This is great.

http://bleacherreport.com...art-top-19

[Edited 4/14/16 7:57am]

Very cool. He will be missed.

One of the very best commercials Nike has ever done, and his best commercial ever.

This whole "farewell season" nonsense set the Lakers player development back a year. Kobe getting his was more important....dude took FIFTY shots last night.

[Edited 4/14/16 10:32am]

uPtoWnNY said:

This whole "farewell season" nonsense set the Lakers player development back a year. Kobe getting his was more important....dude took FIFTY shots last night.

[Edited 4/14/16 10:32am]

I agree.....................50. Unreal.

I admit though............if it was Jordan I would have enjoyed it.

uPtoWnNY said:

This whole "farewell season" nonsense set the Lakers player development back a year. Kobe getting his was more important....dude took FIFTY shots last night.

[Edited 4/14/16 10:32am]

. . . and well before this year, the FO (with an assist from David Stern) set the Lakers back about a decade. They quickly realized they had nothing to play for this year.

That may be the only game in 20 years I didn't cringe at Kobe taking 50 shots, though he made over 40% of them, which for the Association is a respectable FG%.

namepeace said:

uPtoWnNY said:

This whole "farewell season" nonsense set the Lakers player development back a year. Kobe getting his was more important....dude took FIFTY shots last night.

[Edited 4/14/16 10:32am]

. . . and well before this year, the FO (with an assist from David Stern) set the Lakers back about a decade. They quickly realized they had nothing to play for this year.

That may be the only game in 20 years I didn't cringe at Kobe taking 50 shots, though he made over 40% of them, which for the Association is a respectable FG%.

I'm just glad it's OVA.

It will be interesting to see what the Lakers do now that Kobe isn't holding them hostage.

Graycap23 said:

I'm just glad it's OVA.

It will be interesting to see what the Lakers do now that Kobe isn't holding them hostage.

Me too. I'm a big Lakers fan, but I've never really been a big Kobe fan.

As I said before, the FO's blunders eventually led to the Lakers deteriorating since being knocked out by Dallas 5 years ago. Kobe didn't help LA in recruiting talent for the rebuild, but because the FO botched the coaching situation, he wound up overextending himself and his health collapsed.

Unless Jeannie does the right thing and cleans house immediately, LA's in for more of the same.

For a while.

namepeace said:

Graycap23 said:

I'm just glad it's OVA.

It will be interesting to see what the Lakers do now that Kobe isn't holding them hostage.

Me too. I'm a big Lakers fan, but I've never really been a big Kobe fan.

As I said before, the FO's blunders eventually led to the Lakers deteriorating since being knocked out by Dallas 5 years ago. Kobe didn't help LA in recruiting talent for the rebuild, but because the FO botched the coaching situation, he wound up overextending himself and his health collapsed.

Unless Jeannie does the right thing and cleans house immediately, LA's in for more of the same.

For a while.

She should start with firing that brother of hers.

I've never been a Kobe fan either.

Kobe Bryant not only set a points record for a player of his age in his final NBA game Wednesday night -- he also helped the Staples Center and the Los Angeles Lakers break all-time industry merchandise records.

On Wednesday alone, the Staples Center sold $1.2 million worth of Kobe merchandise, Sean Ryan, AEG vice president of merchandise told ESPN. Ryan said that's a single-day sales record for any arena in the world.

The previous record, Ryan said, was set by Led Zeppelin, who sold $1 million worth of merchandise in London at the O2 Arena on Dec. 10, 2007, the group's first full-length concert in three decades.

There were eight hats made out of snake and lamb skin that cost $38,024 and eight hats made from cashmere with five diamonds on it that cost $24,008. Ryan said only three went unsold.

[Edited 4/14/16 11:53am]

Graycap23 said:

namepeace said:

Unless Jeannie does the right thing and cleans house immediately, LA's in for more of the same.

For a while.

She should start with firing that brother of hers.

Exactly what I mean. She's written her own book roasting him for botching the coaching search. She knows what needs to be done. She just needs to do it.

namepeace said:

Graycap23 said:

I'm just glad it's OVA.

It will be interesting to see what the Lakers do now that Kobe isn't holding them hostage.

Me too. I'm a big Lakers fan, but I've never really been a big Kobe fan.

As I said before, the FO's blunders eventually led to the Lakers deteriorating since being knocked out by Dallas 5 years ago. Kobe didn't help LA in recruiting talent for the rebuild, but because the FO botched the coaching situation, he wound up overextending himself and his health collapsed.

Unless Jeannie does the right thing and cleans house immediately, LA's in for more of the same.

For a while.

Why don't you like Kobe?

Also, Kobe did help in recruiting - he was a part of bringing Dwight Howard in, right? I always
thought the problem with Kobe was that he was cut from the same cloth that Jordan was where
you don't give a fuck about anything other than winning. Players today are a different breed:
they want Jordan's ability to be a global brand, but they don't want to win, or, winning comes
second to globalization. Howard fell apart because he got injured but also because Kobe had no
time for pranksters on the team. Finally, Kobe stayed with the Lakers his entire career as a testa-
ment to his throwback approach. Larry Bird - Celtic. Magic Johnson - Laker. Isiah Thomas -
Piston. Kobe could've gone to another team in during the beginning of his twilight but, I dunno,
I teared up watching him drop 60. You don't go shopping for rings, a la Barkley and you know
who.

It's officially the end of an era as the extension of the 80s and 90s dies with his retirement.

Graycap23 said:

namepeace said:

. . . and well before this year, the FO (with an assist from David Stern) set the Lakers back about a decade. They quickly realized they had nothing to play for this year.

That may be the only game in 20 years I didn't cringe at Kobe taking 50 shots, though he made over 40% of them, which for the Association is a respectable FG%.

I'm just glad it's OVA.

It will be interesting to see what the Lakers do now that Kobe isn't holding them hostage.

Sell the team!

duccichucka said:

Why don't you like Kobe?

I respect Kobe, but I've never been a big fan of his. Even as a Laker fan.

Also, Kobe did help in recruiting - he was a part of bringing Dwight Howard in, right? I always thought the problem with Kobe was that he was cut from the same cloth that Jordan was where you don't give a fuck about anything other than winning.

Kobe actually alienated Howard during the Lakers' pitch to re-sign in the summer of 2013. Losing Howard was a mixed blessing.

But for most of his career, Kobe cared about winning as long as he was The Man. The more they won, the less willing he was to defer to Shaq. He had legitimate beefs with Shaq's conditioning and commitment, but Phil made Shaq the first option for good reason. I always thought Kobe should have taken a page from Buck's book and deferred to Shaq until Phil was ready to hand the keys to him. He didn't. It was a major reason Shaq was shipped off for parts, Phil was not retained, and the franchise broke up a dynasty that could have been at least as great as the 60's Celtics.

I think it hurt LA's ability to recruit new stars to sign with LA. If Kobe wasn't happy winning titles with Big, how would he be happy with another superstar joining the team?

MJ never drove Phil so crazy he pushed to trade him, and eventually compelled him to seek therapy. Kobe did. (Let that sink in.) In Pippen's words, MJ would have found a way to make it work with Shaq.


Players today are a different breed: they want Jordan's ability to be a global brand, but they don't want to win, or, winning comes
second to globalization. Howard fell apart because he got injured but also because Kobe had no time for pranksters on the team.

I think it's the AAU effect and the money these guys make across the board. Again, point taken on Howard, but you didn't see many prime FA's in Kobe's age group line up to want to play with him in his 20's and early 30's. His Shaq issues on and off the court left a lasting impression.

Finally, Kobe stayed with the Lakers his entire career as a testa-
ment to his throwback approach. Larry Bird - Celtic. Magic Johnson - Laker. Isiah Thomas - Piston.

With the caveat that he requested trades twice (including a nasty spat in 2007) and would have left the team if Shaq hadn't been traded and Phil had been retained in 2004. But to his credit, he dealt with management blunders and the coaching carousel in the last years of his career with dignity and resolve.

Kobe could've gone to another team in during the beginning of his twilight but, I dunno, I teared up watching him drop 60. You don't go shopping for rings, a la Barkley and you know who.

It's officially the end of an era as the extension of the 80s and 90s dies with his retirement.


I've been hard on him as a Laker fan -- sometimes unfair -- but I was emotional about him leaving as well. The Lakers are the house that West, Wilt, Kareem and Magic built, and Kobe became the face of the third great franchise dynasty. I might quibble with the process, but not with the final results. Cheers to him.

[Edited 4/14/16 14:53pm]

Hopefully Phil Jackson opts out of his contract goes back to LA......sick of him, his ego/stubborness, his Zen bullshit and his fucking triangle. Aside from Porzingis, he hasn't done shit.

Instead of hiring a real coach like Thibs, he's leaning toward his triangle puppet Rambis. That won't fly with the fans here in NY. It's all about Phil's philosophy and not what's best for the Knicks future.

With all due respect to Kobe, LeBron is a better all-around player. Kobe is a two-guard finisher and a good defender. But LeBron does it all.....handle the ball, rebound, defend(sometimes at every position), get his teammates involved AND score. That's why I laugh at these millenials who say Curry is the best in the NBA.

uPtoWnNY said:

Hopefully Phil Jackson opts out of his contract goes back to LA......sick of him, his ego/stubborness, his Zen bullshit and his fucking triangle. Aside from Porzingis, he hasn't done shit.

Instead of hiring a real coach like Thibs, he's leaning toward his triangle puppet Rambis. That won't fly with the fans here in NY. It's all about Phil's philosophy and not what's best for the Knicks future.

With all due respect to Kobe, LeBron is a better all-around player. Kobe is a two-guard finisher and a good defender. But LeBron does it all.....handle the ball, rebound, defend(sometimes at every position), get his teammates involved AND score. That's why I laugh at these millenials who say Curry is the best in the NBA.

If the NBA was the WWE, LeBron James would be John Cena or Roman Reigns & Stephen Curry would be CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, or AJ Styles.

In other words, despite the fact that Stephen Curry is the current defending NBA champion, LeBron James is still THE main face of the NBA in front of an international market.

TonyVanDam said: