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Eight years ago today, at 7:30 pacific standard time, two basketball games tipped off in California. The Memphis Grizzlies were visiting the Golden State Warriors and the Utah Jazz were visiting the LA Lakers. Both of the visiting teams were vying for playoff position - The Grizzlies could jump the Mavs for the sixth seed with a win, and at the beginning of the day the Jazz still had a prayer of getting the eighth seed with a win over the 16-65 Lakers if the Rockets lost. But by the game tipped off, the Rockets were blowing out the Kings and the Jazz were all but eliminated.
So I guess I can’t say that these games had no bearing on the outcome of this NBA season, but… these games had no bearing on the outcome of the NBA season.
Despite the lack of true stakes, however, these games were both drew the eyes of NBA fans across the country. In Southern California, Kobe Bryant was lacing up his sneakers for his final game while up north, the Warriors were going for their record-breaking 73rd win on the season.
That Warriors team is often remembered for making everything look effortless, which they did frequently, but the season on a whole was actually quite a grind. They hadn’t yet gotten Kevin Durant, so it wasn’t completely unfair yet, and they were getting their best shots from everyone night in and night out. James Harden and Dwight Howard in Houston, the Lob City Clippers, a Spurs team that had Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard, and of course Russ and KD in OKC, all of wanted desperately to knock off the defending champs every time they played. Not to mention they missed the steady hand of Steve Kerr for a huge chunk of the season, interimly replaced by Luke Walton.
The final Warriors game started off with little pomp and circumstance, and the dubs effortlessly opened up a double-digit lead right out of the gate. The Grizzlies never threatened seriously, Curry scored 46 points almost incidentally, and in a matter of a few hours, the record for regular season wins fell. The Oakland fans applauded the accomplishment respectfully but relatively calmly for a crowd that was known to be loud. The players barely celebrated the accomplishment, knowing that it would mean little if they were unable to consummate the season with a ring.
The Lakers game, on the other hand, was all about celebrating the career of Kobe Bryant. Magic Johnson gave a speech before the game, Flea performed the national anthem, while Jay-Z, David Beckham, Kanye West, The Weeknd, Shaq, Derek Fisher, George Lopez, Adam Levine, and of course, Jack Nicholson sat courtside. And the Lakers fell behind immediately, trailing by 15 points at half, Kobe sitting with 22 points having taken the vast majority of the Lakers’ shots.
Kobe’s body had broken down from the hard miles of an NBA career, and he hadn’t been a top player since his achilles tear almost exactly three years earlier. There weren’t high expectations for Kobe’s actual performance. People were really just there to celebrate the past, so it really wouldn’t have been a big deal if Kobe had played an average game and the Lakers had lost. So even though the game itself was uninteresting, it wasn’t anti-climactic per se. And then the second half tipped off.
A trio of white dudes on the Jazz who seemed pretty uninterested in playing defense having just been eliminated from the playoffs took turns standing in front of Kobe while he had the ball. Kobe Jab steps, spins, blows by Gordon Hayward, and pulls up over Jeff Withey for two. Next possession - he dribbles the ball over to the corner and pulls up for three while Joe Ingles half-heartedly raises an arm paying lip service to close-out defense. Splash.
This is not to diminish the accomplishment. Even if the effort level was low, and it took literally 50 of his teams 85 shots, scoring 60 points against NBA players is always remarkable, particularly when you watch how Kobe was finishing at the rim. More than once he pulled off some pretty miraculous reverse layups, and managed to score in traffic despite not even being able to dunk. Kobe’s career was defined by his ability to dig deep in crunch time, his willingness to attack the biggest moments on the brightest stages, and also by his ball-hogging and poor shot selection. This game was almost like a caricature of all of that with the elements of Kobe’s game turned to 11 and the setting entirely manufactured.
These games had very little in common aesthetically, but they were both incredibly impressive achievements that were ultimately entirely inconsequential. The Warriors went on the lose the finals in heart-breaking fashion, turning their historic accomplishment into a glorified qualifying lap record. It was impossible to consider that team greater than the ‘96 Bulls who’s seemingly unbreakable record they broke. And the Lakers… just went home after the game.
Nevertheless, I always think back on April 13th, 2016 fondly when the NBA regular season wraps up. Whether you love or hate the Warriors and/or the Lakers, the herculean efforts were undeniable. Kobe’s career, and that Warriors team’s season, culminated on the same glorious day. Nothing changed because of it, but damn if it wasn’t amazing to witness.