The broken Kobe Bryant bricked his first five shots, yet for the next two hours the Lakers legend kept shooting, shooting, shooting.
It was as if he knew he was aiming at forever.
Once the scoring started, the packed Staples Center crowd began chanting, then cheering, then roaring, constantly roaring, creating the most deafening din in the building’s history.
It was as if they knew this love would have to last forever.
There is a strict rule against cheering in the press box, yet when all the shooting and scoring multiplied into something mystical, a certain columnist jumped to his feet and screamed.
It was as if I knew I would be seeing this forever.
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Kobe Bryant signs the court late into the night at the Staples Center.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant kisses his wife Vanessa long after his last game at the Staples Center.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant leaves the court for the last time as a Laker, heading to the locker room after scoring 60 points and leading the team to a 101-96 win over the Utah Jazz.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant is all smiles after his final game at Staples Center Wednesday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant shares a laugh with former teammate Derek Fisher on the court after scoring 60 points in his last game as a Laker at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant greets Lamar Odom after his final game at Staples Center.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant kisses his wife Vanessa after his final game.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant walks off the court after his final game at Staples Center.
(Christina House / For The Times)
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Lakers Kobe Bryant salutes the crowd at the end of the game.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant waves to the crowd as he walks off the court for the last time at Staples Center. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Lakers Kobe Bryant pauses for a moment as confetti streams down following his last game at the Staples Center. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant salutes the crowd at the end of his final game at Staples Center.
(Christina House / For The Times)
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Kobe Bryant feels the love of the fans at Staples Center following his final game.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Lakers Kobe Bryant and A.C. Green after his final game at Staples Center.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant thanks the crowd after his final game at Staples Center.
(Christina House / For The Times)
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Kobe Bryant waves goodbye to the crowd after his final game at the Staples Center.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Balloons and confetti fall after Kobe Bryant’s last game
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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A security guard stnds alone on the court after Kobe Bryant’s last game at the Staples Center Wednesday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Los Angeles City Hall is decorated with Lakers’ purple and gold lights for Kobe Bryant’s last game.
(Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant is mobbed as he scores 60-points in his final NBA game at the Staples Center.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant gets a slap from comedian George Lopez after making a three-pointer in his final game.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant watches as the ball hits the bottom of the net during his last game as a Los Angeles Laker against the Utah Jazz.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant stretches out as he makes a basket during his final game as a Laker on April 12 at Staples Center.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant drives late in the final minutes of the game at Staples Center.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kanye West and Jay Z greet each other before Kobe Bryant’s final game.
(Christina House / For The Times)
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Kobe Bryant drives the ball in the third quarter of his final game at the Staples Center Wednesday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant tries to steal the ball in his last game as a Laker at the Staples Center Wednesday, April 12.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant shakes hands with Shaquille O’Neal at his final game at Staples Center on April 13.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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The Weeknd and girlfriend Bella Hadid arrive for Kobe Bryant’s final game at Staples Center.
(Christina House / For The Times)
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Kobe Bryant is stripped of the ball by Jazz guard Rodney Hood during first half action at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant drives to the basket during the first half of his final NBA game.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Lamar Odom attends Kobe Bryant’s final game at Staples Center.
(Christina House / For The Times)
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Lakers star Kobe Bryant, center, heads to the locker room after scoring 22 points in the first half of his final game on Wednesday, April 13, 2016, at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant takes a shot in the first quarter of his final game at the Staples Center Wednesday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant blocks a shot by Trevor Booker in his final game at Staples Center on Wednesday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Front row fans, including Jack Nicholson cheer Kobe Bryant after he hits a shot during first half action against the Jazz at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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LOS ANGELES-CA-APRIL 13, 2016: Kobe thanks the crowd before his final game at Staples Center.
(Christina House / For the Times)
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Kobe Bryant is welcomed onto the court for his farewell game at Staples Center on April 13.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant acknowledges the Staples Center crowd during a pregame ceremony.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant with Magic Johnson before Kobe plays his last game as a Los Angeles Laker against the Utah Jazz.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Surrounded by cameras Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson embrace before Bryant’s final game at the Staples Center Wednesday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant waits for introductions before his final game at the Staples Center Wednesday, April 13. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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T-shirts await fans who attend Kobe Bryant’s final game at Staples Center.
(Christina House / For the Times)
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A young girl, sporting Kobe Bryant’s original No. 8 Lakers jersey, bounces a ball on the court before the future Hall-of-Famer’s final game.
(Christina House / For the Times)
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The Lakers store at Staples Center was all about Kobe Bryant and his merchandise on the day of his final NBA game.
(Christina House / For the Times)
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Fans gather outside Staples Center before Kobe Bryant’s final game in a Laker uniform.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Rock star “Flea” rehearses the national anthem before Kobe Bryant’s last game on April 13, 2016, as players warm-up. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans gathered outside Staples Center ahead of Kobe Bryant’s final game with the Lakers.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Lakers fans gather outside Staples Center before the final game of Kobe Bryant’s career.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Chick Hearn Court is packed as fans descend on Staples Cener to witness Kobe Bryant play his last game as a Los Angeles Laker against the Utah Jazz.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Lakers fans get a Kobe chant going outside Staples Center in Los Angeles before Laker great Kobe Bryant’s final game on Wednesday.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Members of a group of Kobe Bryant fans who flew in from China, including Iris Hong of Beijing, right, get excited outside Staples Center for the player’s last game Wednesday.
(Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)
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Fans sign a giant card for Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center before his final game Wednesday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant fans swarm to Staples Center in Los Angeles to show their love for the Laker great at his last game Wednesday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles TImes)
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Kobe Bryant footwear is on display as the Laker Girls arrive for Wednesday night’s game, the basketball star’s last.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles TImes)
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Fans sign a giant card for Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center in Los Angeles before his final game Wednesday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles TImes)
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The magic of Kobe Bryant’s 60-point final game against the Utah Jazz five years ago was so plain, so pervasive, so … astounding, it was as if everyone involved knew the unknowable.
That this would be the lasting memory. That this would be the indelible portrait. That this would be a forever farewell.
Bryant and Los Angeles would come together briefly for a two-jersey retirement ceremony a year later, but never again. He will not hear the cheers at his Staples Center statue unveiling. He will not give a speech at his Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony. He will never have a chance to connect with the crowd on slow walks to his courtside seat for upcoming decades of Lakers playoff games.
His death in January 2020 ensured that the final game of his career would, for most, be the last real vision anyone had of the most glowing athlete in Los Angeles history.
In that, it was absolutely perfect. For that, it was heavenly scripted.
Even though it didn’t involve a championship, it was inarguably one of greatest Lakers moments ever, because it was about something far bigger. It was about the final framing and hanging of a legacy. It was about that priceless chance for one last hug, for one more goodbye.
“I can’t believe this actually happened,” Bryant said afterward. “I’m still in shock about it.”
Kobe Bryant scored 60 points in his farewell game on April 13, 2016. Here’s a look at the game and his legacy.
Five years later, that shock remains.
He threw up 50 shots — 50 shots! — the most in the NBA since they started keeping track of such things more than three decades earlier.
Of his 22 baskets, 18 were made with a defender in his face, and 16 were made without a direct pass, meaning he basically took on the entire Jazz team by himself.
His 60 points were the most in the NBA that season, all scored by a 37-year-old man who could barely move.
Remember that seemingly outrageous two-year, $48.5-million contract he was given at the frail end of his career? Those final hours paid that bill.
“I gave my soul to this game,” he said. “There’s nothing else I can give.”
He actually left everything on the court much earlier, during a farewell season that was a bit of a well-intentioned mess. Once he made his retirement announcement Nov. 29, the Lakers openly dedicated the season to his last ride, giving him the sort of deserved autonomy that allowed him to give the world one last chance to see his greatness in final visits around the league. But in answering the call of history, his presence unwittingly stifled the rest of the team.
Bill Plaschke and Lindsey Thiry describe the scene inside Staples Center as Kobe Bryant scored 60 points in the final game of his 20-year career.
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It’s hard to believe now, but the worst squad in Laker history contained Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. They are all players who have since achieved relative stardom elsewhere, yet playing with Bryant, they never had a chance to jell and grow, as he dominated the ball, the court, and the narrative, and not always gracefully.
That season he was one of the worst shooters in NBA history, one of the worst defenders in the league, yet he still averaged 28 minutes in his 66 games under the direction of ill-fated coach Byron Scott.
By the way, poor Scott. His main job was keeping Bryant happy, and he did, yet after the season he was fired for the results, one of the more unfair decisions in Lakers’ coaching history.
Bryant gave his fans what they wanted with plenty of playing time, but paid dearly for it, and by the time his final game arrived, he was a walking ice pack. While leaving the stage after one of his last news conferences before the finale, his knees knocked and he nearly fell over.
“Man, isn’t this something?” he told me, speaking of the strange, building drama.
Before the final game, despite the presence of hundreds of media and dozens of celebrities, there was no guarantee of any heroics. There was no guarantee Kobe would even play much. Then he missed his first five shots, including throwing up an airball, and the crowd groaned, and it seemed this was going to be a clumsy farewell fit for an awkward season.
Then, Mamba happened.
Kobe Bryant makes a three-pointer against the Jazz during the final game of his career on April 13, 2016, at Staples Center.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe blocked a Trevor Booker layup, and seconds later hit a jump shot. Then another one. And another one. And another one. And then a three-pointer to give him five consecutive baskets, and it was on.
For the next two hours, Bryant waved off the rest of the world and owned the court, owned the crowd, owned the legend. Amid relentless deafening chants of “Ko-be, Ko-be,” Bryant scored from every possible angle, on every conceivable shot, from courtside to layups to how-did-he-do-that? As the Staples Center seats became a dancing mosh pit, Bryant scowled and posed and cursed and scored and, one last time, bared his heart for a city to embrace.
In the beginning it was sweet, then sensational, then, in the fourth quarter, it rose to the level of stunning. Twenty-three points in the final period! Chopped down a 14-point deficit! Won the game, 101-96!
Sometime in those final minutes, overcome with the moment, I stood and screamed. My former coworker J.A. Adande, who was sitting next to me, grabbed my arm and howled.
The only other time the two of us acted so unprofessionally was 16 years earlier, when I pounded my fists and Adande jumped out of his seat when Bryant threw that alley-oop pass to Shaquille O’Neal against Portland in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals.
We had come full circle. Kobe had come full circle. Anyone who followed Kobe for the last 20 years had come full circle, and the game ended with Kobe milestones that will live forever.
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Kobe Bryant kisses his wife Vanessa after the final game of his career on April 13, 2016, at Staples Center.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
His last official basket? It gave the Lakers the lead they never lost.
His last official stat? It was, quite unbelievably, a floor-length assist.
One of his last hugs while wearing a Lakers uniform? He embraced giant courtside fan Shaquille O’Neal.
His last two official words while wearing a Laker uniform and standing on a basketball court? You know this answer. Everyone knows this answer.
Bill Plaschke, an L.A. Times sports columnist since 1996, is a member of the National Sports Media Hall of Fame and California Sports Hall of Fame. He has been named national Sports Columnist of the Year nine times by the Associated Press, and twice by the Society of Professional Journalists and National Headliner Awards. He is the author of six books, including a collection of his columns entitled “Plaschke: Good Sports, Spoilsports, Foul Balls and Oddballs.” Plaschke is also a panelist on the popular ESPN daily talk show, “Around the Horn.” He is in the national Big Brothers/Big Sisters Alumni Hall of Fame and has been named Man of the Year by the Los Angeles Big Brothers/Big Sisters as well as receiving a Pursuit of Justice Award from the California Women’s Law Center. Plaschke has appeared in a movie (“Ali”), a dramatic HBO series (“Luck”) and, in a crowning cultural moment he still does not quite understand, his name can be found in a rap song “Females Welcome” by Asher Roth.
