This past season was the last for Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, as he closed out his 20-year career in the purple and gold.
Throughout his career he provided exciting moment after exciting moment for not just Laker fans, but basketball fans in general.
A few that come to mind were his 81-point game, his buzzer beater from the elbow to beat the Phoenix Suns in the 2006 playoffs, or even the last game of his career when he scored 60 points to comeback and beat the Utah Jazz.
One of his former teammates, current Lakers center Tarik Black was recently asked what his favorite Kobe Bryant moment was, and his answer was a bit interesting, via UnXommon:
When Kobe hit the game winning shot against the Pelicans with his left hand. Wow, just wow. I was actually watching the game on the television in the back when I saw him go for a dunk and it looked like he tore his right shoulder. Just to watch him come back like that and do his signature turnaround jumper with his left hand was just incredible. Everything looked so natural, no hesitation. It was just straight instincts and that just spoke about how great he was. He didn’t cry and all he cared about was wining. He was willing to sacrifice his own health and that speaks about his greatness.
The game he is referring to was in January 2015, when Bryant tore his rotator cuff but remained in the game. While the left-handed hook show he made was not a game winner, it was still a great shot nonetheless:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8CQfmWTlgg
The ability to play through injury at a high level is something that Bryant is highly respected for throughout the league, and for Black to call that his favorite moment of Bryant’s as his teammate shows just that.