Kobe Bryant Motivates Roy Hibbert: ‘Come On Motherf***er, I Believe In You!’

Upon his pregame introduction, Celtics fans greeted Bryant with many cheers, as well as a few audible boos.

I was not around for numerous great Celtics teams, but Boston basketball has been one of the most important things in my life for much of Kobe Bryant’s time in the NBA.

As odd as the night sometimes seemed, as weird as “Ko-be” chants sounded in Boston, Celtics fans enjoyed having Bryant around. Bryant did not quiet the crowd until he made consecutive layups with 3:32 left in the second quarter. Guard Jordan Clarkson had 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting against Boston for his sixth 20-point outing of the season.BUZZER BEATERS 1. At one point the Lakers scored and the annoying young man in front of us was hooping and hollering so much that my son assumed that we scored and he was supposed to cheer.

Lost amid Bryant’s last game in Boston entailed Lakers forward Brandon Bass facing against his former team.

“I was excited, but not really”, Bryant said. Reserve Evan Turner added 20 points and Jae Crowder contributed 17 for Boston. She was mad. I showed her the video of us losing to the Celtics and me walking off the court crying. “At the Finals, they were playing it at the start of the game, and I was looking for it. That’s probably what threw me off at the start of the game”. The teams faced off in two NBA Finals, first in 2008 and then again in 2010.

In a season like this, you’ve got to celebrate when you can.

But as soon as Cowens said they did not want him, Bryant said, “Then I was like, ‘Oh, all right.’ I quickly transitioned from smiley kid to killer instinct”.

“Because the loss led to the win”, he said.

He also said emotions sweep him when he hears other familiar songs that he associates with Boston’s Big Three era, such as Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” and the Dropkick Murphys’ “I’m Shipping Up to Boston”.

Unsurprisingly, Bryant still commanded the attention on what he considered the most significant part of his farewell tour.

“Because of the history”, said Bryant.

The shoulder issue is going to be a lingering story as the Lakers trudge toward the All-Star break, and he also indicated he was feeling soreness in his knee heading into Memphis.

The image of Kobe Bryant leaping onto the stage and hoisting his Finals MVP trophy is one that I still keep in mind to this day and one I likely won’t forget. I saw all of that in my kids’ eyes as they saw the Parquet floor for the first time. Then, Bryant listened to the songs endlessly as motivation before winning back-to-back championships against Orlando (2009) and Boston (2010). It was maddening for me as a fan and confusing for my kids.