Statistically, the 2016 NBA All-Star Game was not Kobe Bryant’s finest moment. The Los Angeles Lakers star only scored 10 points and he only scored fewer twice before in his 18 career All-Star game selections. In 2013 he only managed to put up 9 points in a contest that was obviously the final stand for Bryant as a legit threat in the NBA. In 2008 he was forced to play but he did have a ligament tear in his pinky so he was only limited to three minutes of action. In 2006, it just wasn’t Kobe’s night but instead Tracy McGrady, a member of the Houston Rockets at the time, dominated in front of the Houston faithful.
Yet despite Kobe’s lackluster on-court performance, you can understand why all eyes were on Bryant. It would be the last time we would see the soon-to-be retired star participate in the All-Star Game.
The 2016 NBA All-Star Game was essentially a dedication to honor of the legend that is Kobe Bryant. The only other notable players in the last 25 years to make the NBA All-Star Game in their final season in the NBA were Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, also two players Kobe Bryant idolized.
This scenario for Kobe was different from others. Michael actually retired from the NBA for years and took time away from the league before returning to the NBA and playing in his last All-Star Game in 2003. Magic Johnson, who retired due to an HIV diagnosis, came back to the NBA to play in the 1992 NBA All-Star Game. Kobe is actually playing out this final season in the NBA and he might not be putting up stellar numbers but that’s not priority when it come to talking about Bryant in 2016. It’s about remembering what he did in the league and the above video that played before the 2016 NBA All-Star Game perfectly captured Bryant’s importance to the NBA, his importance to the players of the past, present and future and what he meant to the NBA family.
Congratualtions, Kobe Bryant.
