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Phoenix Suns: A Farewell To Kobe Bryant

By Gerald Bourguet

Mar 23, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant waves to the crowd as he is pulled from the game in the fourth quarter against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Lakers 119-107. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 23, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant waves to the crowd as he is pulled from the game in the fourth quarter against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Lakers 119-107. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Now that Kobe Bryant’s 20-year rivalry with the Phoenix Suns has reached its conclusion, it’s time to look back on the playoff battles, the mutual hatred, his relationship with Devin Booker and the final chapter.

Kobe Bryant
Mar 23, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant waves to the crowd as he is pulled from the game in the fourth quarter against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Lakers 119-107. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Kobe Bryant is a name that evokes a reaction no matter your NBA fandom. For fans of the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns, those reactions have always been strong juxtapositions of each other, a dichotomy of good and evil with both sides seeing the other as the bad guys.

The Lakers, of course, have long been the NBA’s evil empire, and not just from the Suns’ perspective. The franchise has 16 championships to its name, five of which came under the watch of one of the league’s all-time great villains in Bryant.

But while Shaquille O’Neal was beloved for his buoyant personality and the fact that he didn’t stay in L.A. long enough to help establish another Lakers dynasty, Kobe was vilified for his unwavering focus, his obsessive dedication to competition, and the trademark scowl that came with all his success — a good portion of which came against Phoenix.

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Suffice it to say that Kobe Bryant’s final stop in Phoenix Wednesday night marked a highly anticipated conclusion to a 20-year relationship on the calendars of Suns fans and the Black Mamba himself.

In the game, Bryant finished with only 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting. He posted a -23 point differential, the Lakers lost by 12, and the matchup itself hardly carried the same weight of the losing records dragging these teams to the bottom of the Western Conference — or the memorable playoff matchups that bred all the animosity between Kobe and the Suns in the first place.

For Suns fans, the only thing more obnoxious than his self-annointed nickname of “Black Mamba” was that he always seemed to live up to it, reserving his most brutal killing blows for Phoenix in a few memorable playoff moments that prevented Steve Nash from ever winning that coveted first ring.

And what better way to enhance the contempt of that rivalry than with Bryant’s own hatred for Phoenix?

Next: Kobe's Hatred For The Suns

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