Kobe Bryant shocked Byron Scott with in-game retirement declaration

The frenetic vibes of the Kobe Bryant goodbye tour dissolved for a few hours Friday. But then an announcement blared over the loudspeaker as the Atlanta Hawks soon played a minute-long video on their scoreboard on Friday at Philips Arena. The visiting Lakers began the night by missing their first ten shots, including three from Bryant, and that allowed Atlanta to control things from the jump.

“We played well, came out in the second half and competed well and got within striking distance”, Bryant said.

Most of the world found out Bryant was retiring via a poem he wrote to the game of basketball, with the five-time champion and 17-time All-Star’s 20th NBA season to be his last. Zoo Atlanta, though, did take the opportunity to name its black mamba snake Kobe in his honor….

He again emphatically said he would never be a coach and also said he wasn’t interested in being a general manager. However surprising that was for fans and those who cover the team, however, it was much less surprising than when Lakers head coach Byron Scott received the news.

In the penultimate third-period of play, Bryant would knock down back to back three’s as the Lakers would find a renewed vigor in the frame, outscoring Atlanta 30-20 to enter the fourth with a significantly smaller deficit, 72-66. Only Michael Jordan was a better shooting guard in the history of the National Basketball Association.

“I can’t sit here and say I was 110-percent focused on everything”, Scott said. “It was a cool moment“, Wade said. Bryant missed his first five attempts. In all, Clarkson shot 5-8 from the field.

The 37-year-old Bryant won gold medals with the U.S. Olympic team in 2008 and 2012.

Actually, Bryant himself is his most harsh critic this season, publicly declaring that he is the “200th best player in the league right now” and he “freaking suck”, as reported by NBC Sports. “Equinox pick-up games, dude”. Williams’ 3 midway through the fourth got the Lakers within four. But Bryant surely didn’t mind that gift as he is from the Philadelphia area and who’s going to turn down a gift from Dr. J?

In a balanced offensive outing for the home-standing Hawks, Paul Millsap (15 points), Jeff Teague (13 points) and reserves Kent Bazemore (15 points) and Mike Scott (14 points) all contributed heavily in Atlanta’s win.

“There’s a lot of self doubt, self criticism and a lot of moments where we feel discouraged”, Bryant said.