Farewell Kobe Bryant

I'm not here to say Kobe Bryant was better than Michael Jordan or to debate who was the better Laker between him or Magic; because, let's be real, he's not winning those battles. We’re not debating Kobe’s place all-time as so many will do. I’d rather take a moment and look back on the highs and lows of the future Hall of Famer’s marvelous career.

Bryant's journey to the NBA started right after high school; any kid's hoop dream, right? To go pro and make millions. Bryant showed plenty of promise coming out of Lower Merion High School. He had the drive and the determination needed to be successful at the pro level. Can you imagine if Bryant was never traded to the Los Angeles Lakers on draft day though? Who's to say he would've went on to have the career that he did?

Now, Bryant's career didn't take off immediately; he had his rookie struggles. I mean, he went from playing against scrubs in high school to playing against the best of the best. Who can forget that playoff series against Utah? Luckily, there were future Hall of Famers there to pick up his slack like Robert Horry and Shaquille O'Neal.

Fast forward to when Bryant began to make a name for himself. From '00 to '02, Bryant and the Lakers dominated the league winning multiple championships. Then life threw a curve ball at Bryant. The young star caught sexual assault charge charge, but he played for his freedom and the case was eventually dropped due to lack of testimony.

If you weren't a Lakers fan you probably grew up hating Bryant for everything. Some of that hate was warranted. He pushed out arguably one of the greatest centers of all time and he broke guy code when he spoke on Shaq’s infidelities. This hurt the Lakers immediately. The '05, '06, and '07 Lakers were terrible; Kwame Brown, Smush Parker, Chris Mihm. This is where the "ball hog" label against Bryant began. If Kobe is trying to dish out to Kwame Brown and Smush Parker we never get that 81 point performance. In all seriousness, who was he supposed to pass to? Bryant still managed to drag those teams into the post season. Just some of the impressive accomplishments of Bryant's career.

Bryant needed help though if he was ever going to be a champion again, so the Lakers swindled the Grizzlies for Pau Gasol, brought in Trevor Ariza, and brought back D-Fish. Now you had the squad that would go on to win back to back titles in’ 09 & ‘10. Bryant was also able to capture his first and only MVP award in 2008.

The next few years as a Kobe fan were rough. Bryant demands the best out of his teammates, and he was not surrounded by the best teammates. Kobe still went on to fill up arenas and fill out and stat sheets, but he was still swept by Dallas in 2011. The Achilles injury during the 2012-'13 season came after winning gold in the London Olympics. A fractured kneecap, and lastly the torn rotator cuff would end his 2014-'15 season, but through all those hardships Kobe always managed to come back and give the fans something to cheer for. Even if he wasn’t the Kobe of old, he still carried himself as if he was still the best player in the world.

Eventually though it began to evident to ignore; Father Time had caught up to Kobe Bryant. He realized it and announced that the 2015-16 season would be his last. One last ride for one of the greatest of his generation. Looking back could you really hate Kobe as a player? He played through injuries most would sit out for. Rest? He never sat out games like some stars of the league today do; if he could play he was going to play. That kind of grit is unseen in today's NBA. He never switched jerseys to win a title. He never had multiple coaches fired. He dominated, lighting up every single team in the league at one point or another, posterizing your favorite player or putting him on skates. Kobe just had a way of making the opposition’s best defender look like he didn't belong. Kobe has done it all and you have to respect that. There will never be another like number 8 or number 24; either number, it did not matter. Tonight we say farewell to one of the greatest to ever set foot on the NBA hardwood.