On April 13, 2016, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant played in his 1,346th and final regular-season game. Before Bryant took the court, he received a retirement ring from Lakers owner Jeanie Buss. Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers slapped out the the national anthem on his electric bass, and then No. 24 put on a show of his own scoring 60 points after starting oh-for-five.
Bryant finished his career with the third most points scored in NBA history, more than a 1,000 points ahead of Michael Jordan. Even with LA having signed LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers will always be Kobe’s team as he helped lead the Purple and Gold to five titles. In addition to the banners, the Black Mamba left behind a treasure-trove of quotes for future players to aspire.
KOBE BRYANT’S TOP 10 QUOTES
With so many quotable quotes to chose from, it’s as difficult to settle on a top ten, but we gave it a go nonetheless. As Bryant himself would say, “If you’re afraid to fail, then you’re probably going to fail.”
''I'll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it's sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.''
''The last time I was intimidated was when I was 6 years old in karate class.''
''Losing is losing, there aren't different degrees of losing. You either win a championship or you're s---.''
''Everything negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise.''
''Better learn not to talk to me. You shake the tree, a leopard's gonna fall out.''
''The only thing I'm afraid of is bees. I don't like bees. I'm allergic to them.''
''I can't relate to lazy people. We don't speak the same language. I don't understand you. I don't want to understand you.''
''Christmas morning, I'm going to open presents with my kids. I'm going to take pictures of them opening the presents. Then I'm going to come to the Staples Center and get ready to work.''
''I love going one-on-one with someone. That's what I do. I've never lost. It's a whole different game, just to have them right in front of you and be able to do whatever you want.''
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