KOBE BRYANT TAKES A BOW

After 20 years in the NBA, Kobe Bryant has certainly left his mark on the rest of the league. Whether it was the titans of today's game or the budding stars of tomorrow, most everyone had something to say about the retiring legend during his final season.



Frank Vogel (Nov. 29)
“Every time he touched the ball and every time he checked in, the place exploded like it was Game 7 of the Finals.”

Paul George (Nov. 29)
“Kobe was my (Michael) Jordan. I didn’t really have any moments of watching Jordan, but Kobe was my Jordan. Watching him win championships — I remember just being at home watching the games with my mom, my grandma, my dad, (and) just idolizing him. After the game was over, I’d go in the front yard and try to imitate everything that I just saw. So he was, in my eyes – not saying he’s better than Jordan – but, for me, growing up, that’s who I idolized and look up to. That was the standard. He was the best player and it wasn’t close.”

LeBron James (Dec. 1)
"I knew I had to be better because of Kobe Bryant. I knew he was in the gym and I knew he was working on his game. And I knew he was great. So every day that I didn't want to work out or every day I felt like I couldn't give more, I always thought of Kobe. Because I knew that he was getting better." (via ESPN.com)

DeMar DeRozan (Dec. 7)
It was an honor. It's a sad day. It's a little bit of everything just to see him walking away from the game, especially someone I idolized and grew up watching. I'm honored to have the opportunity to just compete against him. When I'm old, I can add in stories that I played against Kobe, like a lot of older guys do about Michael Jordan.

Jason Kidd (Dec. 15)
“Kobe is Kobe. You can’t expect anything less no matter what his shooting percentage is. We talked about that today that he is one of the best to ever play this game, and if you give him an opportunity, he’ll embarrass you, and that’s what he did tonight.”

Kevin Durant (Dec. 23)
“Great players elevate your game, elevate the team, and he’s one of those guys.”

Blake Griffin (Dec. 25)
“Kobe’s a guy that’s done so much for this league and has such a big imprint on the game of basketball for the past 20 years.”

We will surely miss you.