Even though Kobe Bryant’s final season with the Los Angeles Lakers did not produce the wins that he or the fans wanted, it still left plenty of memories. Kobe was cheered at every arena all around the country and this is something that Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner remembers vividly.
Turner was a rookie during Bryant’s last season and he was on the floor during Kobe’s final game in Indiana. It was a hard-fought close game that came down to the final few minutes and the thing that stood out to Turner was the fact that the entire building, Pacers fans included, were cheering for Kobe.
Turner appeared on the Tidal League podcast and recalled the contest, remembering that Kobe basically singlehandedly led a Lakers comeback down the stretch, but when it came up short, Pacers fans booed the outcome:
“I remember we were playing against Kobe Bryant my rookie year […] Mind you this is his farewell tour. We were up the entire game and any time Kobe touches the ball ‘AHHHHH!’ every single time. It’s like crunch time now and we’re starting to get down and Kobe leads an entire comeback by himself, bruh it’s a single digit game. We’re up double-digits the entire game, he scores like 4 or 5 possessions in a row, crowd’s going crazy ‘AHHHHH!’ right? [Paul George] comes up, hits a crazy three, ‘BOOOOOOO!’ Our own f***ing crowd, bro.
“Mind you I think this was a big game in the season, we’re trying to make the playoffs. And then Kobe, he had missed some fadeaway. He had missed not a game-winner, but like a game-tying or something like that. Bro, we won the game, the entire arena, even our own fans, booing. They wanted the Lakers to win so bad, bro.”
Stories like this show just how popular Bryant was, and that farewell tour was surely something that was one of a kind. The funny thing about this particular contest is that run that Turner spoke of was Kobe’s only good shooting stretch of the contest.
Bryant scored on four straight possessions, scoring 11 points in under two minutes and giving the Lakers a three-point lead with 2:30 remaining. But he finished the game with 19 points, shooting just 6-of-25 on the night, so the game was another example of Kobe never being deterred despite an off night.
But for Turner to experience his home crowd booing him and his team as a rookie had to be something he never could have imagined, which is likely why he still remembers it to this day.
Novak Djokovic pays tribute to Lakers legend Kobe Bryant after winning US Open
Even after his untimely death, Bryant is still an inspiration for many around the world and one athlete who continues to pay tribute to the Lakers legend is tennis star Novak Djokovic.
Arguably the greatest tennis player of all-time, Djokovic recently won the US Open, his record 24th Grand Slam title. After the victory, Djokovic put on a custom ‘Mamba Forever’ shirt with the number 24 on the back and spoke on the friendship they shared.
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