Tnyone at the Staples Center on April 13, 2016 won’t soon forget that day. After announcing his retirement a few months earlier and in the absence of a play-off, Kobe Bryant had therefore made an appointment: the meeting between the Lakers and Utah Jazz would be the epilogue of his immense NBA career. With five championship rings, an MVP title in 2008, or even 18 selections in the All-Star Game, “Black Mamba” is a true legend of American basketball alongside Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain or even LeBron James. . For his farewell to the floors, he will offer a real recital to his fans.
Drafted in 1996, Kobe Bryant was then a model of precocity. We had rarely seen a player go directly from high school to the NBA. His love affair with the Lakers will stretch over twenty years with many highs, like the three consecutive titles in 2000, 2001, and 2002, but also some hitches, such as an accusation of rape on an employee of hotel in 2003, his breakup with Shaquille O’Neal and the end of his career marked by serious injuries. But Kobe Bryant will go down as one of the strongest and most gifted individuals in his sport, capable of carrying his team at arm’s length and pushing the limits in fateful moments.
At 37, he feels that his body, marked by physical glitches, is no longer able to meet his ambitions. Fracture of the left knee, tearing of the right shoulder, rupture of the Achilles tendon, fracture of the index finger: he was not spared during his last years. But Kobe Bryant knows how to fall back with panache and, on this occasion, he set himself the objective of making an impression to bid farewell to his public and his fans. In an open letter published in November 2015, he explains his motivations for wanting to turn the page. “I’m ready to let basketball go. My heart can take the criticism, my mind can handle the strain, but my body knows it’s time to say goodbye. Dear basketball, you gave a dream in Lakers colors to a six-year-old, I will always love you for it, but I can’t love you so obsessively for much longer. »
Fan buys two $55,000 tickets to idol’s final game
With a failed start to the 2015-2016 season, the Lakers were well aware that Kobe’s final game was approaching. The miracle of the play-offs did not take place: it must be said that the Californian franchise had a particularly difficult exercise with a record of 17 wins for 63 losses. The last game of the regular season against Utah Jazz was therefore going to be highly symbolic. JA Andande, journalist from Los Angeles Times and ESPN, remembered for West France of this particular atmosphere on April 13, 2016. “All the surrounding streets were closed. The square was crowded with people all dressed in purple and gold. Usually, we come to see a team, but here, everyone came for him. And in the room, everything had been put in place to pay tribute to him: his number 8 on one side of the field, his number 24 on the other, videos of his exploits broadcast two hours before kick-off… ”
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Tickets for this game are snapped up at the Staples Center to watch Kobe Bryant’s last baskets. A fan does not hesitate to spend nearly 55,000 dollars to obtain two places and be closer to his idol. If Black Mamba is borrowed from the start by missing his first five shots, he will dazzle the rest of the game and deliver a masterful performance. The statistics will get carried away during the meeting: if Kobe is not the most skilful, he still passes sixty points, including twelve in the final moments of the match. His mentality as a competitor and above all thirsty for victories took over: impossible for him to end his career on a failure, he struggled to go for the win (101 to 96). He thus finished with 33,643 points on the clock in the NBA, which placed him in fourth place among all-time leading scorers behind Abdul-Jabbar, James and Malone.
The already euphoric atmosphere of the Californian enclosure ignites in front of this totally crazy epilogue. Cheers are pouring in and the Lakers’ darling can walk out with his head held high. His speech on the floor of the Staples Center is necessarily marked by emotion, but also by a tinge of irony. “You know, I wonder how these twenty years could pass so quickly. It’s crazy. This is completely crazy. We had ups and downs, but the most important thing is that we stayed together this whole time. For 20 years I was told “pass the ball!”, and for my last one I was shouted at “don’t pass it!” he concludes with a big smile. Difficult to imagine after these scenes of jubilation the tragic fate that awaits Kobe and his loved ones.
On January 26, 2020, the United States is in shock
Almost four years later, on January 26, 2020, the retired star takes his helicopter along with eight other occupants to a match for his daughter, Gianna. The flight was supposed to last a quarter of an hour and the day before, the same trip had gone off without a hitch. But the pilot’s poor visibility and unfavorable weather conditions will cause the aircraft to crash in the hills of Casabalas. Kobe Bryant, his daughter, the other passengers and the pilot will not survive it.
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The shock wave is immense: America mourns its champion and the Staples Center in Los Angeles quickly becomes a place of meditation. Purple and yellow, colors inseparable from the Californian franchise, accompany the many messages, photos and flowers in tribute to the deceased idol. “Words cannot describe the pain I feel. I loved Kobe, he was like a little brother to me,” says Michael Jordan. “I am heartbroken and devastated, my brother…I promise you that I will carry on your legacy!” “Says LeBron James for his part. At 41, Kobe Bryant left far too soon, and left an indelible mark on the history of American sport.