The end is coming for Kobe Bryant. That’s been clear to those who have watched Bryant struggle through injuries and diminished abilities the past few seasons. Yet what is clear to the observer is murky to the subject.
Professional athletes are terribly proud, and when the end comes for them, as it always does and always will, there are those who fight it – a losing fight, forever a losing fight – and those who accept it. For Kobe, the question has always been which path he’ll take. It appears as if he’ll choose the path of least resistance.
Kobe Bryant, w/ both knees in ice & a shoulder wrapped too: "If you asked me today, I’d say this would be my last year. But you never know."
— Baxter Holmes (@Baxter) November 7, 2015
If this is indeed it for Bryant, that means Sunday’s game against the New York Knicks will be his last performance at Madison Square Garden. It could also mean that his teammates won’t see the ball all that much, as Derek Fisher told Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
“There were nights we came here I didn’t get a lot of shots myself because of how much he relishes doing well at the Garden,” Fisher said. “So for his Laker teammates (Sunday), they may not get as many shot attempts.”
That won’t be anything new for the Kobe’s teammates, since his 78 field goal attempts already leads the team (Jordan Clarkson is second with 66). Yet the Lakers probably won’t benefit any more from Kobe taking the majority of the Lakers’ shots today than they have any other game. Kobe’s been known to put on a show at MSG, but given how he’s played this season, the audience may not be cheering for an encore.
