The time has finally come for Kobe Bryant to retire, leaving the Clippers-Lakers dynamic and the future of Los Angeles basketball in a very new situation.
If a basketball player ever held claim to owning a city, it’s Kobe Bryant and his claim to Los Angeles. Throughout the Lakers’ three-peat era with Shaquille O’Neal in the early 2000s and the more recent championship teams featuring a new partnership with Pau Gasol, Kobe has been the constant face of L.A. basketball. He’s graced Staples Center with his unrivalled competitiveness and tenacity for two decades, creating a name and an image that has extended far beyond the streets of L.A.
From everywhere in the United States, across Europe, and all the way to China, there are fans of Kobe. The Black Mamba, Vino, “the next Michael Jordan” — whatever name those talking about the legend use, they are all recognisable for his undeniable talent, legacy, and impact on the game.
And when honing that impact from the NBA and the world overall, Kobe has been the perfect continuation of L.A. and Lakers basketball from the iconic Showtime era of Magic Johnson‘s teams through the 1980s. Kobe has harnessed and defined what it means to be a competitor and champion, pursuing a never-ending desire to learn, be the best player of all time, and fight through any obstacle placed in his way.
That’s just what the very essence of Kobe is. Even over the last few injury-ridden, air-ball filled seasons, that have seen him look more like the Grey Mamba rather than the killer Black Mamba, this is the way Kobe has captured the heart of Los Angeles.
With legends like Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic, Shaq, and most recently Kobe Bryant, the Lakers and their 16 championships have owned L.A. basketball since basketball was born.
Meanwhile, the Clippers, a lesser franchise that have been outside the playoff picture for most of their troubled history, have been a humorous afterthought when it comes to the question of which team does Los Angeles belong to.
Even during the Clippers’ recent ascension in the Chris Paul-led Lob City era, a spell of play that’s seen the team improve again and again on their best season in history, hasn’t certified their increased status in L.A. It’s still easy for them to be put down, given the aura of purple and gold and that fighter named Kobe Bryant.
Through so much trial and tribulation following championships in 2009 and 2010, the favor of the Lakers has lingered on.
No matter what injury or surgery that has tried to rid the Black Mamba of its poison, the Lakers are still the face of L.A. basketball. Despite the Clippers winning 262 games over the last five seasons in comparison to the Lakers’ meagre total of 150, Kobe has been enough to keep things going.
"Always love the hate. #MambaDayhttps://t.co/oqWHZi6Amv— Nike Basketball (@nikebasketball) April 13, 2016"
During Byron Scott’s coaching woes, the struggles of new youth movement, and some added viral video drama courtesy of D’Angelo Russell, the worst version of Kobe that we’ve seen in two decades has still been enough for people to watch and support the Lakers.
He’s the ultimate villain turned hero for a glorious farewell tour, one in which the occasional vintage performance and gifting of signed shoes has surpassed his barrage of shots at a career-worst 35.4 percent rate with ease.
The worst version of Kobe on the worst Lakers team in the franchise’s history has still been enough for everyone to keep watching. It’s been enough for his greatest critics and his greatest fans, even ones that felt 5-of-20 shooting nights would be worth quitting jobs and travelling from Europe for.
But now that this 82-game goodbye has come to an end, the Lakers can move forward into a new age. One based on young talent with the likes of Russell, Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson and a high lottery pick. The Lakers have a bittersweet chance for something new. They can move on without Kobe’s $25 million salary and unsightly shots each night, instead building a new team, searching for a new star, and welcoming in the future with a far different emphasis than the previous two decades.
The departure of Kobe instantly reduces Los Angeles and its historic basketball nature, though. Is this youth movement enough for the Lakers to rule L.A. basketball over the Clippers in quite the same way? Even though the history and championship banners remain, there’s no denying that once Kobe’s gone, the Lakers will lose some of the aura and magic they’ve desperately hung onto in recent years.
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Beyond the history, it’s an aura of the team and their ageing star that’s helped hold them above the Clippers in the L.A. power battle. However, there’s no doubt that Kobe Bryant’s retirement gives the Clippers an edge in this battle. The question that remains, though, is exactly how they’ll make the most of it, either with the current core they have in place or a reloaded team that may follow if more second-round exits continue.
As the image of the Lakers take this step back (or step forward, depending on your outlook), it’s up to the Clippers to capitalize and try to take back some ground in the world of Los Angeles basketball.
Because the face of the Lakers and the apparent sole reason to watch is now gone.
Nevertheless, the fans will still fill the streets, and number 8 and 24 jerseys will still be spotted throughout the crowds in Staples Center, long into any era that young talent and high draft picks can create.
Los Angeles and the rest of the world will simply adapt, but never forget.
The purple and gold venom of the Black Mamba will always live on.