When Wednesday’s Lakers-Jazz bout ends, Kobe Bryant will have played his final NBA game. The surreality of the basketball great’s retirement is not lost on writer Scoop Jackson and Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar, both of whom honored the L.A. icon with an ESPN video Monday night. “How do empires last when there’s no longer an emperor?†Lamar says in the “Fade to black†tribute, set to “untitled 07.†“Your blood, your sweat, your tears, even your DNA is placed in these L.A. concretes, man. Nothing will ever replace that or erase that. Forever great in our hearts. So with that being said, know that it’s never goodbye; it’s simply respect due.â€
