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Kobe Bryant Is Done … Now What For The Los Angeles Lakers?

By Gerald Bourguet

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 13: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers walks towards the tunnel after scoring 60 points against the Utah Jazz at Staples Center on April 13, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 13: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers walks towards the tunnel after scoring 60 points against the Utah Jazz at Staples Center on April 13, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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Kobe Bryant
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 13: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers waves to the crowd as he is taken out of the game after scoring 60 points against the Utah Jazz at Staples Center on April 13, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

A Fond Farewell To Kobe

As is the case with any thought process involving the Lakers’ future, we can’t begin without first paying tribute to Kobe Bryant one last time! It may seem superfluous to keep praising one of the NBA’s greatest villains of all time, but make no mistake about it: His departure sends this franchise into unknown territory for the first time…possibly ever.

Gone are the days of Magic and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, of Kobe and Shaquille O’Neal, of Kobe and Pau Gasol. This is the final nail in the coffin that buries the Lakers as an esteemed franchise (for now), so it’s only fitting that Bryant’s retirement was hailed as a funeral of sorts. It truly marked the end of an era.

Kobe dunked, snarled and turnaround jumper’d his way to five NBA titles for this franchise, and even those who hated him for slicing and dicing their favorite team, for the Colorado incident that shouldn’t be forgotten or even for the patented “Kobe face” can’t deny his significance to the Lakers and the NBA in general.

As he officially walks away from the game, Kobe Bryant does so as the league’s third all-time leading scorer, the Lakers franchise leader in scoring and the only player in NBA history to accumulate at least 30,000 points, 7,000 rebounds and 6,000 assists in his career. Even so, the Mamba himself seems to be the only one who’s not sad about this being the end.

"“It’s a celebration, really,” he said after his final game in Phoenix on Mar. 23. “Twenty years, I’ve been very fortunate to play 20 years, that’s a long time. The way I’ve always looked at it is, don’t be sad about it, hopefully throughout my career you can take some of the attributes that I’ve had and the focus and things like that and you can carry it on in whatever it is that you choose to do.”"

Kobe is right to point to his prestigious career in the hopes of it inspiring a younger generation. If #MambaDay taught us anything, it’s that his relentless work ethic and borderline obsessive commitment to the spirit of competition has awed and inspired the current and next generation of superstars, and not just among NBA athletes.

But as a top 10 player of all time and the face of an illustrious franchise for two decades, Kobe’s shadow — for better or worse — will loom over Staples Center until a worthy successor emerges.

Next: What's Next For The Current Lakers

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