Kobe Bryant bows out in style as the Warriors make NBA history

Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant has finished his storied NBA career with a vintage performance, scoring 60 points from 50 shots as the Lakers defeated the Utah Jazz 101 to 96.

No NBA Hall of Famer has finished their career with a 30-point game, yet Bryant, who is certain to be inducted as soon as he is eligible, scored twice as many.

Bryant’s 50 field-goal attempts were the most by any NBA player in a single match.

Prior to the game, former Los Angeles point guard Magic Johnson labelled Bryant as the greatest player to don the Lakers’ famous purple and gold jerseys.

Bryant finished his career with five championships, one MVP and two Finals MVPs. He also finished his career third on the list of the NBA’s all-time leading scorers, behind only Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

While all eyes were on Staples Centre to watch Bryant for the final time, the Golden State Warriors made NBA history, defeating the Memphis Grizzlies 125 to 104 to record their 73rd win of the season.

The win broke the previous record of the most regular-season wins in an NBA season, set by Michael Jordan’s 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. That record set by the Bulls, who won 72 games, was thought to be unbreakable by many basketball pundits, but it has lasted just twenty years.

Steph Curry was at his sharpshooting best in the Warriors win, draining 46 points, including 10 three-pointers, to become the first player in NBA history to hit 400 threes in a season. The previous record for most threes by a single player in a season, set by Curry last year, was 286.

The Warriors’ record comes after many were questioning their ability to follow up last year’s championship.

Many people dubbed the Warriors’ road to the championship as lucky, after they avoided playing the San Antonio Spurs and faced many teams battling injury problems; their Finals opponents, the Cleveland Cavaliers, were without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love for the majority of the series, while each of the Warriors’ other opponents were also struggling with injuries to key players.

However, Golden State started their title defence in emphatic fashion to prove all their doubters wrong. They had the best start ever to an NBA season, winning their first 24 games even with head coach Steve Kerr, who was a member of the 95-96 Bulls team as a player, away from the court as he recovered from back surgery.

The next challenge for the Warriors will be to continue their hot form in the playoffs. They will come up against the Houston Rockets in the first round, although many are predicting they won’t be challenged until the Western Conference Finals when they will likely face either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs.

The Warriors’ record-breaking game wasn’t the only bit of NBA history being made on Thursday. While Golden State were completing their march towards 73 wins, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was playing the final game of his storied career.