Kobe Bryant has finally retired from professional basketball.
The Los Angeles Lakers star had a vintage game last night against the Utah Jazz, which marked the last game of his storied, 20-year career sporting the purple and yellow.
Here are 9 of his most memorable highights in the NBA over that span.
- Alongside Shaquille O’Neill, Kobe Bryant won his first NBA title in 2000. During those playoffs, he had a 25-point, 11 rebound, 7 assist, 4 block game in game 7 of the Western Conference finals against the Portland Trail Blazers. He stepped up all postseason and won his first trophy.
- The following year, the Lakers became back-to-back champions thanks to an impressive playoff run where they went 15-1 against the opposition. Shaq called Kobe the best player in the game by then, thanks in part to his 29.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game
- The three-peat was complete in 2002 when Bryant, Shaq and co. won another NBA title with Kobe amassing a career high 46.9% shooting.
- In 2006, he hit a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors.
- The “Black Mamba” fell short in 2008 when the Boston Celtics beat the Lakers in the NBA final. However, Kobe had a season to remember that year that netted him the MVP trophy.
- Kobe Bryant was back on top the following season as the Lakers beat the Orlando Magic in the 2009 NBA Finals, and Kobe won his first Finals MVP trophy thanks to a virtuoso performance that includes the following statistics: 32.4 points, 7.4 assists, 5.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks.
- Sweet vindication was achieved the following season as the Lakers won the NBA Finals again (Kobe’s fifth and final title) against the same Celtics that beat them two years prior. Game 7 of the series was closely contested, but Bryant ended up being the difference, scoring 10 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and grabbing 15 rebounds. Once again, Kobe was the NBA Finals MVP.
- Kobe’s performances on the field earned him 18 All-Star appearances. He played in 15 of these games, averaging 19.3 points per game. His first All-Star MVP trophy came in 2002 when he dropped 31 points in the game.
- In his last season (2015-16), Kobe Bryant averaged 17.6 points per game. However, he capped off his career in style as he put on a throwback performance against the Utah Jazz, scoring a season-high 60 points.
Thanks for 20 years of greatness, Kobe.
