The Los Angeles Lakers went up against the San Antonio Spurs Friday night after a long break post All-Star Weekend. Although the talent discrepancy between the two teams was quite significant, the matchup was a special one for Kobe Bryant. It was his final time going up against the Spurs and he cherished every minute of it.
Although San Antonio had the last laugh as they won 119-113, the Lakers battled hard against one of the best teams in the league. After the game, Bryant spoke to the media about his career playing the Spurs. Kobe mentioned his favorite memories and talked about his all-time playoff record against San Antonio, via Ryan Ward of Examiner:
Kobe Bryant favorite memory against Spurs: “Four times we beat them in the playoffs. Does that count? Four to three.”
— Ryan Ward (@Lakers_Examiner) February 20, 2016
The Lakers and Spurs have faced each other seven times in the playoffs during Bryant’s career, and luckily the Lakers have come out on top four of those times. However, Bryant and the Spurs have an equal championship count as they are both locked at five.
Still, the Spurs may have a chance of adding one more with Tim Duncan as they are currently the second seed in the Western Conference. Even though Duncan is in the final years of his career, the franchise has been able to put a very talented squad around him.
Lakers great Magic Johnson recently said how he is disappointed that the Lakers front office was not able to give Bryant a chance to compete for a title in his final season. Even though the farewell tour has been great for Bryant, he much rather would have enjoyed winning a title before calling it quits.
Los Angeles will be back on the court Sunday when the team travels to play the Chicago Bulls.