All Hail Kobe Bryant

At the end of this season, Kobe Bryant is retiring from the NBA. The time has come, as he is not the player he once was, and it is obvious. In his letter, "Dear Basketball," he alludes to his fading physical abilities. His Lakers are having another rough season, and he can see the writing on the wall.

Kobe is one of the best five players I have ever seen play, along with Jordan, Magic, Duncan, and LeBron. I don't even begin to try and rank these guys, because they all had different strengths and weaknesses, though Kobe is usually compared with Jordan. His five championships in LA make him one of the Lakers greats, though where he rates in Lakers lore is still an open question. Still, five titles, basically on two different teams, a top five points total in league history, and the way he brought back "showtime" to LA makes Kobe an undisputed star in his day.

I'm sure we'll hear a lot of negativity thrown towards Kobe in the next week by people who didn't like him or the Lakers all these years. You won't hear that from me. I remember watching him at Lower Merion High School in the state playoffs, and being amazed at how good he was. Two decades later, he proved that was the truth. Tomorrow night will be his final time playing basketball, back here in Philadelphia. It should be quite a scene.