Look, I don’t want to pile on Kobe too much because plenty of others take joy in doing so. In fact, I was more than happy that he received a deservedly nice reception from the 50-50 Philly/Lakers crowd last night. In fact, I even wrote a positive article about his place in Philadelphia basketball history.
But, like, what is going on, man?
Bryant gave the crowd a thrill by knocking down three three-pointers (on four attempts) in the first 1:16 of the game. The place went absolutely bonkers after each one. He then proceeded to jack up 13 more triples, making precisely one of them. Because the fans in attendance wanted to see greatness one last time, they reacted like every bad shot was going in. Because Kobe wanted to give them what they wanted, he kept firing away.
In total, he scored 20 points on 7-26 shooting, Kobe exhibited perhaps the worst shot selection I have ever seen in my life, and that includes five-year-olds. He totally shot the Lakers out of the game and was far and away the reason that the Sixers picked up win numero uno.
Let’s not forget Bryant’s defense, either. Oh, you wouldn’t stray off Robert Covington to deny Jahlil Okafor a pass at the three-point line?
And yet, Kobe still says stuff like this after the game:
Coming into the night, Bryant was shooting an insane 30/21/81 on an equally insane 17.6 shots per game. And Byron Scott seems to just sit there and allow this to happen while the organization is theoretically trying to develop young players like D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle.
Then again, Bryant is a legend that you could argue has earned the right to go out on his own terms. Just like the Sixers, the Lakers are evidence that rebuilding is far from an exact science.
There was a lot to like about Kobe’s last NBA game in Philly. Very little of it happened during the game, though.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann