# Kobe Bryant Remembrance Thread



## JT (Mar 1, 2004)

yeah...its about that time.

since this is his last year, which I have sensed it to be for awhile, but now made official, I wanted to start up this thread and post an article, video or image showcasing just who he was and just what he did during his years as a basketball player, and as a man. I'll do this during each and every game remaining in the season, which is about 67 to my estimation, including the Pacers tonight.

anybody can contribute as well, with some of their favorite memories or impressions of #24 .

my first contribution is this:

CJ McCollum:
http://forwardcenter.net/video-cj-mccollum-pays-his-respects-to-kobe-bryant/

Kyrie Irving:
http://www.lakersnation.com/kyrie-i...om-kobe-bryant-for-57-point-night/2015/03/13/

Zach LaVine:
http://www.axs.com/zach-lavine-calls-kobe-bryant-childhood-idol-ahead-of-lakers-t-wolves--30608

Anthony Davis:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/laker...avis-kobe-bryant-olympics-20150121-story.html

Wesley Matthews:
http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas-mave...ltant-not-measuring-stick-for-wesley-matthews

just some other of today's young stars giving him respect, and praise for his mentorship and influence.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

An image that I'll always remember (among many, many others). Was so happy to beat the Celtics and get his 5th championship. Pure, unadulterated joy. And so, so deserving.


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## MojoPin (Oct 10, 2008)

Kobe brought me back into the basketball world. I think I was 11 or 12, Jordan was retired, and my friend owned Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside for N64. We rocked that game just about every day of the week, and soon Kobe became my favorite player, which lead me to being a Lakers fan. 

Fast forward 17 years and now I realize that he had a great impact on my work ethic as well. I always read about his 666 off-season workouts and I think it helped me understand that I would have to work my ass off in order to be the best.

Great role model.


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## DaRizzle (May 22, 2007)

Basel said:


> An image that I'll always remember (among many, many others). Was so happy to beat the Celtics and get his 5th championship. Pure, unadulterated joy. And so, so deserving.


Wow, Id never seen this pic


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

DaRizzle said:


> Wow, Id never seen this pic


I honestly think that may have been his happiest moment on a basketball court.


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## JT (Mar 1, 2004)

MojoPin said:


> Kobe brought me back into the basketball world. I think I was 11 or 12, Jordan was retired, and my friend owned Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside for N64. We rocked that game just about every day of the week, and soon Kobe became my favorite player, which lead me to being a Lakers fan.


NBA Courtside! definitely. tons of fun. I used to play with the Sonics a lot...Detlef Schrempf, Jim McIlvane...fun times


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## JT (Mar 1, 2004)

tonight, they return to Philly, which is ostensibly Kobe's [USA] origin, so I'll post this slate of stuff.



Jun 13, 2001. Kobe makes 'cut their hearts out comment' while playing Sixers in Finals: http://articles.latimes.com/2001/jun/13/sports/sp-9952

10 years lafter, Kobe still won't apologize to Philly: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7547590/los-angeles-lakers-kobe-bryant-apologize-philadelphia

The Farewell Begins: http://www.nba.com/2015/news/11/30/kobe-bryant-farewell-tour-begins-in-philadelphia.ap/

Kobe's Old Coach Urges Proper Sendoff: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/as-kob...hia-to-give-him-proper-sendoff-043209702.html

A Perspective on Kobe from one of his high school teammates: http://mashable.com/2015/11/29/kobe-bryant-high-school-teammates/#BIvm9q5Xkkqg


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## JT (Mar 1, 2004)

March 28, 2003: Kobe drops a double nickel on MJ's Wiz

https://youtu.be/WvW4d0BEi_Q


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## MojoPin (Oct 10, 2008)

Wasn't he destroying Stackhouse as a highschooler at Philly's practice area?


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## JT (Mar 1, 2004)

yes. and legend has it, he and Stackhouse nearly came to blows. Stack was extremely competitive, and did not like being shown up by anyone, much less a cocky young kid like Kobe. Stack cooled off in later years though, showing his respect numerous times as an NBATV/ESPN analyst.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

JT said:


> March 28, 2003: Kobe drops a double nickel on MJ's Wiz
> 
> https://youtu.be/WvW4d0BEi_Q


This was awesome.


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## e-monk (Sep 10, 2010)

and yet encourages anyone we face this year to just go nuts


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## King Sancho Fantastic (Jul 19, 2005)

This clip isn't widely used, but Lebron himself said this play by Kobe set the tone for the entire Olympics for the Redeem Team. Kobe destroys Pau who was his teammate at the time. Let the rest of the squad know that this was all business.


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## JT (Mar 1, 2004)

playing the Hawks tonight, a bit of odd news:

The Atlanta Zoo names Black Mamba snake 'Kobe':
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...est-feat-touches-nbas-past-present-and-future

just shows the level of his reach I suppose.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

JT said:


> playing the Hawks tonight, a bit of odd news:
> 
> The Atlanta Zoo names Black Mamba snake 'Kobe':
> http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...est-feat-touches-nbas-past-present-and-future
> ...


Things I remember about Kobe vs. the Hawks:


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## JT (Mar 1, 2004)

today: against the Pistons, in Detroit.

I was looking at the Lakers RSS feed, and as it turns out, they have a nice little feature called TDIKH. This Day In Kobe History.

today's was especially good: on 12/6/00, Kobe scored 50+ for the first time against the Golden State Warriors (folks may also remember Antawn Jamison was on a hot streak and did the same). he also had 7 boards and 8 assists, not too shabby even though they fell, in OT.

story here: http://www.nba.com/lakers/tdikh/1206
video here:


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## JT (Mar 1, 2004)

*12/07 - in Toronto (cold cold Toronto...)*
of course, I'm going to go the 81 route. before I do though, check out this game from 2013, where he banged in 3 clutch 3s in a row: 




81 point game, short-form: 



81 point game, long-form: missing! if anyone knows where to find the full game, please let me know and I'll add the link here

some recent commentary about it, from Sam Mitchell, funny: 




in addition, here are 40 amazing stats you won't believe: http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/12/kob...d-shots-81-points-stats-michael-jordan-lakers

*12/09 - at Minnesota*




 - against Minny in the playoffs, 2003





 - the iconic reverse dunk. Kevin Harlan accented it perfectly, and if you notice back then, Kobe was still kind of an actor, with the grabbing at his shoulder thing. what a dunk...





 - Kobe Bryant Passes Michael Jordan for 3rd on the all-time scoring list. the Timberwolves stopped the game in honor of this accomplishment...a powerful moment, for many reasons.

*12/11 - in San Antonio*




 - Kobe top5 dunks on Tim Duncan. there's some good stuff here.





 - Kobe Bryant absolutely torching Bruce Bowen. to be fair, this was in the 06 season, when the entire league got lit up by Bean





 - and for good measure, not really Kobe related, but Derek Fisher's 0.4 shot​


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## JT (Mar 1, 2004)

*12/12 - in Houston...against the Rockets.*




 - This was the 6th game of the infamous 9 game 40 point streak...Kobe has that amazing jam against Yao here, too.





 - another jam against Yao...when will this guy learn not to challenge Kobe?





 - he should never try to shoot it either when Kobe is around.





 - Kobe bangs on Steve Francis too. these guys just don't learn!










*12/15 - vs Milwaukee*




 - Kobe blocks Michael Redd, then flies away like an airplane





 - at 3:51, against Keith Van Horn. finding highlights of the Bucks from 04 is extremely difficult...go figure eh? a few years later he also made a buzzer beater over Charlie Bell, during title year 09', when he made all of those game-winners at the start of the season.

*12/17 - vs Rockets*




 - series highlights from the 2009 playoffs. its crazy to think how Artest was ejected in game2 from reacting to Kobe's elbow, to 1 year later winning a title with him on the other side.





 - and here is Artest, newly minted Laker, squaring off against Ariza. Kobe drops 41 in this.





 - a nice little duel between Kobe/Tmac...in 07, when Tracy still had it


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## JT (Mar 1, 2004)

two bonus videos I have here, found while looking for what I needed...










these are season highlights of the total Lakers team from 03-04', aka PMOB (Payton/Malone/O'Neal/Bryant). just an insane team when you think about it.

I just tried thinking of a team that would be a parallel in today's terms, but there aren't any...that combination of offense & defense/HoF talent may be unrivaled in NBA history.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

Awesome couple of posts. Good times.


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