Walker lifts Hornets over Lakers in Bryant’s final game in Charlotte

Barring an NBA Final between the Celtics and L.A., this game will mark No.24’s last appearance on the parquet floor in his 20-year Hall of Fame career with the Lakers. “I still love watching you play”, Jordan said.

You can’t say that about all athletes who’ve had farewell tours in their career. You helped promote and I’m pretty sure you have fans all over the world.

Kobe Bryant scored 14 points in the first quarter, but got little help from his Los Angeles Lakers teammates.

While Jordan transitioned into an ownership role for an National Basketball Association team, Bryant said he doesn’t expect to follow the same path. “Hopefully, we’ll put a bunch of them together and get in a good run”.

As such, Jordan offered Bryant some brotherly advice and warned it may not be easy to figure out what to do after leaving his professional career. You can often hear fans chanting his name in opposing arenas, just as much as you can hear people launching insults at him. Jordan went on to cite Bryant’s “competitive drive” the first time the two played against each other in 1996 and called it “invigorating”.

“Fortunately, I was able to make a nice pull-up jumper and give us a little cushion”.

Speaking of the color green, Bryant added, “It’s actually my favorite color”. Even with talented young players like D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle, this team is headed for the lottery and praying they keep their top-three protected pick.

“He’s still playing hard”, Lakers coach Byron Scott said. With 28 starts, he’s shooting 34.3 percent from the field, 25.6 percent from beyond the arc and 78.5 percent from the line.

B+ OFFENSE: The Hornets got the balance Clifford craves, scoring 54 points in the paint and shooting 48.3 percent overall.

But when all’s been said and done, Bryant admitted that the move turned him to the lethal competitor he is today. “One day, I’d like to play with Kobe”.

Last week we broke down the 30 greatest scorers in Lakers’ franchise history and this week it is time to discuss the greatest Lakers’ players ever in franchise history.

The point guard missed the previous 18 games with a knee injury.

The most talked about part of the game though was during the closing seconds of the second quarter, where the score was tied at 57 for both teams. It continues Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers (welcome back, Lance Stephenson; welcome home, Chris Paul) and, after a trip to Toronto on Friday, the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.

Brandon Bass will not be the main attraction Wednesday night when he visits the Boston Celtics for the first time since leaving the team in free agency.