Kobe Bryant Retirement Tour (2015-2016)

Lore & Background

Bryant retired after the 2015–16 season. In 2018, he won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for 'Dear Basketball' (2017), which was based on his retirement announcement poem.

In Their Own Story

The air inside Staples Center was thick with emotion, a mixture of grief and celebration that no scoreboard could quantify. As Kobe Bryant walked to the free-throw line in the dying seconds of his final game, the crowd did not cheer for a shot; they cheered for a lifetime. He sank the first, then the second, his eyes scanning the arena one last time. When he finally took the mic, the noise subsided into a reverent hush. 'Mamba out,' he said, and for a moment, time itself seemed to stop in Los Angeles.

Reader's Guide

The retirement tour featured tributes from opposing teams and fans. Bryant's final game saw him score 60 points, the most by any player in a final game. The Lakers retired both his jersey numbers (8 and 24) in 2017.

Did You Know?

• Bryant's retirement announcement was a poem titled 'Dear Basketball', later adapted into an Oscar-winning short film.
• He scored 60 points in his final NBA game, the highest scoring performance in a farewell game in league history.
• The Lakers retired both his jersey numbers (8 and 24) in 2017, making him one of several NBA players—including Earl Monroe and Pete Maravich—to have multiple numbers retired by the same franchise.