Kobe Bryant‘s farewell game in which he dropped an astounding 60 points for the Lakers on Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz is one that will never be forgotten by Lakers fans, Kobe fans, NBA fans, and sports fans around the world.
After 18 All-Star selections, 5 NBA Championship rings, and spending 20 years in the purple and gold, it was quite fitting that the Black Mamba ended his legendary career in the fashion that he did on Wednesday night. Bryant left his blood, sweat, and tears on the hardwood.
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It was truly an epic way to close out the career of one of the NBA's all-time greatest players. It was so epic in fact, it raises the debate whether the Black Mamba's final game was the best ever in the history of sports.
Most recently, Peyton Manning said goodbye to his football playing days in quite heroic fashion. Manning walked away after from the NFL after having won the second Super Bowl of his illustrious 18 year career. However, his individual game performance was not as impressive as that of Kobe's. The Sheriff completed just 13-of-23, with 141 yards and an interception in his final game for the Denver Broncos. Still, one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL retired after winning his second Super Bowl, one that he had been chasing for the final eight seasons of his Hall of Fame career. Pretty epic in my book, but is that performance better than Kobe's?
John Elway retired after winning his second consecutive Super Bowl for the Broncos against the Atlanta Falcons in 1998. In his farewell game, Elway threw for 336 yards and a touchdown, and ran for another score, in leading the Broncos to a 34-19 win over Atlanta. Is that farewell game better than Kobe's? I'm sure Kobe would have preferred to have walked away from the game as a repeat champion, but the debate can still can be had that Kobe's individual performance in his last game was more impressive than that of Elway's.
Derek Jeter‘s final game at Yankee Stadium of his 19 year legendary career for for the New York Yankees was also quite epic, as one of the most beloved players in the historic franchise's history hit a walk-off game winning hit in his final home at-bat in 2014. Although the performance was indeed epic, it wasn't truly his farewell game, as the Yankees finished off the season with a three game series on the road against the Boston Red Sox. The performance will never be forgotten by Yankees' fans, but I still think it is safe to claim that Kobe's farewell performance trumps that of Jeter's.
In the NHL, there is no more legendary farewell game than that of Ray Bourque‘s. After a 22 year career filled with 19 NHL All-Star Selections, Bourque was able to skate away from his final game a champion, hoisting the Stanley Cup he had so desperately been chasing throughout his 22 year career.
Let the discussion begin, sports fans. Was Kobe Bryant's farewell game indeed the best in the history of sports?
It is certainly debatable.
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