It’s been nearly a month since Kobe Bryant played his last game where he scored 60 points on 50 shots. We’ve seen countless tributes to his amazing performance and have done our best to capture the moment ourselves. What we have not heard yet, though, were comments from anyone on the Jazz.
Until now.
In a blog post on his website, Jazz Forward Gordon Hayward talked about what it was like to play against Kobe on that final night of his career. Hayward talked about the general atmosphere of the game, how knowing the Jazz were unlikely to make the playoffs affected their mindset, what it was like trying to defend Kobe on a night where everyone wanted him to shoot, and getting caught up in the moment down the stretch.
It was those last two points which stood out the most to me, though. You rarely get an NBA player to talk candidly about what specific game situations are like or the vibe when the game actually turns. We forget it now, but the Jazz were actually leading most of the game and were up double digits with under 5 minutes left. Realistically, they should have won. But, then Kobe happened. I’ll let Hayward explain:
We were up double digits for most of the second half, and we led by 10 with about three minutes to go. So when Kobe started hitting shots and the game started to get close, a lot of us were in shock.
It was like being a part of a showcase, or being in a video game. There wasn’t really much normality about it. A guy scored 60 points and took 50 shots. There was something different as far as his aggressiveness. I think every time he touched it, you knew he was going to try to shoot it, or try to score, or try to get something going. He’s always an aggressive player, but that night, he was ultra-aggressive and tried to score on every single possession.
That’s harder to defend than you might think, when you’re constantly getting screened. If he’s got the ball, it’s going to be a ball screen. If he doesn’t have the ball, it’s going to be a pin-down or some other screen to get him the ball. I thought for the most part, we played pretty tough defense. There were a bunch of possessions where we forced him into tough shots. But he’s Kobe Bryant.
I’ve never really heard defense framed this way, but it makes sense. Tangentially, it’s also why the top two-way players who can both be the fulcrum of their own team’s offense while taking up the challenge of defending the other team’s top player are so special. It takes so much energy to be at the center of the game-plan on both sides of the floor, but the very best players can still thrive when that’s the case.
Lastly, I thought Hayward’s close to his piece about competing against Kobe was really great:
Playing against Kobe is something I’ll never forget. I can remember my rookie year, being kind of star-struck watching him play. But when you’re out there competing against him, he is just the guy that you’re going against and trying to beat. And you better give it everything you have. He was the ultimate competitor and I will always remember playing against him. It’s something I’ll tell my kids about. I’ll be sure to show them the video of me stealing the ball from him and dunking—any highlights I had against him. You’re talking about a guy who is an all-time great. It was truly an honor to compete against him.
I know the Lakers are moving on. They’ve parted ways with Byron Scott, hired Luke Walton, and are in the process of looking for assistants. In a week the draft lottery will determine if they keep their draft pick and in July free agency starts. But Hayward’s post is a nice reminder that the Lakers had it pretty good for a while there with that #24 guy.
harold says
This is refreshing. For me the game had some similarities to the 81 point game (which is probably the most Kobe game before his last game) and wonder if the feelings of the players on that Toronto team was similar…
Fern says
We need a Super Sayian Gif for Kobe lol. But not for that game. There’s plenty of playoffs games to chose. And one of Magic when he hit that hook in Boston in 85′ lol. BTW well said in the other thread P. Ami
Nerd Nation says
Looked to me like Hayward did a couple of classy things at the end of the game. Lane violation on Kobe’s last free throw ensured another shot at 60 if he missed it and then going for a layup instead of attempting game tying three. Maybe he didn’t do them on purpose, but it’s possible that he did since the game was meaningless for the Jazz.
Robert says
“the Lakers had it pretty good for a while there with that #24 guy.” When I think about that final game where Kobe scored 60, I coulda sworn he was wearing #8.
LKK says
15 points in the last 3:10….17 straight points and his final play was an assist to Clarkson for a dunk….Kobe was “must-see” from the air balls in his rookie season to his final game. He is an all time great showman as well as an all time great player.
The final 3:10….
https://youtu.be/y64OsZNYhp0
Loved Jack’s reaction when Kobe made that 3 right in front of his courtside seats.
J C says
What I felt about that game was that Kobe had been saving just a little bit on the side all season so that on his final night, he could dial up all of his energy, all of his passion for the game, and deliver one last show, one final display of his prodigious talent, and surpass all expectation no matter how wild. So that he could say, “Yes – I was THAT good. Don’t forget me.”
I don’t think he will, but I truly hope Kobe doesn’t try a Wizards-Jordan type comeback in a year or two. Even though he probably could. His exit as it stands is truly one of the greatest of all time.
teamn says
Fern — saw your response, thanks for the link. I actually did find it myself first, very funny.
Darius — really appreciate your continued efforts to post new content and to find different angles on what has become the same story for the past few years. I also have to say I am surprised that this place stays as relatively cordial as it does, given the lack of new arguments to push. Kudos to you and the posters. While small fires seem to flare every once in awhile, I think people that come here appreciate the overall vibe.
Here’s hoping the next few months bring new subjects for debate and discussion, as well as a team that starts to generate real hope for the future.
Fern says
Others summers have been dull on this site. But i think this summer is going to be anything but. Just a gut feeling. Im really happy the Thunder have the Spurs on the brink of elimination. I absolutely can’t stand the notion of Tim Duncan winning more championships than Kobe. Screw the Spurs, their organization their system and their fans,for real.
TempleOfJamesWorthy says
Re:“There were a bunch of possessions where we forced him into tough shots.”
And there were a bunch of possessions where the Jazz played Laker-level defense and basically got out of Kobe’s way.
I watched that game. I didn’t see tough defense. I’d have to do an A-B comparision with Kobe’s 81-point game to see whether the Raptors or the Jazz played worse, but neither team did much on those nights.
LKK says
Fern…
Lol! How do you really feel about the Spurs?? The thing I dislike the most is how their players get so much credit for taking less money to sign with them. I think it’s a form of collusion that circumvents the salary cap. Players like Tim should have a minimum salary that is reflective of their years in the league. When a $20M player signs for 1/4 of his value, it creates an artificial situation. Who loves their boss so much that they will work for way less than they’re worth? The sooner the Spurs go fishing, the better!
LKK says
Worthy…
Give it a rest. The man is gone. You can exhale.
KenOak says
I always wondered whether BigCitySid and TOJW would remain as posters once Kobe retired. Guess so. 😉
Thanks for this Darius. That was such a great game and a fitting way to cap off the career of one of the all time greats.
@Fern
Completely agree about the Spurs. I think it’s funny that the Spurs have had the same coach and the same system for the last 20 years. Many of the same players for the last 13 and yet have “only” managed the 5 championships in 6 appearances. I really like Duncan and I think he’s one of the top 5 greatest centers of all time. (Yes, I think he’s a center. The only reason he listed as a PF is that he would never start an all star game otherwise.) However, I think if he is really as great as everyone has him listed, then why only 5 championships when his team has been absolutely stacked his entire career? Same top 3 All time coach. Alongside 2 HOF players his whole career in Manu and TP. Not to mention starting his career with the Admiral. Then, finishing it up with Kawhi Leonard? Yet, again, only 5 championships.
If Kobe had gotten his team to the first or second seed as many times as TD did and *didn’t* win the championship….I can tell you what many writers headlines would be.
And yeah I’m being a little facetious by saying *only* 5 championships. TD is a great player, but give me Kobe.
AusPhil says
Fern – With you on the Spurs, and for the exact same reason.
Renato Afonso says
People really need to understand how hard it is to guard a guy who’s getting screens and pin downs all the time and can shoot from anywhere on the floor. The DeRozan’s of this world are easier to guard because their lack of outside shooting allows you to sometimes avoid a pin down or go under on a screen. You want him to beat you with his outside shot which isn’t reliable at all. But the Kobe’s (or Harden’s) of this world are a threat from everywhere on the floor and chasing them is extremely tiring. Referees call less moving screens when they are made for star players and usually you have PF’s and C’s making those screens. Not only are they big and harder to go around but they try to punish you a little bit every time you touch them. And this is beyond the difficulty of trying to stop a guy in triple threat who’s actually a triple threat.
Kobe, like Ginobili or Harden, can drive equally well to both sides and shoot from where he is after a fake. You can’t be too close to him nor too far and, unless you are sure you have help from one side, you can’t even force him to one side. Usually you cut off one of his driving options by putting a foot slightly forward and wider, practically inviting him to drive to his weak side. After he drives to that weak side you don’t want him to go all the way to the rim (assuming there’s no help) but rather take a contested midrange jumper because you were able to predict his option and recover just in time. If you study film and the opponent stats you’ll even know where on the floor and when on the shot clock he’s more likely to take such option. But Kobe is a statistical anomaly. He can drive equally well to both sides and he can shoot from anywhere on the floor. That fact on its own makes guarding such player very demanding and if he’s receiving two or three screens every possession, it will take a physical toll on whomever’s guarding him. You can’t totally stop a player like that. Your goal that evening is to decrease his FG% enough to increase your chance of winning the ball game and that decrease must be a realistic goal. If the guys shoots 48% from the floor, a good game would be holding him in the 35-40% range while making him believe you are a better defender than you really are. If he believes you are good enough, sometimes he’ll try to find open teammates before looking for his own shot allowing you to “rest” on some possessions. Decreasing his FG% while making him take even less shots is the ideal game. But that’s what made Kobe different. He was always aggressive. Bruce Bown, Tony Allen, Shane Battier, while they had some success in some games against Kobe, they really couldn’t rest at any point. By what I saw in his last game and by Hayward’s words above, that ultra-agressive Kobe is making you think of where your help is going to come from and if you’re thinking about that, instead of simply knowing, you already failed because Kobe’s going to force to prove him that you can play defense. Every. Single. Time.
But to reinforce the increased respect I found for complete two-way players in my late years, I can tell you that for my last two seasons I joined a weaker team (actually, the weakest team that year). There I became a sort of point forward and was the focal point of our offense. My PTS went up (from 8 to 15, roughly) but my FG% dropped, my REB stayed the same, my AST went way up and my TO went really up, as one should expect. What I didn’t expect was the drop off in the ability to guard a good player. The energy required to be the top player on both ends of the floor is something that cannot be described. You really need to experience it to properly understand and the higher the level you play, the more energy you need. And the more energy you spend, the less concentration you have. You start by not noticing a pin down that was made every other possession. You give the guy 3 or 4 more inches of room because you don’t believe he’ll score on this possession (or at least that’s what you tell your teammates, the reality is that you weren’t focused or you simply weren’t physically capable of getting there on time). On pick and rolls you start calling for the switch, instead of keeping with the show and recover or double team from the 1st period. You start reaching in more than usual, because the ball is right there and you really don’t want to keep running after him for the reamaining 10 seconds left on the shot clock. It is really hard and that’s why only a select few can reach that level. It takes physical ability, skill, high basketball IQ and, most of all, the proper mindset in game preparation. Hayward knows what he’s talking about.
BigCitySid says
@ Fern/AusPhil, never built up that type of dislike for Duncan or the Spurs, probably because I continue to focus my negative basketball feelings on the Celtics. The only franchise with more rings then our Lakers. Spurs aren’t even in the same country, let alone neighborhood.
matt says
Did i hear this right steph curry is the first unanimous nba mvp vote getter ever????
BigCitySid says
– @KenOak, Lol, why would I stop posting because Kobe retired? Based on this post and the thousands forthcoming on KB, his legacy will always have a place on FB&G. I’ve been a Laker fan before Kobe was born. I’ve seen all but one Laker immortal (Mikan) play in their prime and retire, most posters here haven’t, so I get it, for them Kobe is “The One!”
– Being a Laker fan since ’65 is also why I’m more “concerned” about the Celtics than Spurs. San Antonio only has five titles to the Lakers 16 and they are fading. The Celtics have 17 rings, are currently in better position then our Lakers and are still ascending…in the East no less. By signing just one free agent this off season (Durant) they would become a serious contender to win the East. And I haven’t even mentioned the NINE times Boston has prevented L. A. from becoming champs.
– I could be wrong, but I feel FB&G is a place for very diverse Laker fans. We are not a simple monolithic group and I can’t imagine Darius only wants “Yes men” on his site.
– That said, with guarded optimism, I look forward to Tuesday, May 17th and the NBA Draft Lottery…that’s where my Laker focus currently lies.
– It’s all about #17, anything preventing that is an obstacle, whether internal or external.
J C says
Renato-
Great post. Thanks for sharing – always appreciated.
Re: Spurs – I’m entertained by but disagree with those who dislike a great team and franchise that has been a model of teamwork, success and competitiveness for decades. Do some people hate the Warriors now for striving for and achieving excellence?
I love good basketball no matter who’s playing it.
Hale says
J C, Loving basketball and proper hate can be mutually exclusive. If you don’t hate the Spurs you might consider searching Youtube for an online tutorial or an accredited program.
Renato: man, that took me back to the court without aggravating injuries.
Do you have any knowledge and thoughts on Vesely? I read that Jan Vesely is really doing damage in the Turkish league but is a bit sour regarding an NBA return. The article only mentioned his O matured and his confidence is back. Any thoughts on if he’s improved his D or if he’d be a possible fit in this yet to be seen Laker 2016-17 system?
Darius: Thanks for this post. Getting a glimpse of insight from a player in that moment was gold that I probably would have not seen elsewhere.
matt says
In the last 10 years of the nba draft lottery the #2 slotted team has recieved the top 3 pick only 3 times
As a matter of a fact in the last 10 years the #2 slotted team never got the #1 pick
KenOak says
@BCS
I was mostly tongue-in-cheek there. When you’re not going out of your way to belittle, demonize, downplay anything that Kobe was doing -> you aren’t a bad poster here at FB&G. For the record my favorite player had been Magic up until he became a talking head and lost a little of my respect. He made me fall in love with basketball. Not Kobe.
BTW no one here has forgotten about the Celtics. No one here doesn’t know the championship score. However, I get tired of the media talk about the Spurs in the overwhelmingly glowing fashion that they do. If the Spurs do everything the right way, with the right players, coaches, style of play -> then why don’t they have more championships than the Lakers during the same time period? The Lakers who have had a dysfunctional front office and a coaching carousel for many of those years. The Lakers who do everything the wrong way while having “selfish” players like Kobe leading the way?
Nah. I relish in the Spurs failures because it’s more poking an eye of the media. And, I must admit that I dislike Spurs fans.
Davis Luv says
Matt, so you’re saying we’re due?
R says
If the NBA lottery is not rigged, past events will have no bearing on future results.
I hope this doesn’t seem snide or condescending to mention, but some people – not necessarily folks on this site – but people in general are often confused by this. Example: if you flip a coin and it comes up heads ten times in a row, the chances of the next flip being heads is still 50%. The coin doesn’t “know” it’s due to come up tails.
fern says
I hate the Celtics even more, but all this talk about how great the Spurs and how their players are stupid enough to take pay cuts for a team that can’t afford them is enough to make me gag and can’t hide the fact that when both the Lakers and Spurs were good at the same time the Lakers got the best of them and their “beautiful” aka boring and their coveted teamwork most of the time. Lakers are 34-22 in the playoffs and 8-4 in playoff series. So they can take their boring basketball and shove it.I do have respect for them but people talk like their have won 12 championships during their run. They are boring and soulless
AusPhil says
BCS – I am absolutely with you on the Celtics (even though I can only claim fandom back to ’82). It’s really just not wanting to read more “Duncan the greatest of his generation” stories.
Five titles, but never back-to-back. I respect the Spurs (and Timmy D), but dislike the mythology built up around them.
TempleOfJamesWorthy says
@My critics
If you don’t like my criticisms of Kobe, you should hear a couple of my friends who are on the “My God, cut off the zombie’s head, already!” level of dislike.
I’ve said it many times. I strongly respect Kobe Bryant and appreciate what he brought to the Lakers over the years. But there was a cost to that greatness and in the last several years that cost (financially, culturally, and in limiting the team’s options) was far greater than Bryant’s contibutions.
With respect to Kobe’s “amazing” 60-point game, I will concede it was amazing that a player as old and worn as Kobe could maintain the effort level he did in his final appearance (Kobe’s amazing will being one of his positive traits). But consider: The “average” NBA player in 2016 shot .45 from the field, .35 on 3-pointers, and .75 on free-throws. Plug Kobe’s final game attempt numbers into an “average” NBA player and you get….56 points. So Kobe outperformed an “average” NBA player by 7% on his “amazing” night.
If you have any questions about the Jazz defense, I suggest rewatching a couple of the recent Spurs-Thunder or Warriors-Blazers playoff games to see what tough defense looks like and see if the Jazz played anything remotely like it in Kobe’s Last Hurrah.
AttilasDaughter says
Up until a few weeks ago I felt we will get the #1 pick.
Recently some pessimism came in to avoid disappointment.
I heard Byron Scott was always good at getting high picks.
We could really use the two top guys.
Simmons could be the next franchise player.
I’m very exited abut the lottery and Mitch deserves to be the lucky one.
I have a feeling the OKC and SAS series is much like a soccer game between Brazil and Germany.
Only that the Thunder haven’t won anything so far.
It feels like the ball artists (OKC) against the machine (SAS).
Anything can happen now.
Maybe the Western finals Warriors against Thunder would be better.
They have those big guys in Kanter and Adams.
Wonder how that works with small ball.
Meanwhile LeBron sits at home resting.
LTLakerFan says
Loved seeing Kobe go out like that. Other NBA players have tremendous respect for Kobe because, well, they’re NBA players. I’ve been a fan since West and Baylor. Huge Magic fan. Kareem. Kobe’s 20 yrs. A great ride—well except for all the sucking the last several years.
Spurs—“only 5” …LOL. Just shows how hard it is to win championships. 19 straight years of excellence. Averaging 58-win seasons. Playing great ball. Totally deserving of the accolades. I give them their due.
KenOak says
LTLakersFan-
Go ahead and give them their due. They deserve respect as a franchise and Timmy does as a player, but they didn’t win more than the Lakers during the same time period and they never won back to back or threepeat. So, I can’t give them more respect than we get and I can’t give Duncan more respect than Kobe gets.
Fulofunk says
Thanx for that too Darius.