LeBron on Kobe: “I wanted to be just like him”

Unfortunately, Kobe Bryant doesn’t have much left in the tank, and has, as we all know, announced that this will be his final year.

Bryant’s return to his native Philadelphia was an unsuccessful one on the court, despite the retiring Lakers star scoring 20 points.

Prices for the Lakers’ last game have almost tripled to $1,388.60 in the 14 hours since Bryant announced his retirement, according to ticket price tracker TiqIQ. “And finally, I just had to accept the fact that I don’t want to do this any more”, Bryant said.

Playing with the shot selection of a pickup artist, Bryant tried to deliver a special performance in his finale. Unfortunately for those wanting that matchup, the Orlando Magic, behind a 3-point blitzkrieg that seems oddly like foreshadowing now, crashed the party.

“He may be thinking outside the box of doing something with his own company”, Lakers coach Byron Scott said about Bryant. Like he really forgot that he was about to see him in like three weeks in LA! Second-overall pick D’Angelo Russell will face off against Jahlil Okafor, who was selected immediately after him. But the 37-year-old’s effort was in vain, and his final numbers were just 7-for-26 from the floor. The night belonged to Bryant.

James spoke for minutes without pause after being asked for his reaction to Bryant’s announcement, and recalled the Kobe posters that hung on his bedroom wall and the time Bryant gave him a pair of sneakers to wear in a high school tournament.

Downer and Julius Erving were part of the pregame ceremony, handing Bryant a Lower Merion jersey.

Thanks Kevin, but please, tell us how you REALLY feel.

Bryant even smirked in the third quarter when a brief scuffle broke out among Lakers center Roy Hibbert, who appeared to push a referee, and Philadelphia’s Isaiah Canaan and JaKarr Sampson. When the game ended, the crowd could be heard chanting “Kobe, Kobe” and Bryant acknowledged the cheers and love showering down from the rafters. “A decision like this, you can’t make that decision based on outside circumstances”. Those things honestly mean the most to me.

But eventually, Bryant’s night mimicked the reality of his final National Basketball Association season. After winning five titles, and becoming one of the greatest players in basketball history, it is a massive decision, and for many, the correct one.

Durant and Bryant have been teammates in numerous Western Conference All-Star teams, as well as in Team USA during the 2012 London Olympics.