Written by Tyler Kepner at New York Times.com
There would be a celebration for Kobe Bryant on Wednesday. Everybody knew that much. The signs were everywhere. Look outside: a block party. Look courtside: gift bags for all. Look up: purple and yellow balloons suspended from the rafters of the Staples Center.
Before the Lakers had ever won a title in Los Angeles, they bunched balloons atop the Forum for Game 7 of the Finals with the Boston Celtics in 1969, anticipating a party that never came. That day ended in despair and embarrassment. Once upon a time, the Lakers could never win the big one.
Now, they rarely win at all. This was the worst season in the history of their proud franchise. But for 20 years here, Bryant was a callback to the glory days. He helped hang five banners high on the wall of Staples Center. They were the backdrop on Wednesday for the final point of his career: a free throw for his 60th of the night, a number no one else reached in the N.B.A. this season.
So when the balloons fell and the corner cannons blasted confetti, the celebration was more than a salute for past greatness. The Lakers’ 101-96 victory over the Utah Jazz became an outpouring of joy for a singular sensation, for the rare and chilling moment when a once-great athlete digs deep for that old magic, and finds it.
“The coolest thing is that my kids actually saw me play like I used to play,” Bryant said. “It was like, ‘Whoa, Dad!’ I said, ‘Yeah, I used to do that.’ They were like, ‘Really?’ I was like, ‘Dude, YouTube it.’ ”
This was history unfolding in real time. Bryant, the third-leading scorer in N.B.A. history, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone, had his first 60-point game since 2009 at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks. He played 1,346 games in the regular season, and this was just his sixth with 60 points.
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