Kobe Bryant played his last game in his hometown of Philadelphia and the 76ers paid tribute with their intros
As Kobe Bryant announced his retirement this weekend, we all knew that it was going to kick off a 67-game farewell tour for the Los Angeles Lakers. After playing a home game inside STAPLES Center on Sunday night, Kobe and the Lakers took the farewell tour on the road to his hometown to take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.
The Philadelphia crowd, a notoriously rowdy sports city, hasn’t always embraced Bryant as a hometown hero whenever he’s returned. However, they undoubtedly pulled out all the stops at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night. One moment in particular that struck a chord was Bryant’s player intro, which was that of a hero being welcomed home:
That’s a bigger introduction than Kobe received in STAPLES Center the day he made the announcement. They then followed it up by having Julius “Dr. J.” Irving present him with his high school jersey from Lower Merion prior to tip-off:
Dr. J & Lower Merion head coach Gregg Downer present Kobe with jersey prior to final game in a Philadelphia... https://t.co/G7PdHWHO6i
— NBA (@NBA) December 2, 2015
Philly really took the opportunity to show Bryant the respect that he deserves. Moreover, they also set the bar quite high as Kobe’s farewell tour continues. You have to wonder what the intros and ceremonies will be like in cities like Boston or in his final game in Los Angeles.
Without looking forward, though, it’s great to see the start of this run for Kobe being kicked off on a good note. He’s an all-time great and deserves every bit of respect he’s shown along the way.