Thank you, Kobe.

[stan francisco]

Mr Bryant,

Thanks for 20 years of riveting entertainment, drama, and an inspiring work ethic.



Please, post your thoughts of appreciation here for one of the greatest players ever to have laced them up.

Some of Bean's Brutal Dunks:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BkhdmDeRj-s

And, 9 min of defensive highlights:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2VCVP9L25vk

[Ckay]

It's almost here folks...

[YouTube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XoRWzAH9B8[/YouTube]
[YouTube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hi0skAwlHM[/YouTube]

[PKABOOICU]

fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuukc

[Crooked-I]

I went on a Kobe spree on youtube the other day. Literally spent like 3 hours watching highlights. Crazy it's all coming to an end soon.

[KobeBryant24]

[TheHartBreakKid]

I can't believe it's actually here...I'll save the corny emotional rant for later i guess...but I don't think any celebirity/athlete will ever come close to having a career that I care about and follow as much as I did Kobe's. The controversy and bad times....the rise back to the top. The weird true to life sort of depressing ending.....it's straight up been like a 20 year movie that we've all been heavily invested in.

[BJGOAT3]

Kobe has become such an integral part of my identity as a basketball fan, I am deeply concerned over how to replace the gap to be honest. I guess I will finally understand how some of my friends felt like when their favourite player retired. Its truly been a privilege to follow and support Kobe and Lakers for these 20 years, essentially as long as I've known myself as a basketball fan

[TyCobb]

Horrible ending and he deserved much better. Chris Paul better. Thanks NBA.

[Mirjalovic]

He is better than Tim Duncan


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[stan francisco]

Horrible ending and he deserved much better. Chris Paul better. Thanks NBA.

Only David Stern could keep him from 6, maybe 7 rings.

[RingsDontLie]

The GOAT next to Magic Johnson. Very underrated on realgm, but the love that he gets from stadium to stadium shows his true impact on the game. He was just as good as MJ imo. Only player I would put him under is Magic in my all time list. 81 point game for a guard = video game in real life. Thank you Kobe for making NBA 2k a reality.

Now get out of here, we got to rebuild this sad team

[Desiderium]

I want to cry

[BJGOAT3]

So many things could have gone differently. I am still of the opinion that Lakers could net a contender, at least a pretender around Kobe after his stellar 2013 performance if not for the achilles tear. Mike D'Antoni robbed us from watching the best of our generation at a high level.

Hiring him over Phil...Worst mistake of any franchise in recent memory imo.

[NoseBleedLakers]

Feels like the last 20 years has come and gone in the blink of an eye...

[Spens1]

these feels man

What a legend though, one of the all time greats for the lakers and the nba. The golden child of a golden generation. A man who put it all on the line, maybe he turned people the wrong way on that but that's what made Kobe, well Kobe. He'd give it his all his way and more often than not it worked

[SashAlex]

Kobe has been an inspiration to me. Kobe has been a part of me. His jersey that I have and wear proudly, not only because Kobe is a winner, but because he's a fighter, a warrior NBA and the world of sports won't probably see again. He's an example! To me, to you guys here and all the other basketball and sports fans because when it was game time, Kobe was on and I was always sure he'd give his all, even on a 5/20 night. Basketball is after all a game, today with lots of influience, but still a game. Kobe, like many other greats has made this game an inspiration to go out there after the game and shoot the ball repeating Kobe's moves or just go out there in your daily routine and be more than a spectator, more than a passenger, but be a fighter in the good sense, be better than you were yesterday, to follow your dreams and persist, no matter what life puts under your legs.

We've been on this journey together with him, and looking back at this era, I think we all will notice how Kobe was an infuience to us, how Kobe made us better people.

For this, Chapeau Bas to my inspiration and I think yours too, for such an incredible 20 years journey together, through thick and thin!

One Love, Kobe Bean Bryant!

[b shaw20]

Horrible ending and he deserved much better. Chris Paul better. Thanks NBA.

Why did he "deserve" much better?

The basketball Gods don't lie. Much of this he brought upon himself. He should have never extended for near max money if he wanted to compete. More importantly, you can't disrespect basketball by going full "jack" mode when you aren't what you were 4 years ago. Especially when you are not being efficient.

The absolute worst shooting percentage in the league while leading the team in shots is a blatant disregard for TEAM basketball and the Gods are speaking.

I will always love Kobe Bryant for what he gave us and too wish his career had a much better end. He always wanted his way and he got his way.

Hard for me to feel sorry for him though. Sad and forgettable would be a better way to describe our last 4-5 seasons.

[MAMBAEMD]

Horrible ending and he deserved much better. Chris Paul better. Thanks NBA.

Why did he "deserve" much better?

The basketball Gods don't lie. Much of this he brought upon himself. He should have never extended for near max money if he wanted to compete. More importantly, you can't disrespect basketball by going full "jack" mode when you aren't what you were 4 years ago. Especially when you are not being efficient.

The absolute worst shooting percentage in the league while leading the team in shots is a blatant disregard for TEAM basketball and the Gods are speaking.

I will always love Kobe Bryant for what he gave us and too wish his career had a much better end. He always wanted his way and he got his way.

Hard for me to feel sorry for him though. Sad and forgettable would be a better way to describe our last 4-5 seasons.

That's a pretty harsh assessment IMO.
Kobe's been a machine and he gave his heart and soul to this organization and this city.
He is a legend, and he absolutely deserved better than to be part of two of the worst seasons in Laker history.
And it if were't for a few jealous and petty NBA owners who didn't want to see Chris Paul in a Laker uniform, thus influencing Stern to veto the trade, Kobe and the Lakers would not have gone through this quagmire.

No one needs to feel sorry for Kobe. He won 5 rings and will go down as one of the all-time greats.
I just appreciate the heart, hustle, effort, and desire to win at any cost.
He has some flaws, but his positive qualities helped us get 5 championships. It would not have happened without him.

I'm grateful and feel privileged to have been able to watch his entire career. I can't imagine any true Laker fan would feel otherwise.

[Jedi32]

Horrible ending and he deserved much better. Chris Paul better. Thanks NBA.

Why did he "deserve" much better?

The basketball Gods don't lie. Much of this he brought upon himself. He should have never extended for near max money if he wanted to compete. More importantly, you can't disrespect basketball by going full "jack" mode when you aren't what you were 4 years ago. Especially when you are not being efficient.

The absolute worst shooting percentage in the league while leading the team in shots is a blatant disregard for TEAM basketball and the Gods are speaking.

I will always love Kobe Bryant for what he gave us and too wish his career had a much better end. He always wanted his way and he got his way.

Hard for me to feel sorry for him though. Sad and forgettable would be a better way to describe our last 4-5 seasons.

honestly dude don't you get tired of this weak act you put on? we all get it you hate kobe. if you have nothing nice to say why come into the thread with this bs? we are talking about a man that helped our franchise win 5 rings,and has given us 20 years of great ball and entertainment.

[Jedi32]

he is the best of his generation imo. the things i've seen this guy do are remarkable. cheers to you kobe and hopefully your life outside of basketball is just as fun for you.