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Kobe prepares farewell, Warriors chase history
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THE eyes of the basketball world will turn to California today as the NBA regular season draws to a close with Kobe Bryant preparing to bid farewell to the sport as the Golden State Warriors chase a place in history.
A perfectly scripted finale will see Bryant play his 1,566th and final game as the Los Angeles Lakers host the Utah Jazz at the Staples Center for what is certain to be an emotionally charged occasion.
A sell-out 18,000-capacity crowd packed with celebrities will be on hand to salute the last game of the 37-year-old Bryant’s two-decade career.
Around 30 of Bryant’s former teammates from different generations led by Shaquille O’Neal will be in attendance to honor the star while Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Flea will play the national anthem.
Bryant announced his retirement from basketball in November, and has spent a challenging 16-65 season with the Lakers being feted by rival fans in different cities across the United States.
Bryant, who played only 19 minutes of the Lakers’ blowout defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, said he was looking forward to his farewell but hinted the occasion may get to him. “So far, I’ve been pretty cool about everything,” he said. “It hasn’t really hit me yet. We’ll see if it does.”
Bryant will retire with five NBA titles, having secured his place not only among such Lakers icons as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Jerry West but also in the pantheon of NBA greats presided over by Michael Jordan.
Bryant’s finale gets under way at 7:30pm local time — the same time that Golden State will set out to clinch a record-breaking 73rd regular season victory, taking them past the mark of 72 set by the Jordan-era Chicago Bulls in the 1995-1996 campaign.
After stumbling last week with a home defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Warriors have gone on a formidable charge to the finish line, beating their closest Western Conference rivals the San Antonio Spurs home and away to equal the Bulls’ 72-win season and give themselves a chance at basketball immortality.
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