Does anyone remember what happened on the first anniversary of Kobe's retirement?

In his 20-year career, Kobe has experienced 220 playoff games, 37 NBA finals and 19 life-and-death battles. Black mamba is good at playing hard battles and throwing key balls. He has a hundred ways to kill the game.

"Kobe never breaks his word to the fans."

On April 4th, 20 16, he spent a whole afternoon in his office in Newport Beach, California, writing some documents in his notebook, and didn't start planning his retirement until three hours before the competition.

Kobe Bryant, uncharacteristically, did not appear in the team's training hall early. For various reasons, this game is not the key from a competitive point of view. 16 wins and 65 losses, the traditional giant Los Angeles Lakers actually announced that they missed the playoffs more than a month ago. That night, the Lakers played jazz at home. The Lakers didn't win the first few meetings this season. The game was broadcast live to the whole country on ESPN Channel 2, and the reason why it didn't enter Channel 1 was to make way for the Warriors' 73rd victory in the history-making season. Kobe Bryant's farewell tour runs through the whole season. Coach Byron Scott has given young players more opportunities to exercise, but the Lakers haven't won for two weeks.

Kobe Bryant flew all the way from his home in Orange County to Staples Center by private helicopter. He is about to participate in the 1346 regular season of his career, which is also the last regular season. Kobe is well aware that his physical condition is not as good as before. "I never thought that I could play such a monster-level game after such a long rest."

From his debut to the curtain call, the earth has walked around the sun for 20 times, and one year ago today, the signature superstar of the Lakers was only 48 minutes away from retirement. Before the game, Scott told Kobe that his playing time tonight is absolutely unlimited, and he can do whatever he wants. Kobe, on the other hand, is a light cloud. The 37-year-old Black Mamba played more than 57,000 minutes in the NBA. After three seasons of injury and suffering, with a professional nursing team following him every day, Kobe let go of his strong temper and didn't want to be too tired.

At 5 pm 1 1, Kobe walked into the Staples Center. According to the original plan, he will please the audience and avoid more harm. "(I'm going to) play a few beautiful rounds to make them nostalgic." Kobe told ESPN.

"Kobe never breaks his word to the fans." Johnson, another famous magician of the Lakers, said before the game, "He has done his best for the team, and these five championship flags are the best proof."

"Don't pass the ball!"

The first is a touching speech, followed by a tribute video and a standing ovation. The Staples Center was packed, and most of the audience were celebrities. On 16, nearly 500 media people from different countries closely observed every move of the scene. As the referee threw the ball high into the middle circle, the game officially began. The tsunami at the scene far exceeded Kobe's imagination. Black Mamba, who has always been known for being withdrawn, has become the protagonist of a crazy party this time. Every time Kobe touched the ball, thunderous applause and cheers broke out on the sidelines. The audience wants to see him shoot, and so do his teammates. The ball kept being sent to Kobe.

"At the beginning of the game, I thought,' Oh! Damn it, "Kobe recalled," the scene was obvious. If I just play fair, I can't do anything. This game is either earth-shattering or a complete failure. Because they kept passing the ball to me, as they planned, the audience incited me to throw every ball myself. I even feel sorry for my teammates, because as long as I shoot without authorization, they will be booed by their fans. "

Looking back now, Kobe feels a little ironic. He smiled and said that in the past 20 years, the most common sentence he heard from fans every night was "passing the ball", and that night, they actually shouted the opposite slogan-"Don't pass the ball!" However, the farewell battle was not smooth sailing, and Kobe's first five shots all ended while the iron was hot.

After that, it was the most unforgettable game in Kobe's career and even in sports history.

Dream back to the peak

With 5 points 1 1 sec left in the first quarter, Kobe finally hit the first ball. Less than 30 seconds later, he hit a 16-foot CIC in the left corner. Then, a successful layup, a jumper on the right side of the baseline, a three-pointer on the right wing and several free throws. Kobe scored 15 in a row, the first quarter ended and the performance officially kicked off.

Kobe rested for most of the game and then went into battle. Four minutes and 56 seconds before halftime, Kobe Bryant made a layup along the right baseline. The previous round ended with a dunk, and now Kobe just throws the ball into the basket with both hands. After hitting several free throws, Kobe made a series of fake moves on the left wing and hit three points against the defenders. By halftime, Kobe had scored 22 points.

The easy side fights again, and Kobe's firepower is even stronger. He first dodged two defenders in the air and hit a basket, then hit a 9-foot jumper against the defense. In the next round, Bryant scored again with both hands. If he had been the former "Peter Pan", the ball would have ended in thunderous abuse of the restricted area.

With 5: 35 left in the third quarter, Bryant scored a layup, followed by his signature baseline flip jumper, and the defender could only watch the ball go into the net. Then, Kobe forced a shot in the lower right corner. At the last moment, facing the front and back attack, he broke into the restricted area and scored the ball. After three quarters, Kobe scored 37 points, which has created history, but the performance of Black Mamba is far from over.

19 season has passed, and every bit has passed. At this time, Kobe has only one thought, playing the last quarter well.

With 9 minutes and 30 seconds left, Kobe's career will come to an end. He hit two 3-pointers on the left and 45 degrees at the top of the arc. There are 5 minutes left in the game, 4 1 second. Kobe broke through the three-man encirclement and hit a jumper near the restricted area, with 45 points.

In the last three minutes before retiring, Kobe made a beautiful fake move, got rid of the defenders and scored a layup. In the last 2 minutes and 36 seconds, the Jazz extended its lead to 10, but 20 seconds later, Bryant made two free throws in the cry of MVP, saving the Lakers a chance.

"Kobe! Kobe! Kobe! "

Somehow, the jazz's attack suddenly stopped. They didn't score a point in the next game, while Kobe pursued all the way. At the end of 1 minute 45 seconds, Kobe brought the ball directly to the basket. He completed the attack with a very high arc throw, and the ball hit the board and entered the penalty area. This is the 5 1 point of the black mamba. In the next attack, Kobe dribbled through two defenders, then stopped the jumper at the free throw line and the ball went into the net. With less than a minute left in the game, the Lakers are only four points behind.

When he dribbled half-time, "Kobe! Kobe! Kobe! " Shouts are getting more and more neat and loud, deafening. Kobe turned and sped forward, hitting a defender head-on. He hit a direct three-pointer and the ball mysteriously flew into the net. Then, Kobe commanded Randall to do the pick-and-roll cooperation. He entered from the left, dribbled around the pile to the right and came to the right elbow for an emergency stop. He still hit a steady hit, with 3 1 second left in the game, and the Lakers miraculously took the lead.

At last 14 seconds, Kobe was so tired that he couldn't breathe, and the hearts of fans were in their throats. Kobe Bryant hit two steady goals from the free throw line, ending this epic scoring performance. It was at the free throw line that he scored his first point after entering the NBA.

Kobe scored 60 points, which he hasn't touched since World War I at Madison Square Garden in 2009. At the same time, it is also the highest scoring record in the regular season farewell match in NBA history (the previous record was 29 points, which was created by john havlicek), and it is also the highest scoring record for players aged 37 and above in NBA history. (The previous record was 5 1, which was created by Michael Jordan on February 29th, 2006, 5438+0,65438).

Kobe Bryant's equaliser shot was the 62nd time in his career. He hit the key ball in the last minute of the fourth quarter or overtime, and no one can beat him in the past 20 seasons. Kobe scored 23 points in the fourth quarter alone, surpassing the Jazz's 2 1 point. This is the first 1 1 time in his career to score at least 20 points in the fourth quarter, which is also the highest score in the past 20 years. Kobe is really a key player. He scored 15 out of the Lakers' last 17 points and played for 42 minutes, the longest time he played since 20 13. Kobe Bryant shot 50 times in this game, setting a new record for his career and for all players in the past decade.

After the game, Kobe stood in the middle circle and waved to the fans.

"What should I say?" Kobe smiled and said, "Mamba snake attacks."

"Yes, we are all getting younger."

Kobe recalled that the seemingly dreamy night in the highlights was actually accompanied by exhaustion that was about to break through the limit. During each pause, he just sat quietly, staring at the front, panting in his chest, like a guy who almost drowned. "I'm exhausted, man."

In the 20th season of his career, Kobe has been plagued by injuries, ankle contusion, shoulder pain, body pain and fatigue, which made him miss many games. He was forced to play selectively. Usually, priority will be given to the competition with traditional enemies, the live game in the United States and the stadium he visited for the last time. At the same time, he should avoid stepping on the schedule and try not to play back-to-back games. Along the way, Kobe paid great attention to saving his strength for his curtain call, but by the second half, you could still clearly feel that Kobe was a little unable to run.

Kobe later described it as like, you tried your best to finish a series of tragedies, and then suddenly found yourself unable to stand up, and you had to try to keep your legs conscious. Time-outs and dead balls seem to exist just to give Kobe some breathing space. "(Fatigue) is also one of the enemies you have to fight." Kobe said, "When that moment came, I had no choice. I gasped, hoping to inject some energy into my legs. "

Yes, with the cheers of celebrities and the help of former teammates, Kobe seems to have returned to the top overnight. But as long as there is a chance to die, his attention is mostly focused on how to rejuvenate himself. The Lakers are at most 15 points behind.

"After the score caught up, I said,' Well, try harder and we'll turn the table.' "He said," then the ball has been sent to the net, and the score is getting closer and closer. "Well, I can't feel my legs, but I must pull myself together and score another goal." Sure enough, I scored another goal, and I thought,' Then score another goal.' "

According to Kobe's memory, there was a ball that night, and he will never forget it. At that time, with about the last minute left in the game, Kobe Bryant forced a three-pointer on the left side to help the Lakers narrow the difference to one point. "I swear to God, I thought that three-pointer was short." Kobe said, "I really think the stadium is short. When I take off, I can't feel my legs at all. When I fly, they seem to disappear. " I thought to myself,' Oh dear', that ball gave me the feeling that it was short and missed. So I keep shooting when the ball flies to the basket, hoping to change the trajectory of the ball. My eyes followed it, so I flew into the net,' Oh, my God, this ball actually scored'. "

Staples exploded in an instant, and Kobe improvised a short celebration dance step. The local TV commentator noticed this scene. "Kobe is so tired. Look, he can't even lift his legs." When Kobe passed by Lakers diehard Jack Nicholson, the actor stood on the sidelines, applauded Kobe, and then waved his hands to the sky, as if he were many years younger at once.

"Yes, we are all getting younger." Kobe said.

"I am proud of my 20-year career."

A few hours after the game ended, it was early the next morning. Bryant took off his purple-gold jersey soaked in champagne and returned to the stadium in a pullover, sweatpants and a pair of sneakers, accompanied by his wife Vanessa and his two daughters Natalie and Jaina. He sent his autograph at some places in the meeting place, and these autographs will be auctioned publicly. Later, Kobe took a group photo with his family in the middle of the court. Finally, he stayed and talked with others for a while.

"We are in no hurry." Kobe said, "Usually, I will finish the interview as soon as possible, because there is still training or competition scheduled for the next day, but that day is different, and there is no competition anymore. This is not a two or three-day holiday, but a farewell to basketball and old friends. Some of them have known me for 20 years, including writers, photographers, sound engineers and producers. I hope I can have enough time to say goodbye to each of them. "

The next morning, Kobe left Staples, and the helicopter got into the clear night sky and flew to his home in Orange County. Kobe looked down at the court. "I am not only proud of this game, but also proud of my 20-year career. Flying over the arena, I still remember the scene of laying the foundation stone for Staples with Shaq. Now I fly over it and see what changes have taken place in this city over the years. We, me, Shaq, my family and this city have grown up over the years. This is the last time I flew over it, and I am very proud to look at it. "

So what does it feel like to wake up the next day? "Actually, I feel great." Kobe said, "My body can feel this. It knows that I won't have any more fierce competition. It finally got a real chance to rest, and we don't have to force ourselves to break through the limit. So when I woke up the next day, my ankle didn't hurt, my leg didn't hurt, and my shoulder didn't hurt. That feeling is really great! "

For making a documentary for him last season, our five-time champion and the third scorer in history (after Jabbar and karl malone) watched the video of the game and focused on the performance in the last few minutes.

In the last 3 minutes 15 seconds, Kobe scored 15 points and hit all five shots, including three-pointers 1 and four free throws, leading the Lakers to a wave of 17-2 offensive. Kobe Bryant ranks first in the Lakers' scoring, goals, three-pointers, steals and appearances, but no matter how many times he looks back, the last few minutes of the game still seem incredible to him. "I watched the video and said to myself,' No, no, this goal can't be scored.' "He said. Almost crazy fans and passionate explanations made Kobe very satisfied. Maybe Kobe will continue to find fault with everything he has done, but that curtain call is an exception.

"This is the only game that made me immerse myself in the replay and enjoy it."