Kobe Bryant’s final NBA game began with a bass solo. It was a bizarre way to send off the Laker great, but it came from a die-hard fan. “I’ve watched, listened to or at least read about pretty much every game that Kobe Bryant played his entire career,” Flea told Rolling Stone earlier Wednesday. “I look at him as someone like, you know, Charlie Parker or John Coltrane or Jimmy Page or Jimi Hendrix, you know? He’s been able to change and evolve and grow and be such a master of his craft.” With his all-black weapon of choice and the National Anthem (watch above), the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist rang in the Staples Center’s last Lake Show of the 2015-2016 season.
As for the game itself, Bryant proved as dominant as ever, leading the Lakers to a 101-96 win over the Utah Jazz and finishing with 60 points, four assists, and four rebounds. “You can’t write something better than this,” Bryant said afterward, pleased his two daughters got to see him play the way he used to play. “What’s funny — the thing that had me cracking up all night long — is the fact that I go through 20 years of everybody screaming to pass the ball, and then the last night they’re like, Don’t pass it!”
The Black Mamba’s competitive edge especially exploded in the fourth quarter, in the form of 23 points, a go-ahead dagger, and two clutch free-throws. (Full game recap available here.) As the Los Angeles Times noted, it was the perfect Hollywood ending for the L.A. legend. Read on to see how others reacted to and feted Bryant’s phenomenal performance:
Caption: “A Farewell For Kobe Bryant by LEMON [Anderson] —Fade to Black— Let us all
gather around
And bid our farewells
to the Beautiful game
of the Black Mamba… For these are the last days
of a legendary fade away,
As he Fades away
back
to Blackness,
Let us scatter
Purple and Gold roses
Along the seas,
across the Atlas
As our hero takes on
his final journey and
Fades away back to Blackness… Back To the
Lower Merion number
dripping from his shoulders
Glory hanging from the rim
rumors spreading of
a child’s Dark love
for winning
While he remained
poisoned
By his destiny
shooting for perfection
inside the hollows
of an empty gym.
Oh, how the critics
spread word
To and fro of
His growing game
how his glowing handles
will only go so far
Yet, all that mattered
was his chase
for the undying zone
Not the stones they threw
nor the stats they claimed
Not even a nationwide repertoire… Just the chase,
The impossible,
A relentless will
To Fight or Fly
to fight through injuries,
For the Black mamba
believed
pain is for the weak,
And fear is a Lie,
Believed
to live in your legend
You must be greater
than the greatest of all nations
To be written in history
was not enough
Like having his game written
as the brightest star
amongst the basketball
constellations
And so he faded
Back to mastery
remained cold blooded
Always striking
with a Venomous sting
No matter how loud
the rival crowds would yell
you can hear the rattle
of our snake
from all of his championship rings,
All the records shattered
and he still picks up the glass
All the years have gone
And he still remained
deadly
patiently waiting
by the wooden war painted
basketball court
with his Fangs in the grass
Waiting to fade back again
one last time
Waiting for one last game to strike
one last liquid clutch
from the silence
of the three point line,
One last game to
leave the heroes journey
in a beautiful dark Bliss
as all must eventually go home
and fade away back
to Blackness.”