I'm glad Kobe was able to cap off his career with a game like that. 50 shot attempts or not, it was a fitting sendoff. Jason Whitlock said some moronic stuff about that game on Thursday -- anybody here hear about it?
A lot of people like to bash Kobe for being the catalyst in the downfall of the Lakers, but I disagree. Jim Buss and Co. threw money at him and he took it. So many detractors point to Tim Duncan (actually my all-time favorite player) and point out his selflessness while antagonizing Kobe, but hey, I feel that Jim Buss and Co. threw that money at Kobe out of fear. Garbage front office decisions like that and others have derailed the Lake Show.
I'm not a Lakers guy, but I think the NBA is most interesting/entertaining when the Lakers, Celtics, Sixers (yeah... hasn't happened for a while) and Knicks (uh... yeah) are contending. Like others, I'm not a fan of the buddy-buddy ways of stars today. I miss seeing rivalries on the floor. Raja Bell vs. Kobe comes to mind.