At this point in time, Kobe Bryant’s farewell tour has been well documented. At the start of the season, Kobe released a letter titled, “Dear Basketball.” In the letter, Bryant details how since a child, he has loved basketball, but this season would be his last due to the fact that he ultimately cannot love basketball as obsessively as he has for much longer. After the letter, fans across the nation, of every team, have turned out whenever and wherever the Lakers have played. Fans that once cheered as hard as they could against him, turned out this year to pay their respects to one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

If one thing has become clear throughout his farewell tour, it is that people respect Kobe Bryant. Perhaps it’s the pure competitor that Kobe is that demands respect, or perhaps it is the fact that he has changed the game, and become an ambassador of it. For years, Kobe Bryant would go into hostile arenas with booing fans, and his only goal would be to send them home with a sour look on their faces, asking how one man could will a team to victory. This drive to win that once made Kobe one of the most hated players in the league, is now perhaps the main reason that Kobe is considered one of the greatest players ever. He stopped at nothing to win, and had an unmatched competitiveness that drove his opponents mad. This is what earned him his nickname: “The Black Mamba.” Kobe was said to have had a killer instinct about him, and the ability to strike with both the speed and the force of the deadly snake. Through all of his iconic moments, Kobe kept a stone-cold gaze that could seemingly cut through his opposition. Even in his final season, and even final game, this was still on display.

On April 14th, Kobe Bryant concluded a 20 year NBA career with one last game in LA against the Utah Jazz. There wasn’t a lot of expectations on Kobe to perform well, but he made everyone remember just why he was a legend of a game. When the final buzzers sounded, Kobe had put up a whopping 60 points, the most of any player of their final regular season game, ever. Of these 60 points, he had a classic mid range jumper that basketball fans everywhere had fallen in love with. With the composure of a trained assassin, Kobe stepped up to the free throw line to nail his last two free throws, sealing the game, and sealing one of the greatest careers ever.

There’s no doubt that Kobe has changed basketball. He carried the torch from the old school ballers of the 90’s to the new version of the NBA that can be seen today. Kobe played with the swagger of Jordan’s era, and the elegance of the jump shooting era. It will certainly be a long time before anyone the likes of Kobe comes around again, but one thing is for certain; as Kobe retires, the game of basketball retires one of the greatest players to ever step foot on a court, and one that ought to be remembered for generations to come. Farewell Mamba.