staples Center stood and took pictures and videos of the NBA superstar who had announced a few hours earlier that this will be his final season.

Lakers All-Star guard Kobe Bryant announced that the current NBA season will be the final one of his storied career.

Photos from the Lakers’ 107-103 loss to the Pacers at Staples Center Sunday night.

Kobe Bryant announced Sunday he will retire after this season, his 20th in the NBA.

When Lakers fans arrived at their seats on Sunday at Staples Center for the game against the Indiana Pacers, a letter from Kobe Bryant was waiting for them.

On the night Kobe Bryant announced that he will be retiring at the end of the season, Lakers center Roy Hibbert was having his own special moment.

Kobe Bryant announced that this will be his last season in the NBA in a poem he wrote for the Players’ Tribune that was released hours before Sunday’s game.

Kobe Bryant made the announcement in a post on The Players’ Tribune on Sunday afternoon.

The pump fakes began in earnest when Kobe Bryant got stuck with the ball against Denver this month.