April 13th, 2016 will go down as one of the most historic days in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers. After 20 years of dominance for the only organization he ever knew, Kobe Bryant played his final game that evening.

Despite the Lakers' pitiful 16-65 record going into his final bout, the atmosphere at Staples Center was that of a Finals game. The best player in the last 20 years of Lakers basketball was taking the court for the final time, and the emotions were heavy.

There was certainly joy in celebrating everything he accomplished, and then triumph as Bryant miraculously dropped 60 points (albeit on 50 shots) to beat the Utah Jazz in the final moments. He scored 15 points in the final 3:04.

However, perhaps the most prominent emotion in the building that night was sorrow. Laker fans didn't want to imagine life without the Mamba, but they knew this was it. The sadness was palpable, especially to Bryant. And that's the last thing he wanted:

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From the Sports and Entertainment Summit that Bryant was speaking at:

I just remember being extremely excited. There was a kind of sadness that was kind of coating Staples Center, and I didn't wanna have that. I didn't want people to be sad, because I wasn't sad. I was happy. I wanted to make sure I gave them something to celebrate versus be sad over.

Kobe gave them exactly that. In putting up 60 points for the sixth time in his career, the Purple & Gold faithful will remember April 13th, 2016 as a day of celebration and elation, rather than despair.

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