There are few more iconic farewell campaigns than that of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. The highlight of that final season, of course, was the four-time NBA champ’s final game of his career, wherein he astonishingly dropped 60 points to lead the Lakers to an unexpected victory against the Utah Jazz.
In case you forgot, D’Angelo Russell was part of that historic moment. The Lakers star recently reflected on that piece in basketball history.
Los Angeles Lakers News: D’Angelo Russell on Kobe Bryant’s Farewell Tour
Russell looked back fondly on how Kobe’s farewell tour came to be, which included an honest confession about how the Lakers were cellar-dwellers at that point.
“What was crazy, his year turned into a farewell tour out of nowhere,” Russell said. “That s**t just happened. We were trash.”
For what it’s worth, LA’s victory over Utah during Kobe’s final game was just the 17th win of the season for the Lakers that year. They finished dead last in the Western Conference with a 17-65 record.
Russell also had to relive Bryant’s iconic performance during that fateful night. According to the former All-Star point guard, there was something different in Kobe during that game.
“When you got the ball and they booing you, you know what that means. Get that ball to that man,” Russell said. “… You just see his face, he looked young, bro. Just looked like he had it… You can see it mentally, he was prepared. Everybody in the world was at the game.”
D'Angelo Russell looks back on Kobe Bryant's farewell season, including his 60-point masterpiece in his final NBA game:
"What was crazy, his year turned into a farewell tour out of nowhere… We [the Lakers] were trash… When you got the ball and they booing you, you know what… pic.twitter.com/tFD83WIaGY
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 31, 2024
What an amazing moment that was, and I’m pretty sure Russell is just happy to have been part of it all.
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