Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant‘s final game was truly a once-in-a-lifetime moment. Staples Center was packed more than usual, especially with celebrities, former NBA players and colleagues of the legend. It had an uncanny championship atmosphere, though the Lakers were gunning for just their 17th win of the season.
After the fireworks
Bryant’s 60-point outburst plus the Lakers’ win was the night’s greatest moment. It was the fairy-tale ending that every athlete wanted. Post-game in the Lakers’ locker room, one would assume Kobe was getting mobbed by his teammates and showered with champagne. However, Lakers’ former vice president of public relations, John Black, recalled the Mamba was left alone in his locker room.
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Black assumed his teammates were in an utter state of confusion, that they couldn’t move or speak. When Black approached Bryant, the PR exec discovered the Mamba was in a daze, too. They had a few exchanges, trying to make sense of one of the best final performances in sports.
“So, I go walking up to him and tell him what interviews he had to do and the first thing when I walked up to him, the first thing he said to me, ‘What the … just happened out there?’ It was such a funny thing, right? That’s the first thing he said. So, I guess I kind of chuckled a little bit and what I said back to him, I said, ‘I don’t know but it sure was fun to watch,'” Black said in 2021, via the Los Angeles Times.
Savoring the moment
Black, who had been with the Lakers since 1989, knew exactly how the players behaved after the game. Like most of them, Bryant opted to freshen up right after the contest before talking to the media.
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But after his final game, Kobe, still sweaty and reeling from a performance of a lifetime, tried to gather his thoughts in preparation for press time. Black surmised that the iconic shooting guard wanted to stay in the moment for as long as possible.
“And I think the other thing is, I think he just wanted to keep that uniform on as long as possible,” Black said.
“So he said to me, ‘I’m ready to go talk to the press,’ and I thought it was going to be 20 or 30 minutes and he surprised me that he wanted to do it right away and he wanted to do it while he was still in uniform. So, I took him still in uniform over to the press conference room and that was the last time he wore his uniform was during that press conference,” he added.
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It’s been almost 10 years since Kobe’s epic finale, and people are still constantly revisiting the legendary performance. Fans have their own reasons. Some are looking to relive the moment, while some are trying to make sense of it.
It was as if Bryant knew all along that he was going to end his career in the most perfect way possible. It was as if all the basketball gods conspired to write the perfect ending for one of the game’s greatest.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 13, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.