[Winters] Kobe said rather than heckle like they normally do, fans were giving him "high 5s" & wishing him "the best of luck sort of thing" #endisnear

It's kind of sad to put in perspective. Kobe had arguably one of his best seasons, goes down with a serious injury, tries his damn hardest to get back in it, and inso doing winds up making himself look pretty horrible on the court at times, but it ultimately proves to be insurmountable. Prior to the achilles, there was every reason to believe he'd age gracefully. He was showing he could score more efficiently, rack up assists if needed and generally adjust his game for age. But since that injury(and the subsequent knee and shoulder injuries), everything has shifted to more of a desperate, something-to-prove sort of recklessness that has given his haters cause for glee as though it suddenly validates whatever they've thought about him, while even giving his ardent fans something to shake their heads about a bit in the 'I love you Kobe, but come on...' sort of sense.

Meanwhile, with the Lakers in a tailspin anyway, you almost can't even blame him realistically, team wasn't going to compete either way, he had the green light, the keys to the studio, the blank canvas, the sandbox, to do whatever he wanted at whatever the rate he wanted to do it at. But by this point it's pretty abundantly clear the hopeful premise that he might still have some Vino/Mamba games left in him is all but extinguished and what might have otherwise been an opportunity to prove he could overcome anything and work his way back from the brink so late in his career has turned into the victory lap/retirement cruise we've all wanted to pretend would never happen.

Going to miss him a lot, his career mirrors my interest in basketball pretty closely and it's one for the ages.

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